Nevada, USA Volume 19 Number 44 July 8, 2021 - Penny Press
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Penny Press Nevada, USA Volume 19 Number 44 July 8, 2021
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 2
www.pennypressnv.com
The Penny Press is published weekly by
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Publisher and Editor: Contributing Editors:
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Rich Gast
Penny Press NEVADA USA 16 PAGES VOLUME 18 NUMBER 44 July 8, 2021
Post Pandemic May Shift Away from Low Skil ed Workers
By CATHERINE MORTENSEN well above its pre-pandemic 3.5 businesses are signaling a shift from we are experiencing. It’s as simple
Special to the Penny Press percent rate in February 2020. If now expensive and unavailable as that. It’s economics 101.”
today’s low workforce participation low-skilled workers, it could result The good news, Mason said,
The post-pandemic economy rate matched its higher pre- in long-term consequences for is the federal government already
continues to surprise. The latest pandemic level, the unemployment those removed from the workforce. spends “billions of dollars” each
change is the rising business rate would be 8.4 percent — 45 Mason Bishop is president year to help train and retrain
investment in technology and IT percent higher. At the same time, the of Quality Assurance Commons, vulnerable low-skilled workers. He
latest job openings report showed a a non-profit that seeks to close said one the best resources for
Commentary record 9.3 million vacancies.
In economic terms, America’s
the gap between the skills and
needs of employers and workers.
job seekers is careeronestop.org, a
career site sponsored by the U.S.
labor market is not “clearing” — He warns that low-skilled workers Department of Labor.
workers and employers cannot who are experiencing long-term “This site will give people
which could signal a shift away agree on wages. employment will face even greater places in their community where
from lower-skilled workers. It may A recent Politico story noted that challenges with getting reemployed. they can find career advisors, jobs
also be a warning that America will “corporate investment in computers “Increased labor costs due and training,” Bishop said. He
likely see an even more prolonged and other information technology to the shortage of skilled and explained that much of the retraining
absence from its workforce by is the biggest the U.S. has seen in available workers will not be borne is happening at community colleges
those least able to afford it, low- decades… up nearly a quarter from by employers,” Bishop explained. who are partnering with local
skilled workers. the same period in 2019.” “They either get more efficient, employers.
The U.S. faces an employment Of course, investment is good. through lowering their labor costs, “A lot of employers are offering
mismatch: high unemployment Resulting productivity increases or they pass it on in the form of different kinds of boot camps
but record job openings. June’s are the only way to achieve real higher prices, which is what we’re and shorter-term training to get
unemployment rate was 5.9 percent, economy-wide gains. However, if seeing with the some of the inflation people skilled up quickly,” Mason
Continued on page4
The Conservative Weekly
Voice Of Nevada RON KNECHT PAGE 5
Inside: Penny Wisdom FRED WEINBERG PAGE 6
JON MILTIMORE PAGE 7
The Morons Who The coldest winter I ever
spent was a summer in San DOUG FRENCH PAGE 9
Hate America... Francisco. DAVID POTTER PAGE 11
—Mark Twain
CHUCK MUTH PAGE 14
See Editorial Page 6
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 4
Continued from page 3
Optimism for Small Business
explained. “Employees can access ‘work and learn’ opportunities, which is why our nation has gone from having record low unemployment among
combine on-the-job training with traditional courses to provide a broad Blacks and Hispanics to these groups being disproportionately left behind
and well-rounded experience,” he added. in the current growth cycle.”
However, Mason said he is less optimistic about the outlook for small Manning added that the last thing America needs is for more
businesses in the post-pandemic labor market. “They cannot afford to government intervention into the economy, “because as it begins to
invest in a lot of new automation and IT like larger corporations, nor recover, those who want to work will be able to find a job.”
can they afford to pay higher wages,” Mason said. “All these larger Manning said the fact that almost a million Americans voluntarily
corporations are flush with cash, but not small businesses. In many left their previous job in June to begin looking for new employment, a
respects, I think we’re going to see a real crippling of our small businesses 17 percent increase over the previous month, “proves that at least one
as workers migrate to larger corporations.” segment of the work force is optimistic about the economy.”
Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning noted We need to get those who are choosing to remain out of the work
that during the Trump economy the lowest paid 20 percent of the force to share in that optimism and go seek retraining for higher paying,
workforce received the largest wage gains on a percentage basis. “But the higher-skilled jobs.
deliberate shut-down of the economy due to the China-originated virus Catherine Mortensen is Vice President of Communications at Americans
put many of these workers back to square one,” Manning explained. “That for Limited Government.
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 5
Commentary: Ron Knecht
Andy Matthews The reason? He’s too
knowledgeable about the facts and
Nevada’s chief fiscal officer.
He realized his real passion is the
we who fund it, Andy will work to:
• Fully utilize Nevada’s
numbers and, because he’s very principles that made America great, recently upgraded financial
Will Make a diligent and smart, he asks too many and he moved to Nevada, where technological infrastructure
questions that would be inconvenient he’s led battles for liberty, prosperity to better provide us with
Great Nevada to the Democrats. His performance
in all regards during the session
and individual opportunity since
2006. He served nearly four years
accurate, detailed information
on all aspects of government
Controller justified completely that view.
Assembly Republicans across the
as President of the Nevada Policy
Research Institute, a non-profit
funding.
• Oppose destructive tax hikes
board have given their highest praise organization that’s been Nevada’s and new taxes on hard-
Andy Matthews of Las Vegas, to him, and many Democrats echo foremost government watchdog. working Nevadans.
the freshman star of the 2021 General their views, but only off the record. NPRI focuses on issues including • Rein in runaway government
Assembly, announced this week Born in 1978 in New Bedford, fiscal accountability, government spending.
he’ll be running for Nevada State MA, Andy graduated from transparency and education reform. • Restore fiscal sanity in our
Controller in 2022. What a blessing Boston University’s College of With Matthews at the helm, NPRI state capital.
for Nevadans! Communications and began his led the intellectual battle against the Like Ronald Reagan, Matthews
Perhaps the best way to describe professional career as a sports margin tax ballot in 2014, bringing doesn’t believe government should
his qualifications is this anecdote journalist for national media outlets, it down at the polls by a lopsided control your life. He believes
I heard. The Democrat leadership including FOX. I’ve read much measure. They also played a leading we should have control of our
told the Republican leadership at the of his writing, which he turns out role in increasing educational government.
start of the session when committee rapidly, and he’s an excellent writer. freedom in Nevada, promoting the I did the Controller’s job for
assignments were being made that Because he’s a clear and rigorous Education Savings Accounts that put four years, and I know what it takes.
Matthews would not be appointed to thinker, does his homework, and the Silver State at the forefront of the Andy Matthews has exactly the right
the Ways and Means Committee that is good with facts and numbers. national school-choice movement. combination of vision; technical,
hears the budget. Just what we need for Controller, On transparency, under analytic and quantitative skill; and
Matthews, NPRI’s outstanding great communications talents to be
technicians and analysts created the successful.
website TransparentNevada.com He’s also a charming and modest
Tips Of Our that’s the standard for extensive,
detailed information for all of us on
person and has the experience,
organizational and leadership skills
where and how our tax dollars are to get the most out of the good folks
Cap and being spent.
As an Assemblyman, he
that staff that office. And to work
with the Legislature, other executive
consistently opposed destructive branch agencies and the public and
Bronx Cheers tax increases. He also introduced
several reform measures to greatly
press.
Except for the vision and
increase government transparency communications parts, that may all
and efficiency. sound a bit nerdy. Thus the job fit
The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To: He says, “Having spent my early me well. Andy has the combination
life in the liberal Northeast, I’ve of charisma, political skill and nerd
The Wall Street Journal for reporting that it appears from regulatory filings that even not gained a deep love and appreciation that’s exactly right. He also already
for profit hospitals charge their highest rates to those who are uninsured. That’s what for the individualism and liberty- has the enthusiastic endorsements
journalism is supposed to be about—reporting stupidity instead of fawning over favored inspired ideals of Nevada and the of former Governor Robert List,
West.” He recognizes that perhaps former Lt. Governor Lorraine Hunt
politicians.
the most effective base from which and former Attorney General Adam
to promote his ideals is as Controller. Laxalt.
