The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1412732
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, September 22, 2021 C-7 used the legislature to ban competition. But Hawkins' chicken was popular. His customers com- plained on social media and flooded the phone lines of state representatives. In a rare twist, the politi- cians gave in. Now, says Norberg, "restaurants like Pete Es- helman's can serve locally sourced poultry, and neigh- bors have a choice in the food that they eat." It was a small victory against America's anti-free- dom, pro-big business, wel- fare-for-the-rich regulations. You can watch Norberg's full documentary at FreeTo- ChooseNetwork.org. John Stossel is author of "Give Me a Break: How I Ex- posed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media." WELFARE Continued from page 6 will cost, per The Wall Street Journal, another $ 360 billion over the next decade. The good news is Pres- ident Joe Biden's approval rate is falling, meaning that adults are paying attention. Hopefully we can hold on un- til the adults return in 2022, before the kids destroy ev- erything. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." ed to increase by 3% to 4% in 2021, the same projected increase as for poultry. It's hard to blame beef-packers for high- er seafood costs. The administration is even ignoring the USDA's reasoning for higher meat prices, and nowhere is concentration mentioned as a contributing factor. But the most glaring omission from the administration's meat attack is the failure to recognize how the federal government itself might have contributed to increased concentration in meat processing. To be clear, high concentration levels in an industry if responding to the needs of consumers isn't a bad thing, in and of itself. In fact, high concentration can re- flect the desire for economies of scale, greater efficiency, improved quality, low- er prices, and innovation. However, high concentration levels that have been artificially created due to government intervention are general- ly a bad thing, in and of themselves, be- cause they are not a response to meeting consumer demand, but responding to the government intervention. The existing federal meat-inspection regime creates high costs for meat-pro- cessing facilities and even imposes high costs on state-inspected facilities, whose meat is merely being sold in intrastate commerce (that is, within a state). In general, to sell across state lines, a meat-processing facility must be a feder- ally inspected facility. All of these high costs work to the advantage of larger pro- cessors, who are better able to absorb the costs. The effect of existing law is to reduce the number and types of processors that are available. It also creates unreason- able restrictions on the sale of meat, hurt- ing both farmers and consumers. For example, there are 27 states that operate USDA-approved state meat- and poultry-inspection programs. As explained by the Department of Agri- culture, this means the state programs meet and enforce requirements "at least equal to" those imposed under the Fed- eral Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Hu- mane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978. However, despite this equivalency, meat from these state-inspected facili- ties may only be sold in intrastate com- merce, with limited exceptions. That makes no sense. And, of course, the Biden adminis- tration doesn't mention the across-the- board regulatory avalanche it's imposing and are going to be bringing for years. As higher compliance costs for businesses across the food-supply chain, from farm- ers to truckers, drive up consumer prices for food, that will hurt consumers, com- petition, and innovation. But basic economics and the facts won't fit into the narrative of "private companies bad, big government good." The Biden administration, like a ma- gician, wants to divert attention from what's really happening. Policymakers and the public shouldn't fall for the trick. Daren Bakst, Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy Studies, analyzes and writes about regulatory policy, trade, envi- ronmental policy and related issues. Court Report FELONY Pike County Circuit Court David L. Summers II charged with count I possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, and count II possession of paraphernalia. TRAFFIC AND MISDEMEANORS Pike County Circuit Court Jared L. Hankins charged with reck- less driving. Terry Loveless, Jr. charged with pos- session of paraphernalia. Kane Thomas Slater charged with pos- session of marijuana. Mandi Jeffries charged with domes- tic battery. Jayden Williams charged with domes- tic battery. CIVIL Pike County Circuit Court Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC sues Cynthia Harrison on complaint. Citibank, N.A. sues Andy Hickman on complaint. Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. sues Ronald Satterfield on complaint. Sara Luker sues Joshua Luker for dis- solution of marriage. Gilbert L. A xsom sues Sharon A. A x- som for dissolution of marriage. SMALL CLAIMS Pike County Circuit Court James E. Kinder sues Jason Sisk and Darlene Sisk on complaint. INFRACTIONS Pike County Circuit Court Makayla D. Wagler charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Jason S. Westfall charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jermaine O. Sommerville charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Joseph O. Trevino charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jayden C. Williams charged with speeding, exceeding 30 mph. Philip L. Stafford charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Jessica R. Nowark charged with speed- ing, exceeding 30 mph. Cale M. Hoffman charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Stacey L. Brumfield charged with dis- regarding stop sign. Joseph