Merry Christmas to the world, says the United States with its booming economy:
A booming U.S. economy is rippling around the world, leaving global supply chains struggling to keep up and pushing up prices.
The force of the American expansion is also inducing overseas companies to invest in the U.S., betting that the growth is still accelerating and will outpace other major economies.
U.S. consumers, flush with trillions of dollars of fiscal stimulus, are snapping up manufactured goods and scarce materials [Tom Fairless, “Booming U.S. Economy Ripples World-Wide,” Wall Street Journal, 2021.12.21].
Smart fiscal policy is attracting investment, production, and jobs—green jobs:
Businesses are pouring money into the U.S., looking to take advantage of what some expect to be a sustainable increase in demand. In some cases, they are bringing production closer to American consumers, looking to avoid supply shocks related to the pandemic and global trade wars.
Recent U.S. fiscal stimulus “gives us more confidence in the U.S. market. It makes it easier to go into this, and easier for customers to go in,” said Marc Becker, CEO for offshore at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA, a Spain-based wind-turbine manufacturer.
The company plans to invest more than $200 million to build offshore turbine blades in Virginia, which it says will be the first commitment by a global manufacturer in a U.S.-based supply chain.
…Meyer Burger Technology AG , a Swiss manufacturer of solar modules, plans to build its first U.S. factory by the end of next year, adding to existing production facilities in Germany. That signals a change for the solar industry, where about 80% of production is currently located in China [Fairless, 2021.12.21].
Meanwhile, seven Republican-led states and one Democratic-led state have been depressing that economic boom by not spending the American Rescue Plan Act dollars that are driving this economic growth:
Many states have steered those funds toward replacing lost revenue or economic relief programs, but a handful of mostly Republican states will head into the new year without having spent a dollar from the program. The eight states cumulatively represent roughly $16.5 billion in unspent aid.
GOP controlled governments in Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota have yet to budget their funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which has tracked state use of the federal aid. Rhode Island, the only Democratic-controlled state yet to budget the funds, is expected to approve a plan in early January when its legislature reconvenes.
GOP controlled governments in Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota have yet to budget their funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which has tracked state use of the federal aid. Rhode Island, the only Democratic-controlled state yet to budget the funds, is expected to approve a plan in early January when its legislature reconvenes [Bryan Lowry and Jeanne Kuang, “States Have Billions of Federal Covid Relief Aid to Spend. Some Haven’t Spent a Dollar,” McClatchy, 2021.12.22].
Hmmm… maybe South Dakota’s slowness in spending President Biden’s American Rescue Plan dollars is part of why South Dakota’s economy isn’t keeping up with the nationwide economic boom. We can only hope the Governor’s short-sighted caucus doesn’t further delay or sabotage the Governor’s plan to finally invest those ARPA dollars in direly needed infrastructure improvements that will support economic recovery in South Dakota. The rest of the country is spending federal covid stimulus and driving ripples through the world economy; South Dakota needs to catch up and wide that wave of growth, too.
Kristi Noem needs to hoard that money so she can claim SD is doing great and point to that money and say…”Look at all this money we have! Because of my decisions our economy is the best in the country.” Then she’ll point to the numbers in her PowerPoint presentation like she’s on The Price is Right.
Would it help to have a full-time governor, someone concerned about SD issues instead of GQP/MAGAt talking point issues? Asking for a friend…
Loren, that might help, but any GOP/Right/Maga governor will espouse government cannot provide jobs, government cannot boost and economy, government cannot create growth — even if he or she has to be the one to sabotage those efforts to make the slogans come true. That becomes far more urgent when it is a Democrat in the White House creating those jobs, growth, and economic boost.
Just got back from Lynn’s DakotaMart, where, apparently, bacon was on sale. This prompted a prolonged aggrieved discussion between the clerk and the Magat in front of me about how Biden was “roonin” the country; everybody was making more on unemployment than working people; working people couldn’t even afford bacon anymore, and the usual litany about food stamps and welfare.
When there was a pause, I LOUNDLY asked the clerk and Magat if they had gotten their three stimulus payments. Both said yes; I said “Shut up, then.” The Magat hag was briefly stunned, then left in a huff, and the clerk said “But my business burned down.”
I asked the clerk if he knew what IDGAF meant, got my change, grabbed my purified water, and wished him a Merry Christmas.