The Pentagon for scrapping a huge money sink tech project and stepping out of the way of “I’m proud of my record fighting And he’s getting married
a fight between Amazon and Microsoft. for government transparency, fiscal September 4 to Valerie Bell, a gem
responsibility and pro-growth policies of a lady who’s also a gemologist.
essential to a robust and thriving Elect Andy Matthews Controller.
The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer economy,” he says. “Nevadans
And A Bouquet of Weeds To: deserve that.”
Besides making government
RON KNECHT
www.pennypressnv.com
The Biden Administration for insisting that the current spike in crime in more transparent and accountable to
Democrat controlled cities is about guns. It’s not. It’s about criminals and
a lack of law enforcement.
OPINION
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 6
From The Publisher...
Raising Morons Who Hate America
Last Sunday, my wife and I went to a Fourth of July a left-leaning billionaire bought for a relative song.
gathering to celebrate the 245th anniversary of the
founding of a nation which has been incredibly good to You can also read the New York Times—also a newly
both of us. crappy newspaper—which has become the Pravda of the
left.
There was another reason to celebrate.
And a new poll says that the 18-24 year old demographic
The female half of our host couple had just been granted is not proud of being Americans.
citizenship.
Morons, all. And the best part of all this nonsense is the
She didn’t sneak across the Rio Grande. She didn’t moron in question invoking the Bill of Rights when you
make a phony claim for asylum. call out their idiocy. Specifically the First Amendment.
If this were back in my grandparents’ day, she would Allow me to explain the First Amendment to those of you
have gone through Ellis Island. Our joke at the gathering who are in the process of raising our future leaders.
was that her husband now knows all of the parts of the
citizenship exam that he slept through in sixth grade The First Amendment prohibits the government or its
social studies class before the teachers’ unions took subdivisions from telling you what you can or cannot say.
control of rewriting our history.
It does NOT stop your employer—present or future—
The most instructive part of the several hours we spent from doing what it will when you go on Fox News and
with Rob and Lilly was the fact that she simply could not say you’re not proud of being an American. In short, it
erase that huge smile from her face. does not stop any private entity from reacting however
it wishes when you say or do something stupid.
And neither could we.
When you are tempted to lurch to the left, consider this:
You’d think at our age, citizenship—even in the United
States—wouldn’t be that big a deal. This nation has lived longer under a single document—232
years under the Constitution and 245years since the
But it is. Declaration of Independence—than any nation in history.
There are other nations with walls. China comes to Where would you rather live?
mind. Their walls exist to keep people from escaping.
And, if there is an answer to that, why don’t you just
Interestingly, the arrival of the Fourth of July brings out leave? Pack your sh-t and go.
all of the nutcases on the left.
Please.
Some dork masquerading as an art and architecture
critic in the Washington Post says that maybe it’s time FRED WEINBERG
to admit that the Statue of Liberty has never quite
measured up. That from a crappy little newspaper that
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 7
Commentary: Jon Miltimore
Here’s the Flimsy Basis for “Time for the SEC to consider crypto and [sic] asset worth regulating,”
Cramer tweeted. “that’s what yesterday was about: the need for regulation.
One hundred to one leverage is not healthy for the system. New systemic risk
Congress’s Claim that Cryptos identified.”
Cramer’s call for regulation, it should be pointed out, was made shortly after
Pose a ‘Systemic Risk’ to the the Mad Money host sold “almost every bit of my bitcoin and my Ethereum.”
Indeed, reports show that a month before Mr. Cramer called for new
Economy regulations on cryptos, he was publicly celebrating that he had paid off a
mortgage with his bitcoin profits.
