The Redistribution of Wealth Has Begun & We Did Not See It Coming (Or Did We?)

Marc King lives in Germantown, Maryland.

One of the ongoing talking points from the far left is the constant discussion on the redistribution of wealth in America. Normally the discussion goes something like: “Tax the rich and give it to the poor so we are all equal.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: “Our mission is to REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH.”

That is perhaps the way it was, but not how it is going to be. You see, we were struck by the Chinese Plague about one year ago, forcing us to shut down the economy while our scientists and leaders tried to figure out what was happening. To comply with the edicts and orders of our Governors and Health Officials, we dutifully and compliantly shut the doors to almost all of the small businesses across the country – the very same small businesses that we all understand are literally the backbone of our economy.

We cannot shut down the Walmart’s or the Home Depot’s or Best Buy’s; but for Mom-and-Pop stores, restaurants, boutiques we tell them to “Shut Up and Comply.” And so, they did. Throughout the summer of 2020, they tried to make a comeback, at least to a sustainable level, and we saw those efforts succeed in the declining unemployment numbers.

But you know the mantra of the Socialist Democrat – “Never let a crisis go to waste” – and as we have continued to deal with the pandemic, I believe that a plan formed in the heads of the Socialist Democrat leadership to ensure that they were able to use this crisis to their political benefit. They concluded that if they kept the economy closed and small businesses continued to fail, it would of course be blamed on the arch enemy Donald Trump.

But their motives are even more sinister: redistributing the wealth by the government to those they favor.

As small businesses began to fail early in the pandemic, the Socialist Democrats were all in on the PPP and trying to buoy up small business – and then something happened. Some nine months ago the Speaker of the House put forward a bill that she knew would be so onerous the Republican-led Senate would never be able to pass it. Many will recall that months ago the President had already agreed to a bigger spending package for COVID-19 relief than the Republicans wanted, but not quite as large as the package offered by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A good compromise on behalf of the American people could have been reached, but it was rejected time and again by Pelosi. Why was that? Is it possible that the Biden staff came up with a scheme that we are just now seeing starting to play out right before our eyes?

Joe Biden (Photo credit: Biden campaign)

It was announced recently by Sleepy Joe himself that as we get the virus under control, and the country and the economy start to return to “normal” under the guidance of his Small Business Administrator at the Small Business Administration (the same government agency that administered the first round of PPP relief), it will undertake an aggressive small business loan program to help with the recovery of small business. So, how does that result in a massive transfer of wealth?

This same announcement closes that loop and answers the question. You see, while there will be another round of massive government spending on small business – this announcement makes it clear that the first in line for these “loans” will be people of color. White Americans will go to the back of the line and if the money runs out before we get to you… ‘Just mail in your taxes and your government thanks you!” White entrepreneurs obeyed and lost, only to be replaced by Black and Brown entrepreneurs at the direction of Black Lives Matter and “Squad” Member AOC… and so it begins!

Biden for President is already organizing small business owners and entrepreneurs nationwide and in key battleground states. The events are targeted to key sectors of the small business community, including Latino, African American, AAPI, Native American, women, rural, LGBTQ+, disabled and other diverse business owners and leaders. The organizing opportunities will mobilize the small business community in support of the Biden-Harris campaign, and provide an opportunity for small business leaders to connect, learn about Joe Biden’s plan for small business, and get involved with the campaign.

References:

Main image credit: The Liberal Bilge
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program
https://joebiden.com/small-business-and-entrepreneurs-advisory-council/

Smith: Debate Is The Cornerstone Of Modern-Day Thinking

Troy Smith lives in Ellicott City, Maryland. He operates Project Freedom on YouTube.

Debate is the most important tool in forming a set of ideas. Different points of view coming together in the name of a good cause will breed better ideas and therefore a better world. In these times, it is more important than ever to embrace debate.

This election was like none we have ever seen before. Millions of people went to bed into the wee hours of the morning of November 4, 2020 with President Trump having sizable leads in most of the “Swing States.” It seemed like it was 2016 all over again, but better. Not only was President Trump doing well with those within his base, but he was setting records with all different kinds of voting blocks. People who the media had espoused as the mortal enemy of Donald Trump actually VOTED for Donald Trump, more so than any Republican candidate in modern history (2nd place being Trump in 2016).

Troy Smith, “The War That Government Started…”

When President Trump spoke on Election Night, November 3, he had leads of

just under 700,000 votes in Pennsylvania;
120,000 votes in Georgia;
295,000 votes in Michigan;
116,000 votes in Wisconsin; and
77,000 votes in North Carolina.

