One dysfunctional federal welfare program is contributing to a national labor shortage. Now, we can add Texas to the increasingly long list of states opting out.
Article by Brad Polumbo from FEE.
The program in question is the federal government’s pandemic expansion of unemployment benefits. At the start of the crisis, Congress expanded benefits to new categories of workers and added a federally financed supplement on top of existing state-level unemployment benefits. This augmentation, in place until September, has perpetuated a system where most unemployed people can earn as much or almost as much by staying home as they can by returning to work.
As the economy heats up again, this work disincentive is seriously hindering the labor market recovery. The average beneficiary is making the equivalent of $17.13 an hour on benefits. (That just being the average, many in high-paying states like Massachusetts are earning even more!) This leaves many unemployed Americans no incentive—actually, a disincentive—to go back to work, even for jobs that pay $15 an hour (or more).
The result?
Employers are reporting shortages of job applicants and millions of job openings remain unfilled across the country, all while tens of millions linger on unemployment benefits. While the Democrat-controlled Congress refuses to roll back this system—or even acknowledge the existence of a problem—some states are taking matters into their own hands.
More than 19 states including Montana, Mississippi, Utah, and now Texas, are moving to decline the federal supplement and restore unemployment payouts in their states to normal levels. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his state’s addition to the list on Monday, the largest state to do so thus far.
The governor’s decision comes as Texas is experiencing stubbornly high unemployment despite fully reopening its economy. (Texan employers blame the ultra-generous benefits).
The news out of Texas is heartening for anyone who believes our economy should reward work, not idle dependence. And the development bodes well for economic recovery—at least in these states. For those that choose to remain in a welfare state coma, the future looks less bright.
YouTube, Spotify, and other Big Tech platforms are taking Freedom First Network down
It’s no secret we speak our minds and bring on guests who do the same. That’s one of the biggest reasons we put together the Freedom First Network in the first place. There are far too many news outlets, including so-called “conservative” media companies, who are so beholden to Big Tech that they temper their perspectives at best and outright coverup the truth at worst. Many, as you all know, will blatantly lie in order to maintain the narrative that supports the radical agenda taking over much of the United States.
We have had our YouTube channel taken down. Many of our shows have been suppressed or removed by Facebook and Twitter. Spotify banned one of our shows completely from their platform. Google hates us. We’ve even been censored by some of the smaller players like Medium, Transistor, and Captivate. But we stand behind our reporting and perspectives and we refuse to bow down to Big Tech tyranny for the sake of pageviews or video plays.
This isn’t the easiest road to travel, especially for a media company that is so new. We launched Freedom First Network in 2020 to fight against the very censorship that we’re seeing so widespread today. We have found great homes for our content on freer speech platforms like Rumble and we’re putting our best efforts forward into building our presence on Locals. Nevertheless, we cannot do it alone. We need help.
One of the things cofounders Jeff Dornik and JD Rucker agreed to from the start was to never be the pawns of companies that do not embrace our worldview. Finding advertisers and affiliates is easy; we receive requests by companies wanting to be pushed on our shows every day. But it’s important to us that we’re promoting companies, services, and products that are beneficial to maintaining a Freedom First stance in America. As a result, we do not take on sponsors easily. We would rather rely on our own products like Freedom First Coffee and the support of our wonderful viewers, listeners, and readers.
Those who want to support us and help keep the fight for America’s future moving forward can do so by donating through our Locals page. There, you can donate monthly or one-time. Some have told us to use Patreon or GoFundMe, but both of those platforms have demonstrated a hatred for free speech. Locals does not. They embrace it. We encourage everyone to join us on Locals, but donations are greatly appreciated as well. We do not have day jobs. Our fight for freedom is a full-time gig.
Please feel free to reach out to us through our contact form. It goes directly to our founders, so if you’re interested in getting involved, investing, sponsoring, or even bringing a show to our network, let us know. May God Bless the United States of America!