There’s an old saying attributed to Mark Twain that says, “No man’s life, “I now own a house — lock, stock and barrel — because I bought this
liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” (The quote currency,” Cramer crowed on “Squawk on the Street.”
actually belongs to Gideon John Tucker, the American newspaper editor, lawyer, Fact: Cryptos Are Already Regulated
and politician.) One will watch the two hours of House testimony—a long two hours—in
The words come to mind following a congressional hearing on Wednesday vain for serious evidence showing cryptocurrencies pose a systemic risk to the
held by the US House Committee on Financial Services, which called witnesses economy. (Alexis Goldstein, a policy director at the Open Markets Institute, tries,
to discuss the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the United States. but her testimony warning against large concentrations in the crypto market—
The hearing can be viewed on YouTube (see below), but the title of the such as Dogecoin—fall well short.)
hearing gives you a pretty good idea of the nature of the discussion: “America Indeed, the notion that cryptos are not subject to regulatory oversight is false.
on ‘FIRE’: Will the Crypto Frenzy Lead to Financial Independence and Early As Christine Parker, a partner at Reed Smith LLP, pointed out in her testimony,
Retirement or Financial Ruin?” cryptocurrencies are regulated by numerous governing bodies.
A Bailout for Cryptos? “Crypto exchanges like Gemini and Coinbase are not regulated like the
Rep. Al Green, chairman of the committee laid out his concerns about cryptos Chicago Mercantile Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange, but they are
in his opening statement, in which he references several financial calamities: the regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services as limited purpose
2008 Financial Crisis, the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, and the Allen Stanford trust banks,” Parker noted.
ponzi scheme. Parker continued:
“In each of the cases,” Green said, “investors and financial institutions “They are subject to AML (anti-money laundering) and KYC (know your
suffered severe losses then sought and/or received bailouts from the federal customer) requirements like any other federal or state regulated bank. The
treasury. Their refrain seems to have been, ‘Keep the government out of my life, Commodities Futures Trading Commission has anti-fraud and anti-manipulation
until I lose money.’” authority over the purchase and sale of bitcoin and Ethereum on these trading
Green wonders if digital asset investors will similarly seek bailouts if the markets and has actively used that authority in this space.
price of cryptocurrencies run to zero. There’s simply no compelling evidence to support the idea that cryptocurrencies
“If we believe that such is not the role of the federal government, should pose “systemic risks” to the global economy. (The entire crypto market, it should
there be an amount or form of reserves required to backstop digital securities be pointed out, is about $1.6 trillion, smaller than the market caps of several US
should they fail?” Green asks. companies, including Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft.)
What really appears to bother Green, however, is that cryptocurrencies could Do cryptos pose risk? Of course. That’s the nature of financial markets,
have a “systemic impact” on the US economy. and digital assets are still in their infancy and relatively volatile. But as Parker
“If so, should there be greater federal oversight and rating agencies to points out, cryptos are not uniquely volatile. Only a year ago, after all, oil prices
evaluate the risk and the performance of these digital assets?” he asks. (briefly) turned negative for the first time in history. In February, natural gas
Do Cryptos Pose a Systemic Risk to the Economy? markets were a rollercoaster ride that saw prices rise 900 percent.
The claim that cryptocurrencies pose a systemic risk to the economy is The reality is, regulations are not a cure for asset volatility.
a serious charge, one I’d not heard before. A memorandum produced by the The Real Threat
Financial Services offered some details on this claim. Congressman Green is trying to protect investors from cryptos, which he
“Cryptocurrency business operations could also pose risks to investors if says “could run to zero.” But the real threat to cryptos are people like Green
businesses fail due to illicit activities or the inability to deliver the promised seeking to regulate or ban them outright.
products or services,” the memo reads. “In addition to risks to investors, some The notion that cryptocurrencies pose a threat to the global economy or
experts have raised concerns that leveraged cryptocurrency positions and taxpayers is silly. The only people who stand to lose money are the investors
cryptocurrency derivatives could present systemic risks to the global economy.” themselves—unless people like Green decide to shield investors from their losses
(emphasis added) (once again).
