FREEDOMWORKS 05/03/2018 BERNIE SANDERS PRACTISING 'FANTASYLAND ECONOMICS'

1. Scott Pruitt Should Stay at EPA

Via USA Today President Trump should ignore calls to fire Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. As mountains are made of molehills and double standards are everywhere, regulatory reform accomplishments are vilified for partisan reasons. Yes, it seems that Pruitt made some avoidable but minor errors in judgment that he should have known would be blown out of proportion by opponents. But here’s what I weigh these trivial infractions against. Executing on a President Obama campaign vow, the Obama EPA waged a partisan and junk science-fueled war against the coal industry. This gross abuse of power, combined with a glut of natural gas, erased 94% of the industry’s market value, bankrupted the largest companies, killed thousands of jobs, and wreaked havoc in local communities. By the time the Supreme Court reined in the agency, the damage was done. Instead of being chastised, Obama EPA chief Gina McCarthy publicly gloated about it. READ MORE HERE

2. Massive Poll Shows Democrats Losing Support of Young Voters

Via The Washington Times A massive poll of young voters has some inconvenient news for Democrats. “Enthusiasm for the Democratic Party is waning among millennials as its candidates head into the crucial midterm congressional elections,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey of some 11,000 voters ages 18-34 conducted during the first three months of the year. “Their support for Democrats over Republicans for Congress slipped by about 9 percentage points over the past two years, to 46 percent overall. And they increasingly say the Republican Party is a better steward of the economy,” the poll analysis said. And while two-thirds of the respondents are not especially fond of President Trump, they also said this distaste does not extend to all Republicans, or translate into automatic votes for Democratic candidates in the midterm elections. “That presents a potential problem for Democrats who have come to count on millennials as a core constituency — and will need all the loyalty they can get to achieve a net gain of 23 seats to capture control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November,” the analysis said. READ MORE HERE

3. Sixteen Democrats Are Questioned on Socialized Health Care After Alfie Evans, But Say Nothing

Via RedState The evils of socialized medicine were on full display during the few days the world watched Alfie Evans suffer to death at the hands of the British government’s National Healthcare System (NHS). After his death, the Daily Signal decided to get the comments of the 15 Democratic senators currently co-sponsoring the “Medicare for All Act of 2017,” spearheaded by DemocraticSocialist Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). According to the Daily Signal, what they got in return was an eerie silence from the Democrats who apparently decided to go dark after the world watched their beloved system of choice fail so spectacularly. READ MORE HERE

4. Fantasyland Economics from Bernie Sanders

Via City Journal Despite a rapidly improving job market, senators such as Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and Kirsten Gillibrand have called for a new program in which the federal government would provide a full-time job to every American adult who wants one. Their proposal differs from programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which partially subsidize private-sector jobs, not government jobs. And unlike the public-works programs of the New Deal, this taxpayer-funded federal job program—details to come—would be permanent. Universal employment is a worthy goal. Chronic joblessness depresses lifetime earnings substantially (even after the joblessness ends), damages relationships, and leads to serious health problems. But the new proposal is unworkable and implausible. Advocates estimate that 10.7 million currently unemployed and under-employed Americans would sign up. Yet the guaranteed wage of $15 per hour, plus benefits—which exceeds the current compensation levels for 40 percent of all workers—would induce millions of working Americans to quit their jobs and join the new program. Millions of others not currently looking for work, including retirees, would find the benefit package irresistible. If participation rises to 20 to 35 million—which seems likely—the annual cost would swell to between $1 trillion to $2 trillion. An accompanying reduction in welfare benefits for these workers would offset only a small fraction of this cost. READ MORE HERE

5. One In Four American Adults Live With a Criminal Record. It's Time for Them to Get a Second Chance

Via Fox News This year the U.S. Senate recognized April 2018 as Second Chance Month. Fittingly, the resolution came six years after the passing of a man who embodied the importance of second chances: former Nixon “hatchet man” Charles Colson. Today, the prison ministry Colson founded after his release from federal prison is at the head of a nationwide movement to recognize the dignity of people who have paid their debt to society and open up opportunities for them to succeed. One in four American adults lives with a criminal record, and more than 48,000 documented legal restrictions limit their access to education, jobs, housing, and other things necessary for a productive life. But the people most directly affected are not the only ones who care. Businesses, faith communities, government leaders, and other diverse groups recognize that second chances are not a partisan issue, but an issue key to the security and flourishing of all our neighborhoods. Momentum is building across the United States. The Senate resolution rounded out a month of resounding cries for second chances, which echoed in Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. READ MORE HERE