Biden led in Nevada by 29,000 votes and in Arizona by 155,000 votes.

For reference, Trump only carried Pennsylvania by less than 50,000 votes in 2016. These were unprecedented numbers. It all looked great…but then the counting stopped. In Georgia, claims of problems with Dominion voting machines, and a “burst water pipe” were used to explain a stopping of the count. In North Carolina and Pennsylvania, the states continued to receive ballots for up to nine days after the election. The Supreme Court allowed Pennsylvania and North Carolina to do it.

The Establishment, left or right, has shown itself incapable of defending our freedoms at the most basic level.

They have allowed COVID-19 restrictions to decimate small businesses in this country, while Main Street has their doors locked shut and Amazon goes on hiring sprees. They have allowed countless infringements upon our right to bear arms which “shall not be infringed,” as I remember correctly. They have legalized warrantless spying through the passing of the Patriot Act. They have destroyed individual freedom, liberty, and commerce with their regulations and taxes, and yet, the worse is yet to come.

COVID-19 has given the government the ultimate pass to spend as they please, and they’ve done just that. The federal government has spent over $7 trillion in the last year, and what do the people have to show for it? Even those who treasure the hand of the state must wonder why we do not receive more for exchanging so much.

This is the true nature of Government. It consumes more than conceivable, whilst providing next to nothing for its citizens.

We won’t be limited to failing to see the fruits of our sacrifice, but instead receiving the fruits in a poisoned state. Government spending of this magnitude guarantees only one thing: rampant inflation. I must ask, is the devaluation of the dollar, to a valueless state, not the same as a mass murder? A valueless dollar would guarantee us the sight of our brothers and sisters starving in the street, with not a single man left with a cent to help. History shows us the atrocities committed by a desperate people encumbered by inflation. Is the creation of this state not a threat to the very existence of life itself?

I believe that this is a war that government is waging on individual liberty. Though gunfire is not heard in our backyards, our rights have long been destroyed. Our vote has already been desecrated. Soon, most of all the small businesses in this country will be gone. Amazon will still be open. Google will still run. The Federal Government is still open for business, and our taxes are still due.

The unrelenting fury of government intervention has reached a tipping point, where in most parts of the country, the government is the sole destroyer of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We the People are given the right, not by our Government, but by our creator to defend our nation against enemies foreign, and domestic.

Had another country done to our small businesses what we allowed our own government to do, there would certainly be a declaration of war. However, war is not something to be taken lightly. It isn’t some video game fun. It is evil, brutal, and terrifying in ways that most of the general public couldn’t even comprehend. At what point does it become necessary?

How far must we be stripped down before we decide to fight? And at what point will we be more capable of defeating an enemy so dead-set on destroying our way of life? These are questions that you are not allowed to ask, and they may be shocking to some, but they aren’t illegal. They shouldn’t be banned. These things need to be debated. Governments just like ours have committed unimaginable atrocities throughout history when left unchecked, and in my opinion, it’s just as bad to submit to their terror as to conduct it ourselves.

Our Constitution is not a rule book for government, but a Declaration of our human independence from government. An establishment of the God-given rights of man. They are non-negotiable. The people in this country will know when the time is right by vigorously debating the circumstances in which they find themselves, and I believe that position grows worse every day. My only question is this: when will the people of this country exercise their Constitutional control, and God-given duty to restrain the evil hand of government?

References:

Main image credit: TED Conferences, LLC
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/breaking-huge-trump-team-dominion-machine-small-georgia-county-shows-votes-flipped-trump-biden/
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/03/burst-pipe-delays-atlanta-absentee-vote-433988

Commentary: The War On Small Businesses Has Just Begun

Anonymous lives in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Have you recently wondered why the Democratic left is targeting and persecuting small businesses? It saddens me greatly that our own County Executive, Marc Elrich (who is an admitted Marxist), chooses to punish and harass small businesses. His harassment of the Clarksburg Tavern shows his contempt for the small businesses of Montgomery County. His executive order closing all restaurants is a total abuse of power.

At the beginning of the pandemic all mom-and-pop stores were forced to close while box stores such as Walmart, Target, Costco and Home Depot were allowed to remain open. It doesn’t make sense, nor does it seem scientific, that I should be less likely to contact the China Virus in big corporate box stores and more likely to be infected in Joe’s mom-and-pop clothing store or restaurants such as the Clarksburg Tavern.