Who are these experts warning of these systemic risks? The body of the Those bailouts should never have happened. But using past big government
memo offers no clue, but the answer can be found in a footnote. The “experts” bailouts as justification for more big government intervention in the future is rich
referenced are one man: Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s “Mad Money.” indeed.
As Nathaniel Whittemore pointed out on his podcast at CoinDesk, one would JON MILTIMORE
expect that such a serious claim—that cryptos pose a systemic risk to the US Jonathan Miltimore is the Managing Editor of FEE.org. This originally
economy—would be buttressed by robust academic literature. Instead, the House appeared on fee.org
of Representatives memo provides a link to an article published in The Street,
which highlights a single tweet by Mr. Cramer.
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 8
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 9
Commentary: Doug French
Homebuyers Fear the Crash to Grant. “Canadian property giant Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
recently acquired a stake in a landlord that owns more than 10,000 U.S.
homes. J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Rockpoint Group LLC also
Google reported in April that the search question “When is the have made big investments in single-family rental operators.”
housing market going to crash?” had spiked 2,450% in the past month, Buyers large and small pushed the median existing-home sales price in
according to Diana Olick of CNBC. “Why is the market so hot?” searches May to $350,000 for the first time, according to the National Association
had doubled in just a week. of Realtors. That makes for a nearly 24% increase from a year ago, the
Since 2008, everyone has been on bubble watch. The price of biggest year-over-year price increase NAR has recorded in data going
anything goes up, for any sort of reason, and it’s deemed a bubble, soon back to 1999.
to be popped. The large number of searches implies those shopping for Of course, trees don’t grow to the sky. “Affordability appears to be
a new home are wondering if they are walking into a trap. Home prices now squeezing away some buyers,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief
have soared and no one wants to buy at the top. economist. “There are so many people who have been outbid, frustrated
Olick wrote, “And, in the most telling indication that the market may they are unable to buy.”
be in a bubble, ‘How much over asking price should I offer on a home Raoul Pal of Real Vision says one should compare home prices to
2021’ jumped 350% in that same week.” the Fed’s balance sheet. He claims the median price index is flat by this
However, home construction over the past decade has lagged behind metric. Actually, by my calculations home prices are falling in relation
as many builders went belly-up in the ‘08 crash and large builders have to the Fed’s assets. When the median hit $350,000 recently, the Fed’s
managed inventories more carefully. balance sheet was nearly $8 trillion.
According to FreddieMac the U.S. housing market is 3.8 million Back in the first quarter of 2007 when the median hit $257,400, the
single-family homes short of what is needed to meet the country’s Fed’s footings stood at a mere $862 billion.
demand, wrote Nicole Friedman for the Wall Street Journal. The central bank didn’t start it’s exponential growth spurt until the
Natalie Campisi of Forbes explained, “The housing market has been dark days of September 2008. And, it’s never looked back. Will housing
struggling to keep up with demand since the 2010s, when the number of prices do the same?
new homes built was slashed in half compared with the previous decade. DOUG FRENCH
As the demand for residential real estate has increased, the scarcity of
homes for sale has created a logjam on the supply side.”
The usual problems are foiling homebuilders, according to Ms.
Campisi: “increased lumber prices, limited lot supplies, supply-chain
issues, restrictive zoning laws, costly permits and a skilled labor deficit.”
This generation of skilled labor was neutered long ago when parents
insisted their kids go to college so they can get office jobs. At the same
time, in population centers, neighborhood associations band together to
stop any new development in their backyards. Especially any proposal
for affordable homes.
With Covid sending municipal staff home to work remotely has
slowed the entitlement and permitting process by months here in Las
Vegas according to a knowledgeable observer.
This is not your grandfather’s housing market. Blackstone Group
just spent $6 billion buying Home Partners of America Inc., which owns
more than 17,000 houses throughout the U.S. Some simple arithmetic
generates a price per unit of more than $350,000 a unit. Compare that to
Blackstone’s $7.5 billion purchase of 40,000 homes from 2011-2013, or
$187,500 per unit.
In between, the firm exited from the single-family rental business
when it sold its last shares in Invitation Homes in 2019, which had
become the largest U.S. firm in this industry with 80,000 homes for lease.
