COVID gravy train rolls to a STOP!

In America, Covid19 provided the excuse for governments to throw money at the sacred cows of their operations, particularly Education and Public Health. Under Trump, this will stop.

School Districts That Spent COVID-19 Money on Hiring Now Grapple With Layoffs

As pandemic-related federal aid dries up, many school districts are facing a fiscal cliff and job cuts.

Source: https://link.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/article/school-districts-that-spent-covid-19-money-on-hiring-now-grapple-with-layoffs-5743002?utm_medium=app&c=share_pos2&pid=iOS_app_share&utm_source=iOS_app_share

Excerpt:

Around this time last year, Franklin Central School in upstate New York faced a $1.46 million budget gap and painful choices: Push for a double-digit tax increase, lay off teachers, or send high school students to a neighbouring district.

The state was dealing with its own financial issues and reserved the right to shift state aid amounts based on demographics, regardless of the short notice. Franklin was ultimately held harmless, a legal term for being released from responsibility; its state aid remained at $4.6 million, or about 56 percent of the district’s 2024 to 2025 budget.

With state aid flat, there was still a 4 percent tax hike, and $200,000 was applied from the district’s reserve fund. Some positions were eliminated through attrition, and Franklin partnered with neighboring districts to share staff in limited circumstances. But at least no jobs were lost, and the older kids weren’t sent away, Superintendent Bryan Ayres said.

The school building serves fewer than 200 K–12 students in a low-income rural area in New York state’s southern tier region west of the Catskill Mountains. It had three seniors in its class of 2023. The per-pupil expenditure rate is about $35,800, according to the district website.

“The hold harmless piece is critical for us,” Ayres told The Epoch Times, adding that community organizations use the school building for events on evenings and weekends. “The loss of a million dollars in state aid would cripple the community.”

$35,800 per-pupil?!

Understanding antitrust law teaches us how the fox controls the chicken coup.

Monopolies in the private sector are rare due to the these laws, but government monopolies are exempt. Allegedly, citizens can hold government spending and excesses to account at the election box, but we all know how effective this method of “accountability” has been.

The question for the ages is:

HOW can citizens hold a government monopoly truly accountable when it is exempt from all legal and effective methods to accomplish this?

BING Copilot describes the scope of ‘public monopoly’ problem.

The enforcement of antitrust laws in the United States is primarily handled by two entities:

1. **The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ)**: This division is responsible for enforcing federal antitrust laws, including criminal enforcement¹.

2. **The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)**: The FTC's Bureau of Competition also enforces antitrust laws and works to promote fair competition³⁴.

Both agencies collaborate to ensure that antitrust laws are upheld, protecting consumers and maintaining COMPETITIVE MARKETS.

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 2024-11-10

(1) Antitrust Division | The Antitrust Laws - United States Department of .... https://www.justice.gov/atr/antitrust-laws-and-you.

(2) About the Bureau of Competition | Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition/about-bureau-competition.

(3) Federal Trade Commission (FTC): What It Is and What It Does - Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/ftc.asp.

(4) Antitrust Division | Antitrust Division - United States Department of .... https://www.justice.gov/atr.

(5) The Enforcers - Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/enforcers.

The **Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ)** has around **800 employees**¹. For fiscal year 2023, its budget was approximately **$225 million**².

The **Federal Trade Commission (FTC)**, which includes the Bureau of Competition, had about **1,111 employees** at the end of fiscal year 2021³. The FTC's overall budget for fiscal year 2024 is **$425.7 million**⁴.

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 2024-11-10

(1) Antitrust Division Leadership, Section, and Office Directory. https://www.justice.gov/atr/antitrust-division-leadership-section-and-office-directory.

(2) Antitrust Division - United States Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/atr/antitrust-division-leadership.

(3) U.S. Antitrust Division Seeks to Hire Dozens of Additional Attorneys .... https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/200220-increased-enforcement-efforts.

(4) Looming Antitrust Enforcement Spurs DOJ Hiring Binge (Correct). https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/looming-tough-antitrust-enforcement-spurs-doj-hiring-binge.

(5) Bureau of Competition Organization Chart - Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-competition/organization-chart.

(6) Federal Trade Commission - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission.

(7) United States: Federal Trade Commission - Global Competition Review. https://globalcompetitionreview.com/insight/enforcer-hub/2022/organization-profile/united-states-federal-trade-commission.

