The Omicron surge has impacted different states around the country in different ways.
We are seeing pure panic in blue states and pure defiance in red states.
That defiance is paying off, as Texas’ economy is flourishing while businesses in blue states continue to see closures from the pandemic.
Booming!
The 2020 year is one we would probably all just rather forget.
As a small business owner, I can tell you that the shutdown was devastating for small business owners.
We had about 90 percent of our clients have to shut down during the pandemic, most of them never opening their doors again.
When you consider the butterfly effect of just those businesses, thousands of people were put out of work.
Slowly but surely, Texas has managed to climb out of that hole, with business finally getting back to normal again.
While California businesses as well as those in other blue states are still closing, Texas is seeing a surge.
Republican Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar stated, “With Christmas shopping jump-started by the early start of holiday promotional pricing weeks ahead of Black Friday, and despite supply chain clogs and household budgets pressured by rising prices for food and gasoline, consumer spending drove double-digit increases in receipts from retail trade.”
Texas set a record for sales tax collection in December, bringing in a massive $3.6 billion.
The good news is that this surge includes the hospitality industry, which just got crushed during the pandemic.
Hegar stated, “Receipts from restaurants, another sector depressed a year ago, were also up sharply and well above pre-pandemic levels.”
Governor Abbott celebrated the news on Twitter…
Texas is the #1 state for business.
Companies of all sizes thrive in Texas due to our low taxes, superior business climate & world-class workforce. pic.twitter.com/ahUPYh9lBm
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 4, 2022
That is not the case in California, where restaurants are again shuttering their doors during the surge rather than stay open with crippling sanctions that make it all but impossible to even break even.
Christian Albertson, owner of The Monk’s Kettle in San Rafael, is shutting his doors until April, laying off almost three dozen workers in the process.
It is just a different mindset right now once you cross the state border.
California business owners are willing to be held hostage by the virus whereas Texans are starting it down and going about life normally.
This is why we are seeing massive numbers of transients show up in states like Texas and Florida.
Those with commonsense are bailing on blue states, but we just hope they all remember why they left these blue states when election day rolls around.
So, let’s hear from our Texas and Florida readers on this one…
Are you worried that the massive influx of blue states residents into your state will flip the state from red to blue?
Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Source: Fox Business