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New York has the worst economic outlook of any state in the US, according to a recent ranking that comes as thousands flee the Big Apple amid escalating crime and chaos. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published its 13th annual Rich States, Poor States ranking on Wednesday. The researchers looked at issues such as taxation and the economic competitiveness of the state. The economic outlook rating state gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment. Utah, for the 13th year running, was top of the ranking and New York, for the sixth year in a row, was...

Perhaps the biggest example of the Western media's inherent biases surrounding its coverage of Sweden's approach to tackling COVID-19. Plenty of media outlets decried the country's "massive" fatality rate compared to its lockdown-favoring neighbors, but failed to add the context necessary to see that the difference was only a couple thousand deaths, and that Sweden's per capita mortality rate was still lower than Britain's, and other countries that favored lockdowns. When Anders Tegnell, the architect of Sweden's strategy, said during an interview that he would have done things "differently" if given a second chance, the Western press, including the...

When revenue shrinks by 1% of GDP and spending increases by 51% over 10 months, you get a $2.8 trillion deficit. That figure, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is significantly larger than the deficit Uncle Sam accumulated over the first 10 months of 2019. Yet, many in Congress demand that even more spending be enacted in the name of stimulating the economy. More spending means more debt and more future taxes. That much we know. What we also know is that the calls for sustained spending -- in the form of unemployment checks, individual stimulus checks, small-business grants and...

UK economic output shrank by 20.4% in the second quarter of 2020, the worst quarterly slump on record, pushing the country into the deepest recession of any major global economy.

In the heart of Manhattan, national chains including J.C. Penney, Kate Spade, Subway and Le Pain Quotidien have shuttered branches for good. Many other large brands, like Victoria’s Secret and the Gap, have kept their high-profile locations closed in Manhattan, while reopening in other states. Michael Weinstein, the chief executive of Ark Restaurants, said he will never open another restaurant in New York. Of Ark Restaurants’ five Manhattan restaurants, only two have reopened, while its properties in Florida — where the virus is far worse — have expanded outdoor seating with tents and tables into their parking lots, serving almost...

(CU News) - It’s become a standard at nearly every gas station, in my area, to request exact change for purchases. The coronavirus crisis has apparently sparked this nationwide coin shortage that has left retailers pleading for exact change. It didn’t take too long for the conspiracy theories to begin the rounds in both the virtual and real worlds. I first began hearing comments and receiving emails about the change shortage issue conspiracies several weeks ago. At the time, I just placed them to the side and grinned. Can they really be true? After spending some time, it did not...

Latest RedState Column explaining who Dr. Scott Atlas is and why Trump's announcement that he's now part of his COVID-19 team is such great news.

President Trump opened the door this week to a capital gains tax cut, saying he's "seriously" considering it as a way to help the U.S. economy recover from coronavirus-induced recession. “We’re looking at also considering a capital gains tax cut, which would create a lot more jobs,” Trump said Monday during White House press briefing. “So we're looking very seriously at a capital gains tax cut and also at an income tax cut for middle-income families." Trump cannot use executive authority to slash the 20% long-term capital gains rate without Congress, but he could try to bypass Congress and lower...

Without "much more aggressive shutdowns," a New York Times editorial warns, "well over a million" Americans "may ultimately die" from COVID-19. The paper does not cite a source for that estimate, which seems highly implausible based on the death toll so far, projections for the next few months, the gap between total infections and confirmed cases, and a crude case fatality rate that continues to fall. Independent data scientist Youyang Gu, who has a good track record of predicting COVID-19 fatalities, is currently projecting about 231,000 deaths in the United States by November 1. The University of Washington's Institute for...

Michigan, New York received most benefits per worker under program that expired July 31, Wall Street Journal analysis shows The federal government spent nearly $250 billion on extra $600-a-week unemployment benefits from early April to the end of July, the Labor Department said, as millions of workers were laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic. Workers who permanently lost their jobs, were furloughed or had their hours cut were able to tap $600 in federal unemployment benefits on top of the amount they qualified for from the state, under a relief law Congress passed and President Trump signed in March....