Last year, Blackstone put “its toe back in the market in 2020 by
investing $240 million to buy a preferred equity stake in Toronto’s Tricon
Residential Inc., which buys single-family rentals in North America,”
writes Peter Grant.
Blackstone is not alone, rejoining an expanding roster of Wall Street
powerhouses that have acquired single-family rental companies, according
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 10
Commentary: Brad Polumbo
Here Are the 10 Best (and Worst) 8. San Bernardino, California: 9.6 percent
9. Chicago, Illinois: 9.3 percent
Cities Ranked By Economic 10. North Las Vegas, Nevada: 9.9 percent
What explains the wide discrepancy between the cities who have
Recovery essentially entirely recovered and those that remain deep in the red?
Well, there are undoubtedly many factors influencing these cities’
unemployment rates, but two glaring ones stand out.
When the COVID-19 outbreak began and governments started First, not all parts of the country locked down their economies with
imposing economic lockdowns, most parts of the country experienced equal vigor or duration. From New Hampshire to Vermont to South
huge upticks in unemployment. But how have different cities fared in the Dakota, many of the states with cities represented in the top 10 strong
year since? A new report from WalletHub offers some insight. recovery spots had relatively lighter government restrictions and rolled
The financial analytics firm looked at cities’ most recent unemployment them back sooner. On the other hand, cities from intense lockdown states
rates, from May 2021, and compared them to their pre- and mid-pandemic like California, New York, and New Jersey are heavily represented on the
unemployment rates from May 2019, May 2020, and January 2020. Using list—and that’s surely no coincidence.
the national unemployment rate of 5.9 percent as a standard, this gives us Economies are complex systems, and cannot simply be switched on
a useful comparison showing how different cities have recovered from the and off like a light switch. Those cities whose governments strangled
pandemic and ensuing economic damage. economic activity over an extended period of time and hoped it would all
Here are the top 10 cities with the best post-pandemic unemployment come back when they decided to “open up” are clearly still experiencing
rates as of May 2021: the economic pain.
1. Manchester, New Hampshire: 1.6 percent Secondly, the availability of ultra-generous unemployment benefits
2. Nashua, New Hampshire: 1.7 percent that pay many unemployed people more to stay home on welfare surely
3. Burlington, Vermont: 1.3 percent has had some influence on these rankings. States like New Hampshire
4. South Burlington, Vermont: 1.2 percent with cities ranking highly have announced that they would end these
5. Lincoln, Nebraska: 2.2 percent benefits early, whereas states like California, Illinois, and New York
6. Huntsville, Alabama: 2.4 percent have left them in place. The clear work disincentive presented by an
7. Omaha, Nebraska: 2.8 percent unemployment system where households can earn the equivalent of
8. Salt Lake City, Utah: 2.7 percent $25/hour in many states has surely led to prolonged and heightened
9. Sioux Falls, South Dakota: 2.7 percent unemployment in the states which continue to embrace it.
10. Billings, Montana: 3 percent Of course, there are many complex causes of city-level variations in
And, in stark contrast, here are the 10 cities with the worst post- unemployment rates and the economic recovery. But time and time again
pandemic unemployment rates as of May 2021: across these statistics and, frankly, the entire global economy, we see that
1. Hialeah, Florida: 8 percent areas with freer markets and less interference prosper more than those
2. New Orleans, Louisiana: 11 percent stifled by government control.
3. Long Beach, California: 10.6 percent BRAD POLUMBO
4. Glendale, California: 10.4 percent Brad Polumbo is a libertarian-conservative journalist and the Eugene S.
5. Newark, New Jersey: 11.6 percent Thorpe Writing Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education. This
6. New York City, New York: 9.8 percent originally appeared on fee.org.
www.pennypressnv.com
7. Los Angeles, California: 10.1 percent
www.pennypressnv.comTHE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 11
Commentary: Robert Romano
Are 39 Percent of Small As of April 2020, Womply boasted having 450,000 clients as it was
promoting its PPP services, an impressive number, however it is but a
Businesses Permanently Closed small fraction of the number of small businesses nationwide.
