Todd Epp points us toward some interesting data about the corornavirus pandemic and our public policy responses thereto.
KELO Radio’s best newshound reads a new Wallet Hub report that says South Dakota is in the top ten nationwide for enormity of increase in unemployment insurance claims during the public health crisis:
- We had the fifth-largest increase in claims (27.4 times) in the first week of May compared to the same week last year
- We had the tenth-largest increase in claims (12.9 times) comparing the first week of May to the first week of January 2020
- We had the eighth-largest increase in claims (34.5 times) comparing first week of to the middle of March, right when most of us realized coronavirus was not a hoax, a political ploy, or just like the regular flu.
The same Wallet Hub writer, Adam McCann, who put these unemployment figures together compiled a ranking at the beginning of April of the aggressiveness of state responses to the coronavirus pandemic. McCann ranked South Dakota 50th, ahead of only Oklahoma, for coronavirus response, corresponding with Governor Kristi Noem’s relatively laissez-faire approach to public health. Meanwhile, New York, which ranked #1 on McCann’s chart for aggressiveness in fighting coronavirus, ranks 16th, 39th, and 40th on the same scales where South Dakota ranks 5th, 10th, and 8th.
Now if one were to believe the rhetoric of Donald Trump and his armed cultists storming state capitols, aggressive state responses to coronavirus should be causing more disruption to the economy than states more inclined to let nature take its course. But McCann’s rankings for aggressive responses to coronavirus and increases in unemployment don’t correlate that way. The correlation between aggressive coronavirus interventions and the 2019–2020 unemployment claims jump is –0.098, while the correlation of aggressive interventions to UI claims increases over the run of the pandemic is –0.217. Not only are stricter government interventions not associated with higher increases in unemployment, but to the extent that any association shows up at all, the correlation is negative; i.e., there’s been a slight tendency for states that take less serious steps to contain the pandemic are seeing higher increases in unemployment.
Queen NOem is a dud, a complete failure. Sutton would’ve had this taken care immediately and kept it going.
“Leaders” (see that ry?) Noem, Trump and wiser Republicans are teetering on the edge of nuclear war/global warming as “critical resources” will bring clashes. But dont worry we have a $900B military budget by 2035 or so. Together with GOP/conservative destruction of “news” reporting as discussed in a contemporary DFP thread (in process), the mishandled pandemic prostituted actions by “bankrupt” McConnell and troupe, yet solutions are possible. The Electoral College may be our 1st hurdle following Greta and AOC. MT Klare, “twin threats”, The Nation at 17 (1.27.20)
Booyah! Finally, the state will do something positive for the positve cases in nursing and assisted living facilities.
“The Department of Health announced plans Thursday to test all residents and staff at long-term care facilities in South Dakota as part of its plan to increase testing access for at-risk and vulnerable populations.
All of the state’s long-term care facilities will test their residents over the next four weeks for COVID-19 in partnership with the state health lab, local health care providers and commercial labs.
This plan comes days after 20 residents died of COVID-19 and dozens more tested positive at Good Samaritan Society in Sioux Falls following mass testing of all residents and employees, including those who were asymptomatic.” Rapid City Journal 5.14.20
I’m one of the newly unemployed.
Supposedly because of the pandemic.
It’s because our urban economy is too service oriented. Jobs that do not pay well and, apparently, are very vulnerable during a pandemic.
John, I was thinking the same thing today. When Henry Ford created the manufacturing economy, part of this thinking was workers on his assembly line are also the consumers of his products. Wages and days off helped him sell product. Now so much of our industry caters to a consumer detached from that industry and service economy HAD to rise up so that someone could afford to buy the things that manufacturing was cutting jobs to produce. Worse yet, our movement to a finance economy has Wall Street and the Stock Market actually far outperforming other industries, but very few are put to work with that.
Any New Deal – even a Green one – which will be essential to pull out out of the Trump/Pandemic Depression, has a bit of an uphill battle because it will require our economy and national identity to step back in time and produce actual things again.
Covid remains aggressive…
Deaths:
86,873
John and O,
Very true. We were on such a fake high that there were too many jobs in frivolous fields, it was inevitable a downturn would cause great job loses.
I’m going to be interested in long term results on which states suffer the most. States that done some hard shutdowns, or states that tried to stay open. I suspect the hard shutdowns will be the states that do better as they recover quicker because citizens will feel safer.
Great SD Pub Radio legal reporter reports SD Courts prevents out-of-state alimony/childcare judgement from enforcement against assets hidden in $3T SD trust industry’s burgeoning tax haven (a mere handful of employees). Republican legislator David Lust attacked Dem gov candidate Susan Wismer CPA for her critique, last year.
leslie, the PBS reporter you’re referencing is Victoria Wicks, a great one indeed.
The Roger Cornelius Memorial Cartoon by Marty Two Bulls.
https://www.gocomics.com/m2bulls/2020/05/14
(I don’t get it.) 🥴
I went to NSC with Ms. Wicks. She is also a very good artist. Multitalented.
This is a curious result, indeed. I wonder where we were compared to national average last year because if you are comparing now to then, knowing where everyone stacked up then matters. I also wonder if these numbers take into account claims that are denied. I have a family member whose hours were cut in half recently and she applied for unemployment, and was initially approved as qualifying due to the reduction in hours, but then is denied payments each week because she makes too much working 20 hours a week to receive any unemployment funds. So I wonder if claims mean claims filed or claims being paid? I also am curious if there is a drastic difference between party lines for unemployment claims filed. Probably republicans work more white collar jobs that are somewhat insulated from this pandemic…so the numbers would likely be skewed…but both parties like to point fingers at the other for being the biggest takers, so I am curious if anybody’s party affiliation has been a factor in whether or not they ask for other people’s money to pay their bills.
John’s comment, “It’s because our urban economy is too service oriented. Jobs that do not pay well and, apparently, are very vulnerable during a pandemic.” seems backward because NYC is much more urban than anywhere in South Dakota and we appear to have more severe unemployment consequences.
Leslie again seems to leave out 30% of the words necessary to be understood.
Ryan,
I am comparing urban to urban, not state to state. NYC versus Sioux Falls, in relative terms, is less dependent upon a service economy.
Confused? Here is the real nuts and bolts to coronavirus and its implications, pay attention now.
“TRUMP: “When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing we would have very few cases.”
Credit due indeed. I once sat nxt to her at a Perlman concert, tongue-tied to my dismay for 2 hrs; and still grey matter prevented my identifying her by name yestrdy. Thx for your xcellent Blog, Sir!