(8) Federal Trade Commission - Site Visit Report - University of North Texas. https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/papers/bkgrd/ftc.htm.

(9) Agency - United States Government Manual. https://usgovernmentmanual.gov/Agency?EntityId=COjTKcMuGi4=&ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=.

(10) Budget and Strategy - Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/budget-strategy.

(11) Budget, Performance, and Financial Reporting - Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/budget-strategy/budget-performance-financial-reporting.

(12) Takeaways From The FTC's 2023 Budget Proposal - Mondaq. https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/dodd-frank-consumer-protection-act/1182700/takeaways-from-the-ftcs-2023-budget-proposal.

(13) Department of Justice | FY 2023 Budget and Performance Summary. https://www.justice.gov/doj/fy-2023-budget-and-performance-summary.

(14) Appropriation Figures For The Antitrust Division. https://www.justice.gov/atr/appropriation-figures-antitrust-division.

(15) DOJ seeks 71 percent bump from Congress for antitrust. https://bing.com/search?q=annual+budget+of+the+Antitrust+Division+of+the+DOJ.

(16) DOJ seeks 71 percent bump from Congress for antitrust. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/10/doj-bump-antitrust-enforcement-113340.

(17) Biden’s 2023 Budget Showcases DOJ Enforcement ... - Vinson & Elkins. https://www.velaw.com/insights/bidens-2023-budget-showcases-doj-enforcement-priorities-and-heightened-government-interest-in-prosecuting-antitrust-environmental-crimes-and-pandemic-related-fraud/.

(18) Biden Seeks $100 Million Boost for Justice's Antitrust Muscle. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/biden-seeks-100-million-budget-increase-for-doj-antitrust-unit.

A behemoth dressed in armour.

The US government obviously takes its duties of “… protecting consumers and maintaining COMPETITIVE MARKETS” very seriously.

Why is there no effort to contain monopoly practices in public services?

Canada’s circumstances are similar.

Some people think of a pit bull dog when asked to name an aggressive animal, but I think of a rhinoceros.

Canada’s federal government IS a rhino dressed in armour to render it all but invincible.

During the pandemic, the US Government was very aggressive in protecting its own employees especially in the public Education sector as we have learned above.

Did those administrators really believe that the boon-goggle of $millions in government subsidies would continue indefinitely?

Why did they hire so many additional full time staff when employee contracts with term limits would have addressed the once-in-a-century circumstances of the Covid-19 era.

Consider Canada’s excesses.

While I write about America’s response, I am also keenly aware of the excessive expansion of Canada’s public sector during the last four pandemic years. As BING Copilot reports:

Between January 2020 and January 2024, the Canadian federal government hired approximately **57,322 new employees**¹². This period saw significant growth in the public service, partly driven by the need to address challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic³.

Source: Conversation with Copilot, 2024-11-10

(1) Demographic Snapshot of Canada’s Public Service, 2023. https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/human-resources-statistics/demographic-snapshot-federal-public-service-2023.html.

(2) Population of the Federal Public Service - Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/human-resources-statistics/population-federal-public-service.html.

(3) Public service will swell to 409,000 in five years, PBO says. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/november-2022/public-service-swelling-workforce/.

(4) Demographic Snapshot of Canada’s Public Service, 2020. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2022/sct-tbs/BT1-49-2020-eng.pdf.

(5) Ottawa's pandemic hiring boom adds billions to federal payroll. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa-pandemic-hiring-boom-1.6623255.

Will Canadians see a correction?

With over 57,000 additions to the federal payroll, will they be weaned off the public teat anytime soon now that the pandemic has passed?

FAT CHANCE!

This post is about monopolies - government ones!

Public monopolies continue to grow with each new “crisis” and are funded accordingly through a myriad of tax and “revenue tools” (fines, permits, etc). Meanwhile ….

Bribed corporate journalists report each “crisis” incessantly to fan the flames of fear and weaken public resolve to ask inconvenient questions.

Will Poilievre have a “Trump moment”?

Will the election of a majority Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre next year produce the Canadian equivalent of a triumphant “Trump moment of national euphoria”? Will it also signal a reversal of Trudeau’s disastrous legacy?

Euphoria is fleeting, however.

Only positive results will justify it over time.