Red States well ahead of blue states in economic recovery

 Politico:

States with Republican governors are leading the recovery from the Covid-19 economic shock, complicating President Joe Biden’s push for a new sweeping infusion of federal aid.

Of the 15 states that have returned to pre-pandemic levels of economic activity, 12 are led by Republican governors, Federal Reserve data shows. Of the 10 states reporting the lowest levels of activity since January 2020, seven — including New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois — are run by Democratic governors.

Red states are also reporting lower unemployment numbers.
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By comparison, states that still have some coronavirus restrictions in place, including California, Connecticut and Hawaii, saw the highest rates of unemployment in the country in May and were still producing less in April than they did pre-pandemic.
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Breitbart reports:

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Republican governors in 25 states have opted to end the enhanced unemployment benefits programs that many businesses said were pricing workers out of the labor market. The extra $300 per week brought average weekly unemployment benefits up to $620, the equivalent of almost $18 dollars per hour.
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The red states were the least likely to lockdown their economy.  The lockdown states not only had the worst outcome economically, but they also had the worst outcome in controlling the virus.  Some believe that keeping people inside contributed to the spread of the disease.  Those allowed in the outdoor fresh air did much better.