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Authoritarians Using Coronavirus Fear to Destroy America – Ron Paul

A Fresno, California waffle restaurant dared to open its doors for business this weekend to the delight of a long line of customers, who waited up to two hours for the “privilege” of willingly spending their money in a business happy to serve them breakfast on Mother’s Day. This freedom of voluntary transaction is the core of what we used to call our free society. But in an America paralyzed by fear – ramped up by a mainstream media that churns out propaganda at a level unparalleled in history – no one is allowed to enjoy themselves.

Thankfully everyone carries a smartphone these days and can record and upload the frequent violations of our Constitutional liberties. In the case of the waffle restaurant, thanks to a cell phone video we saw the police show up in force and try to push through the crowd waiting outside. An elderly man who was next in line to enter was indignant, complaining that he had been waiting two hours to eat at the restaurant and was not about to step aside while the police shut down the place. The police proceeded to violently handcuff and arrest the man, dragging him off while his wife followed sadly behind him to the police car.

It is hard not to be disgusted by government enforcers who would brutally drag an elderly man away from a restaurant for the “crime” of wanting to take his wife out for breakfast on Mother’s Day. A virus far more deadly than the coronavirus is spreading from Washington down to the local city hall. Tin pot dictators are ruling by decree while federal, state, and local legislators largely stand by and watch as the US Constitution they swore to protect goes up in smoke.

Politicians with perfect haircuts issue “executive orders” that anyone cutting hair for mere private citizens must be arrested. In Texas a brave salon owner willingly went to jail for the “crime” of re-opening her business in defiance of “executive orders.” To add insult to injury, Governor Greg Abbott very quickly condemned the one week jail sentence of salon owner Shelley Luther – but the officers who arrested her were only carrying out Abbott’s own orders!

First we were told we had to shut down the country to “flatten the curve” so that hospitals were not overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. When most hospitals were nowhere near overwhelmed, and in fact were laying off thousands of healthcare workers because there were no patients, they moved the goalposts and said we cannot have our freedom back until a vaccine was available to force on us or the virus completely disappeared – neither of which is likely to happen anytime soon.

Many politicians clearly see the creeping totalitarianism but lack the courage to speak out. Thankfully, patriots like Shelley Luther are demonstrating the courage our political leaders lack.

When Patrick Henry famously said “give me liberty or give me death” in 1775, he didn’t add under his breath “unless a virus shows up.” If we wish to reclaim our freedoms we will have to fight – peacefully – for them. As Thomas Paine wrote in 1776, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

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Source: Authoritarians Using Coronavirus Fear to Destroy America

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Record 103,415,000 Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Sinks to 47-Year Low

(Photo by Andew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)

(CNSNews.com) – The nation’s labor force participation rate reached a 47-year low of 60.2 percent in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as the number of people not in the labor force jumped by 6,570,000 to a record 103,415,000.

The participation rate has now dropped 2.5 percentage points since March, and it is the lowest it has been since the 60.0 percent recorded in January 1973.

As expected, because of government-mandated business closings, there was more bad news:

A record 103,415,000 Americans, roughly one-third of the population, were counted as “not in the labor force” in April, a gain of 6,570,000 in just one month. The previous record high for this number, swelled in part by retiring baby boomers, was 96,845,000 in March. (The labor force is made up of the employed and the unemployed. The remainder, those who have no job and are not looking for one, are counted as not in the labor force.)

Only 133,403,000 Americans were employed in April — 22,369,000 fewer than in March — and a steep falloff from the record 158,803,000 counted as employed in December 2019.

The number of employed Americans had broken 25 records under President Trump, something he has frequently repeated on the campaign trail. At the same time, a record 23,078,000 Americans were unemployed in April — 15,938,000 more than in March.

Consequently, the unemployment rate reached a whopping 14.7 percent last month, the highest rate and the largest month-to-month increase (+10.3 points) in the history of the BLS series, which includes  seasonally adjusted data available back to January 1948.

Until March, the nation’s unemployment rate had been either 3.5 percent or 3.6 percent — a 50-year low — for the past six months.

In April, the civilian non-institutional population in the United States was 259,896,000. That included all people 16 and older who did not live in an institution (such as a prison, nursing home or long-term care facility).

Of that civilian non-institutional population, 156,481,000 were participating in the labor force, meaning that they either had a job or were actively seeking one during the last month. This resulted in a labor force participation rate of 60.2 percent, down from the Trump-era high of 63.4 percent set this past January and February.

The participation rate was 62.8 percent when Trump took office, and it had showed little change, until now, as retiring baby boomers offset additions to the nation’s workforce.

As the Bureau of Labor Statistics says, the participation rate is an important labor market measure because it represents the relative amount of labor resources available for the production of goods and services. Also, people who participate in the labor force (and pay taxes) help support those who don’t.

Breaking it down by sex, the April participation rate for men 16 and older — 66.1 percent — has never been this low. For women 16-plus, the April participation rate of 54.7 percent has not been this low since January 1986, 34 years ago.

Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, after declining by 870,000 in March. The April month-to-month jobs decline is the largest in the history of the series and brought employment to its lowest level since February 2011 (this series dates back to 1939).

Job losses in April were widespread, with the largest employment decline occurring in leisure and hospitality, followed by education and health services.

In April, unemployment rates rose sharply among all major worker groups. The rate was 13.0 percent for adult men, 15.5 percent for adult women, 31.9 percent for teenagers, 14.2 percent for Whites, 16.7 percent for Blacks, 14.5 percent for Asians, and 18.9 percent for Hispanics. The rates for all of these groups, with the exception of Blacks, represent record highs for their respective series.

“It’s totally expected,” President Trump told “Fox & Friends,” moments after the worst unemployment report in history came out.

“Even the Democrats aren’t blaming me for that, but what I can do is I’ll bring it back,” Trump promised.

But I created, as president, we had the strongest economy in the history of the world, the strongest economy we’ve ever had, and we had to close it, which is artificial. We artificially closed it. Those jobs will all be back, and they’ll be back very soon, and next year we’re going to have a phenomenal year. People are ready to go. We’ve got to get it open. People are ready to go.”

The business and economic reporting of CNSNews.com is funded in part with a gift made in memory of Dr. Keith C. Wold.

Also See: Labor Secretary: States Should Be ‘Mindful’ of People Who Refuse Offers to Return to Work

Source: Record 103,415,000 Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Sinks to 47-Year Low