Is Womply simply talking about its own clients, and inferring that
After Covid? nationally the same thing must be true? And then somehow managed to get
the White House to repeat the non-government-produced statistic?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Quarterly Census
“Sadly, during the course of the pandemic, one-third of our small
of Employment and Wages, in Feb. 2020 right before the Covid pandemic,
businesses have closed.”
10 million establishments with 250 or fewer employees had a total of 91.8
That was Vice President Kamala Harris in a June 1 interview on
million employees.
MSNBC, citing a study by Womply, a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
At the height of the Covid lockdowns in April 2020, as many as 21.3
and Small Business Administration loan servicer, and Harvard University’s
million private sector jobs were lost in the BLS establishment survey.
Tracktherecovery.org website, which currently claims as of June 15 that
Since that time, 14.7 million jobs have been recovered in that survey,
“the number of small businesses open decreased by 38.9 percent compared
leaving about 7.6 million fewer jobs from Feb. 2020
to January 2020…” before the Covid pandemic.
So, if the Womply study were representative of the entire nation,
That’s the highest reading by Womply since April 2020, when it stated
and 38.9 percent of small businesses were closed right now, that would
44 percent of small businesses were closed.
mean some 3.9 million small business had ceased to exist during Covid,
But is that really true?
implying as many as 35 million jobs had been lost to the Covid lockdowns.
And what do they mean by “closed”? Are the doors simply closed
While the situation for small businesses during the pandemic has
and customers have to wait outside for their order? Are they permanently
certainly been dire — that’s the whole reason the Trump administration
closed and have filed for bankruptcy? Are they temporarily closed while
and Congress put together the PPP loans — except, at no point since 2020
they wait out the pandemic? It’s hard to say because neither Womply nor
has BLS measured fewer than 10 million establishments in the U.S.
Harvard University say.
Meaning, the estimate that close to 40 percent of small businesses have
And how does Womply characterize small businesses? According to
been closed due to Covid is almost certainly not true. Or if they have, the
Womply’s report, “We analyzed credit card transaction data at businesses
closures are only temporary.
who were regularly transacting between January 1, 2020, and March 1,
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has far more resources than Womply
2020… A business was designated as ‘closed’ if it didn’t process a single
to get an accurate picture of employers nationwide. They have a much
transaction for three straight days starting on March 1… If, after that
larger dataset. Meaning, policy makers looking to make decisions about
three day period, the business processed a transaction, they are no longer
the situation facing small businesses and incentivize private sector job
considered closed and we back-update previous dates to represent that
creation should take Vice President Harris, Harvard University and
business as being “open”… An important note: Restaurants and other
Womply’s figure with a giant grain of salt.
businesses who have shifted to processing 100% of their transactions via
ROBERT ROMANO
third party delivery apps (like Doordash, Grubhub, etc.) would also show
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for
as being ‘closed’ by this metric…”
Limited Government.
www.pennypressnv.com
www.74000000angry voters.comTHE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 12
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 13
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 14
Commentary: Chuck Muth
Election ’22: An Early Look at the re-districting later this year. Will likely add some additional D’s from
Titus’ CD1 to make it a little safer for Lee.
Nevada Playing Field - Part I Republican attorney April Becker – who came up just short in a
spirited campaign against Democrat Senate Majority Leader Nicole
Cannizzaro last year – is the early odds-on favorite in the GOP primary.
Now that the disastrous 2021 session of the Nevada Legislature is in However, retired Army Col. Mark Robertson - “awarded the Bronze
the books, let’s start to take a look at the 2022 election landscape. Star and Legion of Merit for his service in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait
But before we get to that, here’s a quick hat tip to some individuals and and seven other foreign countries” – has also launched a GOP primary
organizations that were extremely active and effective in alerting folks to campaign for this seat.
the shenanigans going on inside the legislative building – while the public In Congressional District 4, NINO (Nevadan in Name Only) Rep.
was locked out by the Democrats - and ginning up conservative grassroots Steven “Black Panther” Horsford will be defending this generally safe
action: Democrat seat – which is likely to get even safer after re-districting.
