Tale Of Two Recoveries & Two Generations Of Experts

The WSJ’s op ed “A Tale of Two Recoveries” is really “A Tale of Two Generations of Experts.” The editors pose the question, “Why is the jobless rate so much higher in Democratic-run states?” and suggest answers that harken all the way back to President Ronald Reagan & the Chicago School of Economics led by Prof. Milton Friedman.

“What’s going on? For one, high-tax Democratic states have continued to lose population to lower-tax states during the pandemic. This likely has contributed to their shrinking workforces & reduced local business demand. The flight of high-earners & office workers has slammed NY City’s restaurant industry. Prolonged lockdowns in Dem states have also resulted in more permanent small business closures. At the same time, regulations & taxes are slowing business formation.” Then, again, “Democratic-led states are also continuing the Dem Congress’s $300 unemployment benefit bonus through Labor Day,” thereby “contributing [further] to the stubbornly high unemployment & slower labor force recovery in Dem states.”

Prof. Friedman could not have said it better & President Reagan’s support of his economic theories could only have been more helpful in addressing the current crisis … as they were in sending the US economy into orbit under their watch. As the WSJ concluded: “Even Pres. Biden conceded on Wednesday at his CNN town hall, that ‘there’s some evidence’ that not having to pay rent & ‘being able to provide for unemployment insurance has kept people from going back to work.’”

Davd Soul