Something is rotten in America’s labor market.
Article by Kenneth Schrupp from FEE.
A whopping 6.9 million jobs remained vacant as of January 31. Meanwhile, 40% of small businesses are struggling to find employees and 18.2 million Americans are receiving unemployment benefits, which suggests that millions of unemployed Americans are deciding to stay home.
The reason is simple: Ultra-generous unemployment benefits passed in the first federal “stimulus” legislation under former President Trump and now continued under President Biden through September 4, 2021, make staying home on benefits pay more than a job for many workers.
✔️ Boost your immune system with Nutraceutical by Dr. Zev Zelenko
✔️ Beat supply chain issues and future pharmaceutical tyranny with 5 Antibiotics Delivered to Your Home
✔️ Be ready to help yourself and your family with the World’s Best Med Kit
Indeed, under the original $600 supplement, 2 in 3 workers could earn more money—typically 33 percent more—than their previous jobs did, creating a strong reason for people not to go back to work at all. Now, with a $400 supplement, the disincentive is lessened somewhat, but still present for many workers.
At the same time that our nation is struggling to fund record budget deficits, our politicians have decided to incentivize millions of Americans to remain on welfare. To make matters worse, progressive senators are already demanding another round of counterproductive stimulus that will further benefit major corporations and organized interests at the expense of the small businesses and everyday Americans who will end up footing the bill.
In states like California, where unemployment stands at 8.5 percent as of February 2021, unemployed individuals can still receive some of the highest unemployment payouts in the country.
The state’s unemployment benefits—a maximum of $1050 per week at the beginning of the pandemic and $750 per week now—pay far better than the state’s $13 minimum wage. ($520 per 40-hour workweek). Workers staying at home aren’t stupid. Why work for $13 per hour in California when unemployment benefits now “pay” $18.75 per hour?
So, it’s no surprise that restaurants and other small businesses are struggling to hire. For example, when San Diego motel owner Elvin Lai secured a bridge loan to keep his business alive and bring furloughed employees back to work, many declined, saying, “Why do I need to take the risk if I can make more sitting at home?”
It’s in this labor environment—with 48% of small businesses at risk of shutting down forever and thus often unable to afford to pay higher wages—that America’s largest companies, like Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, have raised their internal minimum wages to $15 per hour. Amazon has also lobbied for a $15 minimum wage to impose on their small business competitors. They clearly hope to bankrupt small local competitors and sustain strained yet growing operations by remaining competitive with record unemployment benefits.
So, while the pandemic gutted small businesses, America’s big-box e-commerce and retail stores thrived. Meanwhile, small businesses, driven to the verge of collapse often through no fault of their own, have been unable to keep up. As major corporations secured bailouts and remained open for business, as “our” government picked “essential business” winners and “non-essential” losers, our small businesses have faced lockdowns and exploding expenses, further compounding our nation’s growing economic divide and undermining faith even more in our ever less merit-based society.
It’s obvious that this is neither fair nor sustainable, but the foil to this folly isn’t another round of bailouts, stimulus, or enhanced unemployment, as a recent letter to the president from 10 progressive senators requests. Behemoth “stimulus” packages do little good, amplifying the concentrated interests of the well-connected while potentially spurring dangerous inflation that rewards risky debtors and punishes prudent savers and everyday household consumers.
The federal “stimulus” initiatives have continued this perilous precedent, ballooning unemployment benefits to record levels and bailing out major corporations while leaving small businesses at a crushing disadvantage. Small businesses shouldn’t have to suffer through another round of stimulus. Instead, we need to end the lockdowns and fear-mongering that our politicians have used to justify special bailouts, boosted benefits, self-serving subsidies, and the power to decide who stays open and who shuts down.
To give our small businesses a fighting chance to secure the workers, customers, and capital they need, we must reject calls for more stimulus, end the boosted benefits that are keeping millions of workers at home, and fully unleash our lockdown-shackled economy. If it’s ever going to be morning in America again, we’ve all got to get back to work.
Most “Conservative” News Outlets Are on the Big Tech Teat
Not long ago, conservative media was not beholden to anyone. Today, most sites are stuck on the Big Tech gravy train.