During the Christmas season, millions of people traveled in airplanes, seated next to each other after enduring long lines to take off their shoes and stuff their jackets into bins that dozens of others have used. Yet, the airlines remain open.

Tucker Carlson shows photos of California Governor Gavin Newsom flouting pandemic guidelines

The hypocrisy of politicians is unbelievable. The exemptions and excuses they make for themselves as they break their own rules truly show the double standard that exists in America today. These politicians are drunk on power, the same power that encouraged patriots to leave England and develop a new world where they could experience FREEDOM.

So, to answer the original proposed question of why is the left targeting and persecuting small businesses, I suggest the answer to the question requires you to understand and acknowledge that small business owners have a self sufficient and determined attitude.

The same spirit that this country was built on lives inside these independent thinkers and hard workers who have an entrepreneurial spirit, unlike community organizers or politicians. They do not like government controls and unreasonable regulations. They do not need government but rather tolerate it.

The reality is small business is a threat to big government. Corporate box stores and big businesses bribe politicians for favors. Small businesses are not able to provide the big dollars that politicians expect from large corporations. Consequently, small businesses are a thorn in big government’s side. The pandemic (“Dem-panic”) is an excuse to reduce the number of small businesses. Government wants us dependent on them. Small businesses don’t fit into their business plan.

References:

EXCLUSIVE: MoCo Gov’t Caught Engaging In Citizen Intimidation

The MoCo Conservative has received information from Ashley Mouktafi, co-owner of Clarksburg Tavern LLC, who believes she is the target of retaliatory measures from the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department for filing a lawsuit to keep her business afloat and offer jobs to help end systemic discrimination the County is subjugating minority residents to experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examples of the alleged intimidation tactics reported by the owners within the last week include:

The appearance of a Montgomery County government-owned vehicle and a MCPD cruiser in the dining establishment’s back parking lot for about 35 minutes. The occupants of both cars never came out of their vehicles while parking on private property. Mouktafi believes that this incident was an intimidation tactic to arouse fear and anxiety in her, Clarksburg Tavern staff, and patrons of the dining establishment.
The Licensure and Regulatory Division of the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Department sending an inspection report citing a non-existent violation claiming that owners and immediate family are not able to “sit and eat or drink” on premises (no such law or code exists). Mouktafi claims that the County “wants to fast track our warnings to get to the fines.” As of this article, the Licensure and Regulatory Division of the County Department of Health and Human Services has redacted the report and warning, after failing to acknowledge there is an ongoing lawsuit regarding this very matter in the County’s circuit court system.
A mentally unstable, non-compliant individual (not a customer) aggressively walked into the dining establishment, threw a mask at one of the owners, and called the owner a “murderer.”
The staff took a telephone order for ten entrees and two appetizers that was a no-show. When the call-back number was dialed and connected to the initial caller, the customer had no intention of purchasing the food and subsequently told the owner, “I hope you die of COVID.”

Mouktafi – a single mother of two young, school-age children who co-owns Clarksburg Tavern with her mother, Janice Allen – had this to say about the situation:

As a self-identifying female small business owner and single mother, I have had to work through the institutional patriarchy that is inherent within the business community and hospitality industry. I love and appreciate the diversity of my customers, community, and staff. What I don’t love is being strong-armed by a tyrannical male like County Executive Marc Elrich and being forced to lay off almost all of my employees, who rely on a paycheck to help break through the systemic, socio-economic institutional racism affecting communities in Montgomery County and the country.
Threatening me only exacerbates the problem. These intimidation tactics have caused undue stress to my staff and me, and I plan on taking additional legal action against those entities that are taking retaliatory measures against me.
Community and county-wide problems require community and county-wide solutions from residents, not just bureaucrats who don’t understand what it’s like living from paycheck to paycheck and who have never owned a small business as a single mother. I take my business and the health of my patrons and staff very seriously; it’s time that the local government does the same.

BREAKING: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich Served with Temporary Restraining Order

From The MoCo Conservative Editor

Marc Elrich, County Executive of Montgomery County, Maryland was served with a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and preliminary injunction by Clarksburg Tavern, LLC on December 20, 2020.