To prove a study isn’t suffering from selection bias, one of the best methods is to find cases or studies with similar precepts that show different results. When conclusions and expertise are constantly challenged by counter-conclusions and counter-expertise, the better the investigative process becomes, and everyone benefits with a better-refined outcome. In studying different results of similar assumptions, we have a better chance of isolating and understanding causal variables. After five months of a total collapse of social life under forced quarantines, if we are indeed facing a second wave with no vaccines yet, it’s time to declare that Sweden’s...

You know what we could really use? One of these… only for 2020. Absent that I think I’ll just try to squeeze everything I can out of what’s left of summer. I’ll start with some juicy tomatoes of all colors, size, shape and stripes because that’s just the way I am: completely onboard with diversity. Combined with some zucchini, sausage,halloumi and a few other ingredients the tomatoes will turn out a fine dinner for you. Summer tomato and zucchini halloumi bake  Serve warm, topped with fresh basil and toast for dipping. The spinach is optional and you can sub fresh...

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is advocating a full economic shutdown for up to six weeks to halt the Covid-19 spread...In a Friday New York Times op-ed he authored with Michael T. Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, Kashkari said the initial March lockdown didn’t go far enough..."To be effective, the lockdown has to be as comprehensive and strict as possible," Kashkari and Osterholm wrote.

On a trip to Ohio this week, President Trump laid out six priorities for his second term, aiming to restore the high-powered economy that his administration created only to see devastated by the Chinese coronavirus and ensuing lockdowns. Together, these promises show a laser focus on defeating the virus and creating jobs and opportunity for all Americans.Trump has been criticized as of late by the corporate media for spending too much time attacking his opponent Joe Biden and not enough time outlining what his goals are for the next four years. This detailed plan should put such concerns to bed...

America, the Central Bank is dead. There is ZERO chance $30+ trillion in fiat debt will ever be repaid with more fiat dollars. We’re in technical default. And President Trump knows this. The Solution? US Treasury Notes issued by our US Treasury will soon replace the fraudulent, 98% devalued Federal Reserve debt contracts (dollars). America’s soon to be, newly issued, asset back currency and our revitalized “America First” economy will reverse Bretton Woods and the Federal Reserve‘s death grip will officially be removed from America‘s throat. Every new US Treasury note will equate to an inflated number of current fiat...

President Donald Trump joined Fox Business host Lou Dobbs to slap back at the suggestion by some that the economy should be shut down again over the coronavirus.

Just noticed a bit of a jump in metals. Any reason, that anyone is aware of? They are all up at the moment. Somewhat interesting, anyway. Gold is up more than $20 now. It was around here before, around a week ago. That time it plunged, right back down. What will happen this time?

Tens of thousands of Germans marched through Berlin on Saturday, proclaiming a “Day of Freedom” and demanding an end to government-mandated face masks and “social distancing.” The UK and Netherlands also saw large protests against their governments’ tyrannical actions in response to the coronavirus outbreak. ... Europeans are realizing that their government-mandated lockdowns did little or nothing to protect them from the virus, while causing economic catastrophe ... Sweden, which never locked down its economy, rejected face masks, and kept its restaurants and other places of business open, did not fare any worse than the countries that have been turned...

This week’s gross domestic product report painted a stark picture; namely, a historic plunge in the production of goods, provision of services, and private investment. The nation’s economy shrank at a 32.9% annualized rate. That marks an actual decline of 9.5% from earlier this year. Meanwhile, massive government transfer payments funded by borrowing and printing of money caused disposable personal income to soar at a 42.1% annual clip despite the loss of more than 24 million jobs accompanying this economic contraction. The data bear out the everyday experience of millions of Americans. Government-mandated closures and people responding to what they...

The localized lockdowns weren’t bad enough. Fill-in host and former Face the Nation anchor John Dickerson failed to push back on Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari’s proposal that the entire country go into a month-long national economic shutdown. GDP fell 9.5 percent in the second quarter, and at least “30 million” are unemployed, in-part due to the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders imposed by states. Apparently those factors weren’t significant enough for Dickerson to push back on a proposal for a national economic lockdown.