Magats could drink crick water if they had the foresight to prevent all the pollution they allow. I know what IDGAF means and magat states want to give unemployment benefits to willfully unemployed who refuse vaccinations and nobody else gets them.
The traitor vermin want loan forgiveness “Rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 are now asking the government to forgive their PPP loans
Attempting to kill the people who gave you the loan apparently doesn’t disqualify you from forgiveness.”https://www.dailydot.com/debug/capitol-rioters-ppp-loans-forgiven/
Kinda makes you want to puke, but this time of year is a time of forgiveness, so by all means let the rats have their cheese.
BAH. Ms. Fairbank, your un-neighborly rudeness, poor spelling, and foul-mouthed trashiness has made my pre-holiday complete. Thank you.
In spite of the grinch’s criticism of Ms.Fairbank, she still makes more sense than most of grud’s posts..
I’m basically a jolly old elf this time of year, spreading breakfast cheer wherever I go. grudznick is in high demand during the season of feasting.
The pubs like to pass themselves off as smart on business. Like everything else with them it’s just words. You can look it up, on average twice as many jobs have been created while a Democrat has been President. What can you say?
Well…I value Ms. Fairbank’s point of view. Trumpites are ruining the country with their neglect of common sense. Our health care system, fragile to begin with, is tottering on the brink from the load of Covid cases. The dynamics of unemployment are beyond their reckoning. The state is dying for lack of leadership.
cibve
I very much appreciate your response to grugwhoever’s posts. Please everyone continue to post on this site because it keeps me sane to know there are others in SD who know right from wrong.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article256786822.html
The article is very interesting.
South Dakota has 974 MILLION DOLLARS sitting there, that hasn’t been spent.
Nebraska has over 1 BILLION DOLLARS unspent. 2 states, 2 BILLION DOLLARS.
Democratic Party should be exposing this awful situation EVERY DAY.
What kind of governor has 974 MILLION dollars and does NOT spend it to help South Dakotans ???
A bad governor.
The Democrats should be talking about IMPEACHING and removing her from office! That’s what I would do
if I was in the Leg as a Democrat or Independent.
She doesn’t know how to spend the money, she let’s it sit. She’s not a leader, at all.
Impeach and remove her!
Yeah, impeach for malfeasance. She should be telling Leg how to spend ALL the money,
Leg can vote up or down on it.
No leadership in Senate, House, or Gov office.
And Kristi, the part time Governor, has once again shown her incompetence,
Noem Nothing’s incompetence is not on display often enough for voters to see the pattern of incompetence. A full time, screw-up guv would have been dismissed long ago.
Victims of Noem’s covid failures deserve a happy and prosperous holiday season.
It obviously doesn’t seem to take much to satisfy the majority of South Dakota voters: an ex beauty-queen (Snow), a flag nd a palomino horse, cowboy hat (or MAGA, John Deere or NRA ball cap) some chic clothes and an imported slick talker for the governor and tough, at times bullying talk with ot of state money for the lege. and the band rolls along quite well. Then assemble the Congressional trio of Curly, Larry and Mo and you have it all, our law maker leaders.
Thank you for that live link, ABC. It educated and appalled me. How can a governor of ANY state not immediately ensure their average (not related to rich white male ex-legislators) constituents receive federal aid in any form?
I did no research, but doesn’t Kowgirl Kristi have gubernatorial aides to keep her from appearing totally clueless? Can they deny she’s a stupid, vain, malicious, ignorant, self-absorbed, narcissistic, greedy xanax freak?
But, then, there’s all those federal $ out there just calling to Kritsi, and she has a family member whom resigned from a job she was never qualified for and is now flogging essential oils at house parties.
Governor Noem says there will be flogged a Merry Christmas to you, Ms. Fairbank.
We’ll take some money in our county otherwise in 3 years, we may be filing bankruptcy. We’ve lost all kinds of services, stores, and now longtime residents are moving. When they leave, there go the volunteers, those who donate to community orgs, and our alumni. I’ve seen this place change more negatively in 5 years than all of my 66 years here. Help!
I’m sure your county, Ms. M, is sucking up all the money they can get. It will be OK. What you need to do is stop driving to Rapid City to buy your half-gallons of whole milk, and buy it there in the the local store. If that local store can get some of the slackards in your town to get out there to work.
Why grudz you sound just like a liberal.