*Mother/daughter co-owners Janice Allen (R) and Ashley Mouktafi (L)*

Responding to Marc Elrich’s draconian overreach in his capacity as County Executive, the two owners of Clarksburg Tavern, a dining establishment run by mother/daughter duo Janice Allen and Ashley Mouktafi, believe that they stand on solid, legal ground and precedent set forth in Anne Arundel County, Maryland:

“Public health is at the core of the hospitality industry. We are not asking to return to full capacity; we are asking to have a chance to keep our staff employed and to keep our business afloat so we can make it through this Pandemic. The health of the public, including our community, guests, and staff has been our priority since day one; we have not had one positive case contract-traced back to our establishment since limits on indoor dining establishments took effect.
Clarksburg Tavern has food service licenses that require public health training on food borne illnesses, pathogens, viruses, and communicable diseases. In addition to this training on alcohol serving, the public trusts our judgment to keep them safe and prevent alcohol-related accidents and tragedies from occurring. We should be trusted to monitor these new regulations imposed by County Executive Marc Elrich as well.”

The TRO comes in response to Elrich’s latest directive to ban indoor dining in all dining establishments in Montgomery County, putting most restaurant staff (including chefs, servers, busboys, hosts/hostesses, owners, and others) out of work and unemployed right before what should be the one of the most joyful times of the year.

Mother/daughter co-owners Janice Allen (R) and Ashley Mouktafi (L)
Clarksburg Tavern interior shot
Clarksburg Tavern staff and crew
Exterior shot of Clarksburg Tavern

Clarksburg Tavern’s lawsuit also comes on the heels of the Restaurant Association of Maryland filing similar TRO’s and preliminary injunctions in Baltimore City and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

Will Clarksburg Tavern’s legal complaint be upheld by a Montgomery County Circuit Judge? Owners Allen and Mouktafi and their legal counsel, State Delegate Dan Cox, say yes:

“We have to find common ground that makes sense and is supported by facts. Restaurant owners and their staff are committed to public health. We are the trusted professionals because we serve food and alcohol; that takes training, preparation, and oversight.”

A similar order in Anne Arundel County, Maryland helped set a precedent for other counties in the State when a judge issued a temporary order to block Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Jr.’s measure to prohibit indoor dining.

References:

Main image credit: https://coronamontgomery.info/
Clarksburg Tavern images courtesy of Ashley Mouktafi

Candidate To Watch: Chris Anderson (Baltimore City Council District 7)

Chris Anderson is a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, chaplain, and lifelong Baltimorean. He is running to represent District 7 on Baltimore’s City Council.

My grandfather, Christopher Bland, had an eatery on Riggs Avenue & Carey Street in Baltimore’s 7th District. Bland’s Carryout was a family business that helped the community, as well as fed it. I used to play in front of Carryout as a child. Now that store is gone. A child can’t play in front of that building anymore. There are memorials in front of that store now where people have been shot and have died from street violence.

Now, in 2020, I’m one of nine Republican, African American candidates running for office in Baltimore; I’m running in the 7th district.

I do not want to see another street memorial in front of my grandfather’s store. I want children to be able to play there again. I want that community to heal. Some say I’m too serious about this race and am angry. Others associate my party and me with the “Grand Old Party” (GOP) of 1967 and say we don’t have a chance.

I am very angry and I am very serious about the conditions of District 7, but I’m not the return of the GOP to the city. I’m part of the “Grand New Party” that’s frustrated, mad and angry (yes!) about how far this city has fallen.

I feel the pain of Michelle Andrews running in District 6.

I’m just as frustrated as Jovani Patterson, nominee for City Council President.

I’m just as mad as the first African-born nominee, Eugene Boikai, running in District 12.

These are just some of the Republicans that are running for office frustrated by the conditions and deterioration of Baltimore City. This city is predominantly Democrat, but I know most of the city residents are just as fed up with how this city is governed.

In a survey from Morgan State University:

“A vast majority of participants (more than 90%) describe Baltimore’s crime rate as high when given a choice between high, moderate, low and ‘no description.’ Participants provided no single explanation for what the majority believed to be a high crime rate. Instead, they provided varying explanations, ranging from drugs and lack of economic opportunity…”
Institute For Urban Research, March 26, 2020

Most are not going to take drastic steps like joining the Republican Party for change; those same people should not see us who join the Party with the intent to hurt the City.

I’m just as concerned with boarded-up houses, abandon schools, and government corruption in City Hall as most of the citizens of Baltimore.

We need a change. I am part of that change needed for Baltimore’s District 7.

I didn’t put my name on the ballot for status quo or to inflate my ego. I’m running for office to bring communities back. Communities should not have to witness another black life gunned down in front of any store in Baltimore. I am not part of the “Grand Old Party” and old ways of doing things; I, with my colleagues, are part of a new party that wants fiscal responsibility in City Hall, anti-corruption put in place, and to see this city grow again.

