Opinion

The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for the coronavirus pandemic – and it knows it. That’s why Beijing has gone on a propaganda offensive to try to deflect blame anywhere it can, including right here at the United States.

Current estimates of the federal government’s aid package to offset the effects of the coronavirus epidemic exceed $1 trillion, significantly more than the $787 billion response to the recession and financial crisis in 2009. Let’s consider some key components to the package.

America’s future just dodged a budget bullet.

There are problems with the press conferences President Trump has held to provide updates on the coronavirus – including attacking the press and calling on One America News network reporters – who toss him softball questions in a hardball environment – but he rightly deserves credit for also taking real questions from real reporters. Sometimes, he also allows follow-up questions.

The April 7 municipal elections that will not happen should have been allowed to happen. “Public health” is the reason given for delaying elections. The excuse sounds praiseworthy, due to concern about the contagion that threatens to kill – based on information coming out of Washington – at least 100,000 Americans. Allowing people to congregate at a polling place, to ignore the rules of social distancing, to put voters and poll workers at risk, is unthinkable. Everyone can agree on that point; however, that is not the point here, which is that the elections should have been allowed to happen and could have been allowed to happen without endangering anyone.

When Missouri legislators passed government labor reforms into law two years ago, they did so to protect the rights of both workers and taxpayers. But does the state currently have the resources necessary to oversee labor agreements made between unions and the government, especially agreements made at the local level? Evidence uncovered by the Show-Me Institute suggests not.