Governor Noem says she doesn’t want to spend the Federal Covid money on Covid expenses, she instead wants it to offset the sales tax revenue. I think a better use of the money would be to send it to South Dakotans. If you gave it to every single resident of the state, we would each get around $1,800. If you just sent it to adults, it would be even higher. On top of that, if we turned around and bought stuff in the state with it, it would give the state (4 pennies) around $64 million in tax revenue.
What I am afraid is that Noem is going to end up pissing this money down her leg with massive handouts to corporations. She says it is for paying teachers. Hogwash. I think the best way to stimulate the economy in SD is to give us the money and we will decide how to spend it. But we know she would never do something like that, because that would mean she has compassion and common sense.
Many people have argued that we shouldn’t take this ‘handout’. Last I checked, we all pay Federal income taxes, it is ‘OUR’ money we are getting.
Invariably, the Feds are going to have to bail out the states like they did in 2009. If they don’t, then I think Noem is right to offset sales tax losses with this $ 1.6 billion. But I think the Feds will help out, especially if the Dems own November next fall.
But that said, there is already a proposal floating around DC to give every American a $2000 debit card with an additional $1000 added to it each month for a year out to deal with this virus/financial crisis. If that happens, too, thanks to the Dems, then the current $1.6 billion might end up as corporate handouts, I am afraid, as this blog piece suggests.
( and Woodstock adds: “Will conservative bloggers, who are recently coming out of the woodwork to attack this blog site and some of its commentators, going to get some of this money, too?”…. “If so, it probably will just go to the Alex! campaign, huh?”…. (“Gee, I hope that was funny enough for them”…..))
Use it to pay teachers! That’s funnier than state lottery casinos for education.