I want to see stores, like my grandfather’s Carryout, build generational wealth in District 7 again. I’m part of new solutions and new ideas. I’m with the “Grand New Party.”

Chaplain Christopher Anderson
Nominee, Baltimore City Council District 7
Website: http://www.chrisanderson2020.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisanderson2020
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CAnderson2020
Donate: https://secure.anedot.com/people-for-chris-anderson/chrisanderson2020

References:

Opinion: Takoma Park Politicos Are Anti-Business

From A Small Business Owner in Montgomery County, Maryland.

I want to discuss the real-world effects of the $15.00 per hour wage.

As a small business owner in Montgomery County, Maryland my business feels the negative effects of the new law initiated by County Executive Marc Elrich and his Takoma Park delegation. Fifteen dollars sounds good to the employee working at fast food and entry-level jobs, but the minimum salary requirement has consequential effects to the small business owner who is dependent on labor to operate his business. Fast food restaurants and box stores have circumvented the effects of the raise in minimum wage by installing kiosk machines, thereby eliminating labor costs.

Have you also noticed the dollar menu has gone away and prices have increased on most items?

Contrary to activist politicians who have never owned businesses, businesses are not created to provide jobs and benefits to the population, but rather to turn a profit. This involves managing overhead, which includes labor and employee costs. The majority of the general public do not realize that labor costs are minimally 20% higher than the actual wage paid. When you factor in unemployment, workers’ compensation, and social security matching, the increase is about 20%. If you add in mandatory sick leave required by Montgomery County (thanks to Marc Elrich and his Takoma Park associates) and health insurance, then the employer’s cost for an employee raises significantly.

So, what are the business owner’s options?

They can raise their prices to compensate for the labor increases.
They can absorb the loss.
They can leave Montgomery County.
They can go out of business.

When you have career politicians who have no experience at running a business, you create an anti-business climate.

I highly value my employees. I am careful to hire and retain hard working, loyal, ethical, and moral individuals. As my business is labor intensive, I pay my employees a fair wage between $25.00 and $30.00 per hour. Because of my size, however, I am unable to absorb the cost for health insurance or a 401k.

Let’s now discuss the graduated expectations of minimum wage.

What politicians need to realize is that minimum wage jobs are entry-level positions. People who need additional wages need to find a trade or seek advanced education. The message that is not told when raising the minimum wage is the graduated expectations that employees have. The employee making $25.00 and $30.00 per hour now expects $30.00 to $35.00 to keep up with the graduated expectation of minimum wage. Bear in mind a wage of $35.00 per hour is actually $45.00 per hour. Think about that the next time you pay $7.00 for a fast food hamburger and $4.00 for a tomato because the laborer in the field was paid $15.00 per hour.

During the County’s public hearing to debate raising minimum wage and mandatory sick leave, the sessions were (unsurprisingly) heavily stacked with political activists who have never owned businesses or worked for profit. The voices of business owners were silenced by outcries of naïve politicians opposed to capitalism and clueless of how to run a successful business.

Montgomery County is controlled by the activists of Takoma Park and they are not friendly to small business. Most recently we have seen this negative attitude towards business communicated in the forced, unjustified closures of many small businesses because of the alleged dangers of COVID-19.

Interesting how one can be safe from infection while shopping in Walmart and Home Depot but not in Joe’s Boutique. Again, it’s political activists with no business experience making the rules.

Response to MoCo Executive Elrich’s EO 87-20

From a Small Business Owner in Montgomery County, Maryland.

According to the Montgomery County Department of Alcohol Beverage Services, there are 1,050 liquor license holders in Montgomery County, Maryland. This number does not include the thousands of food-only service businesses in Montgomery County. HHS claims they’ve closed or cited 8 restaurants/bars total in Montgomery County for failure to abide by COVID-19 regulations. Of these 8, HHS cannot confirm how many of them held liquor licenses.

Now, every establishment that serves alcohol, including those that pay $2,500.00 per year for an extended license to serve alcohol between 12:00 am-2:00 am on the weekends, are being forced to stop serving at 10:00 pm.

With all the millions being spent on contact tracing, one would think it would be fairly easy to identify establishments not adhering to the regulations.

The County charged existing businesses additional fees for new applications to conduct business during COVID-19; they are doing all they can to hurt businesses with policies that don’t make anyone safer. This is another chip away at our freedoms and another step towards complete government control.

Original Press Release: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=25677

Executive Order 87-20: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/exec/Resources/Files/orders/087-20.pdf