• Assemblywoman Annie Black (disclaimer: a client) Republican Sam Peters – who lost in the GOP primary for this seat last
• State Sen. Carrie Buck year – is already actively campaigning in the district again. He’s being
• Janine Hansen of Nevada Families challenged by first-time candidate and former UNLV basketball player
• Melissa Clement of Nevada Right to Life Tony Lane.
• Daniel Honchariw of Nevada Policy Research Institute I’ve also heard unconfirmed rumors that former RINO State
• Randy Mackie of Nevada Firearms Coalition Assemblyman Mark “Sure Would” Sherwood – “The Clueless Wonder”
• Marcos Lopez of Americans for Prosperity-Nevada – is talking about running for Nevada’s 5th Congressional District. Only
• Randi Thompson of National Federation of Independent Businesses problem: Nevada doesn’t HAVE a fifth congressional district. Once a
• Nevada Republican Party dufus, always a dufus.
• Carson City Republican Party Coming up next: Nevada’s Constitutional Offices. Stay tuned Batfans.
• Nevada Republican Club 1. 7 Worst Habits of Highly Unelectable People
• Carole Fineberg of Conservative Talk Lunch 2. Picking the wrong race
• Joey Gilbert of Joey Gilbert Law 3. Picking the wrong district
Nice job under difficult circumstances, folks. Gold stars all around. 4. Picking the wrong issues
Now, on with the show… 5. Picking the wrong time
We’ll start with the U.S. Senate race with the Senate currently 6. Picking the wrong consultants
“enjoying” a 50-50 split with VP Kamala “Border Queen” Harris being 7. Picking unnecessary fights with the media
the tie-breaker. 8. Picking door-knocking over fundraising
Democrat incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto-Reid will be Master-Clickbaiter Strikes Again
defending her seat for the first time and will face no serious opposition in A sloppy, irresponsible “conservative” clickbait blogger – who shall
the primary. remain nameless so as not to give him undeserved attention – this week
It is widely expected that former Republican Nevada Attorney General accused the Nevada Secretary of State of accepting a $30,000 “bribe”
Adam Laxalt will run for this seat, pulling on his extensive ties to the DC from Facebook last year.
political establishment for funding. Anybody who believes this non-sense should just go ahead and
Capt. Sam Brown - seriously wounded during a firefight in Kandahar, unsubscribe to Muth’s Truths right now.
Afghanistan in 2008 after an IED blew up his Humvee – is also expected Social media companies – as well as other major corporations -
to jump into the race. regularly and routinely offer advertising grants to government entities
Forget Congressional District 1. Unless redistricting later this year and non-profit organizations. And the advertising grant involved here
severely shrinks the Democrat voter registration in this district, incumbent was offered to all states for the purpose of a Poll Worker Recruitment
Rep. Dina Titus is safe. campaign due to COVID.
In Congressional District 2, GOP Rep. Mark Amodei would be all There’s nothing about this that should have “shocked” the master-
but a shoo-in if he runs for re-election. But Amodei is seriously mulling clickbaiter, and it sure as hell wasn’t a “bribe.” But if you seriously
a run for governor. If so, expect a wide-open primary shootout for this believe this conspiracy guy’s absurd claims, I still have that diamond mine
Republican-majority House seat that could well include term-limited in Beatty for sale. Cheap!!!
RINO State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer and conservative Douglas County FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Commissioner Danny Tarkanian. “I don’t understand much about politics…” – Blubber-blogger Jon
In Congressional District 3, Socialist-Democrat Susie Lee, a hand- Ralston, 1/2/20
maiden to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will be defending the seat for the second CHUCK MUTH
time. Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News &
This “swing” district alternated between Republicans and Democrats Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com
over the last ten years. Will be interesting to see its make-up afterTHE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 15 KNNR, KNNT, KAVB, KNVR, KPKK, KELY
THE PENNY PRESS,July 8, 2021 PAGE 16
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