If you are right-of-center politically, you may be experiencing some tough times. Democrats control the Presidency, the House of Representatives, and, with VP Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, a 51-50 advantage in the Senate. Because of this, Democrats can ram through just about any legislation they want to, such as a $1.9T ‘COVID Relief’ bill that only 9% is direct payments to families. To be fair, more funds were also dedicated towards extending unemployment benefits and PPP loans—this is nearly offset by the fact that disbursement also included current prison population and illegal immigrants. Democrats will likely pass HR-1, which attempts to Federalize all of the shenanigans of the 2020 Presidential election: mail-in ballots, removing voter ID requirements, etc. And President Biden’s Executive Order wave has added some real concerns, regarding everything from virtually condoning illegal immigration to recognizing ‘transgender rights’ (whatever they are) to shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline (violating existing signed contracts). If you think these are not only poor actions, but dangerous ones, you may be on or over the despair line. But all is not lost. Let’s dig.
From a macro (big picture) standpoint, there is little the non-Progressive person can do. As mentioned above, until at least the 2022 Mid-term elections, it is fully the Democrat show. Their potential impacts to US taxpayers, including energy and tax policy, cannot and should not be underestimated. However, in spite of however much damage they can inflict upon the country, there are some bright spots. Republican Governors outnumber Democrat Governors by a 27-23 margin. Now, that is not to assume all GOP Governors are Conservative, but those numbers are certainly better than the reverse. Similarly, GOP control 29 State Houses vs 19 Democrat State Houses (one is shared). The State Senates are also GOP controlled, by a 32-18 margin. There are now 23 States where the GOP control the Governor, Senate, and House; vs 15 States where Democrats control all three. Conservatives that live in one of the 15 Democrat controlled States may want to consider relocation. A final macro hope is the makeup of the US Supreme Court, which supposedly has a 6-3 Conservative advantage. However, not only is that margin unreliable at best, taking things to The Court takes quite a long time to resolve issues, and there is no guarantee of positive outcome.
On the micro (personal) side, there are also some reasons for slight optimism. First, most big government decisions rarely have an immediate impact on household economies. Other than energy and tax policy, it normally takes a while for policy decisions to have a direct impact on families, unless those families are a part of direct government: military, government workers, and those dependent upon Federal Welfare programs. While this last year has been horrible for many across the US, including job loss and home-schooling children due to COVID-19 reactions, and the associated tragic health impacts of that virus, things are starting to improve (although that is likely no consolation to those that have lost loved ones). States are starting to open up their economies, relaxing the draconian rules put in place to somehow hide from a virus. Led by South Dakota (that never closed), Florida, Georgia, and Texas, GOP-led States are returning to economic normal. While gas prices have risen sharply recently, they are still lower than their highs a few years ago. Energy prices can affect many others, so it is something to keep an eye upon. Another potential positive side-effect of the COVID lockdowns: families were forced to be closer together. While funerals, weddings, celebrations, and education took hits, many families reintroduced themselves to each other. The personal and economic costs of the virus and lockdowns may not be fully known for years, including psychological and educational damage, but we are on the other side of the peaks for most areas. It’s not much, but a ray of hope exists that recovery of all kinds is either here or close by. We all know that returning to work beats a one-time stimulus check, hands down. Hang in there, folks.
