The Patriot Post® · Does Biden Want Economic Recovery?

Several red states are leading the U.S. in economic growth, according to a new Commerce Department report. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden says states should pause on reopening. We’re sure these stories are completely unrelated.

The new Commerce report looks at real gross domestic product (GDP) in all 50 states. The great news is that GDP “increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2020, as real GDP for the nation increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent.” That ranged from South Dakota’s leading 9.9% to DC’s sluggish 1.2%.

Commerce also reported, “Finance and insurance increased 12.9 percent nationally and contributed to the increases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This industry was the leading contributor to the increases in 25 states including South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Connecticut, the states with the four largest increases.” The top three states, by the way, have “trifecta” Republican governments — control of the governorship and both legislative chambers. Five of the remaining seven in the top 10 are also Republican-controlled.

Notably, one sector that decreased nationwide was accommodation and food services. That sector is more impacted by ChiCom Virus pandemic lockdowns and other restrictions than virtually any other, and its decline “moderated increases in real GDP in 38 states.” It also happens to be the sector that employs a particularly large percentage of minorities, who are allegedly a priority for Democrats like Joe Biden.

“Progressives have made ending ‘systemic racism’ their most prominent cause,” writes Mario Loyola of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Yet “the past year has [revealed] the grossly regressive and racially disparate impact of heavy-handed lockdown measures.”

He explains, “Job losses have been grossly regressive against poor minorities. According to the Census Bureau, as of March 3, 2021, fully 59 percent of Hispanics reported experiencing a loss of employment income in their households since March 13, 2020. The comparable figure for blacks was also high, at 52 percent, while 41 percent of non-Hispanic whites reported a loss of employment income. This means that where lockdown measures have resulted in excessive job losses, as in California and New York, the job losses have been disproportionately concentrated among people of color.”

Herd immunity is not terribly far away due to the combination of increased vaccination rates and the number of Americans previously infected with COVID. Nevertheless, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday that she suffers from a “recurring feeling … of impending doom” because of a possible next wave of infections.

Biden agreed, saying, “If we let our guard down now, we could see it getting worse, not better.” When asked if some states should slow down on reopening, he simply responded, “Yes,” and walked out of the room. He’s previously derided eliminating statewide mask mandates as “Neanderthal thinking.”

Well, such “Neanderthal thinking” has led red states to better economic performance and far lower unemployment, while the Democrats’ “progressive” efforts have disproportionately hurt minorities by killing their jobs with a decimated economy. Yet Republicans are the “racists”?