I’ll keep this short. The rise of Pandemic Panic Theater, massive voter fraud, and other “taboo” topics have neutered a majority of conservative news sites. You’ll notice they are very careful about what topics they tackle. Sure, they’ll attack Critical Race Theory, Antifa, and the Biden-Harris regime, but you won’t see them going after George Soros, Bill Gates, the World Economic Forum, or the Deep State, among others.
The reason is simple. They are beholden to Big Tech, and Big Tech doesn’t allow certain topics to be discussed or they’ll cut you off. Far too many conservative news outlets rely on Google, Facebook, and Twitter for the bulk of their traffic. They depend on big checks from Google ads to keep the sites running. I don’t necessarily hold it against them. We all do what we need to do to survive. I just wish more would do like we have, which is to cut out Big Tech altogether.
We don’t get Google checks. We don’t have Facebook or Twitter buttons on our stories. We don’t have a YouTube Channel (banned), an Instagram profile (never made one), or a TikTok (no thanks, CCP). We’re not perfect, but we’re doing everything we can to not owe anything to anyone… other than our readers. We owe YOU the truth. We owe YOU the facts that others won’t reveal about topics that others won’t tackle. And we owe America, this great land that allows us to take hold of these opportunities.
Like I said, I don’t hold other conservative sites under too much scrutiny over their choices. It’s easy for people to point fingers when we’re not the ones paying their bills or supporting their families. I just wish there were more who would make the bold move. Today, only a handful of other major conservative news outlets have broken free from the Big Tech teat. Of course, we need help.
The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring proper news and opinions to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal or Bitcoin as well. Bitcoin: 3A1ELVhGgrwrypwTJhPwnaTVGmuqyQrMB8
Our network is currently comprised of six sites:
- NOQ Report
- Conservative Playlist
- Freedom First Network
- Based Underground
- Uncanceled News
- Our Gold Guy
We are also building partnerships with great conservative sites like The Liberty Daily and The Epoch Times to advance the message as loudly as possible, and we’re always looking for others with which to partner.
Some of our content is spread across multiple sites. Other pieces of content are unique. We write most of what we post but we also draw from those willing to allow us to share their quality articles, videos, and podcasts. We collect the best content from fellow conservative sites that give us permission to republish them. We’re not ego-driven; I’d much rather post a properly attributed story written by experts like Dr. Joseph Mercola or Natural News than rewrite it like so many outlets like to do. We’re not here to take credit. We’re here to spread the truth.
While donations are the best way to help, you can also support us by buying through our sponsors:
- MyPillow: Use promo code “NOQ” to get up to 66% off AND you’ll be helping a patriotic, America First company.
- ZStack: Improve your immune system with the Z-Stack protocol or rejuvenate your body from vaccines or shedding with Z-DTox by Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.
- OurGoldGuy: Tell them JD sent you in your request to buy gold and it will help us… AND (wait for it) you’ll be helping a patriotic, America First company.
- MyPatriotSupply: Stock up on long-term food, survival gear, and other things that you’ll need just in case things don’t recover and we keep heading towards apocalypse.
We know we could make a lot more money if we sold out like so many “conservative” publications out there. You won’t find Google ads on our site for a reason. Yes, they’re lucrative, but I don’t like getting paid by minions of Satan (I don’t like Google very much if you couldn’t tell).
Time is short. As the world spirals towards The Great Reset, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going. Our promise is this: We will never sell out America. If that means we’re going to struggle for a while or even indefinitely, so be it. Integrity first. Truth first. America first.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
Bitcoin: 32SeW2Ajn86g4dATWtWreABhEkiqxsKUGn
All ORIGINAL content on this site is © 2021 NOQ Report. All REPUBLISHED content has received direct or implied permission for reproduction.
With that said, our content may be reproduced and distributed as long as it has a link to the original source and the author is credited prominently. We don’t mind you using our content as long as you help out by giving us credit with a prominent link. If you feel like giving us a tip for the content, we will not object!
JD Rucker – EIC
@jdrucker