D. Davison, Jr. charged with op- erating with expired plates. Nathan B. Peach charged with speed- ing, exceeding 30 mph. Camie Corine Gray charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Klayton M. Kixmiller charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Kenneth R. Gideon charged with boat equipment violation - USCG Type I, II, III or V float device per person required in boat. Stephanie L. Kirby charged with speeding in school zone. Robert A. Green charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Anthony S. Pride charged with count I operating a motor vehicle with a false plate and count II no valid driver's li- cense. Amanda S. Gonzales charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Janelle V. O'Malley charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Joseph K. Uppencamp charged with speeding in school zone. Kevin L. Miller charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Skylar E. Billips charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jasmine N. Boger charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Sierra N. Colbert charged with speed- ing in school zone. Alexandria C. Marks charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Anthony M. Gonteman charged with operating with expired plates. Edwin J. Boyd charged with speeding in school zone. Kayla N. Johnson charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. George F. Guthrie charged with speed- ing in school zone. Dakota M. Bayer charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Teri A. Lamar charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Tara J. Williams charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Brooke T. Divine charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Ross MacDonald Scoular charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Emillee Q. Halderman charged with speeding in school zone. Tearsha D. Logston charged with speeding, exceeding 30 mph. Elisha G. Seger charged with speed- ing, exceeding 55 mph. Paris J. Downing charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jesa M. Allee charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Deidre N. Bledsoe charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Terra L. Cook charged with seatbelt violation. Kaelin A. Douglas charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Brittany Noeth-Durocher charged with speeding. Sarah J. Lechner charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Tiffany N. Mosby charged with speed- ing. Elijah R. Kleinhenz charged with driv- ing while suspended. Chad J. Mapes charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Anthony D. Heidorn charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Alyssa N. Brokaw charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jeremy L. Loveless charged with fail- ure to wear helmet. David Albin charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Logan J. Schmitt charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Jodi L. Hinkle charged with speeding, exceeding 55 mph. Travis G. Hayward charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. Donita A. Wilcox charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Timothy G. Emmons charged with dis- regarding lighted signal. Madison B. Croft charged with speed- ing, exceeding 70 mph. Betsy Marie Szostak charged with speeding, exceeding 70 mph. SPENDING Continued from page 6 move on from A fghanistan. Goodbye to trillions of dol- lars, thousands of lives, and 20 years that accomplished? There are tens of thou- sands of Haitians at the southern US border waiting to enter the country as ref- ugees. This is a humanitar- ian calamity brought on by Biden's open border policy. America is awash in crisis. While America burns, Biden pedals his bicycle around his vacation estate, refusing to take questions while wav- ing to the crowds. Nero fid- dled while Rome burned, and Biden rides a bicycle. What a fitting comparison. Bob Woodward and Rob- ert Costa in their new book claim that top White House aides have set up a "wall" to shield the gaffe-prone and perpetual liar from unscript- ed events. They isolate the president from his constitu- ents. Several times the presi- dent has opined to journal- ists, "I'm to leave and I'm not supposed to take ques- tions." This prompts ma- ny critics to ask what he is hiding and who is really in charge of the White House. Biden has become the re- al-life folktale, "The Emper- or's New Clothes." Men of deep faith in God founded America. John Ad- ams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a mor- al and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the gov- ernment of any other." We have turned the corner and are living in Godless Orwel- lian times. If you hate the po- lice or privileged white men, you are applauded and cele- brated. Criminals and thugs are celebrated as heroes and statues are erected in their honor. We are well be- yond Thomas Payne and his "These are the times that try men's souls." Since the days of Rome, Christians are still regarded as a threat to government. Although Jesus was public- ly declared to be no threat to Rome, they put him to death. Why? Because Jesus' proclaimed his kingdom is not of this world. Therefore, his follow- ers will not bow down to any government. The world hates Jesus and it hates his followers. Jesus said the entire world will be in upheaval just before he returns. The Bible gives us a front-row seat to coming events in Matthew chapters 24-25 and Luke 21. Jesus says in Lu 21:28 "Now when these things be- gin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near…" 21:36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." We are transitioning to the dark days of 1775 when Pat- rick Henry said: "Give me Liberty, or give me Death! " How hard are you pray- ing? ing stampede in Washington sends the price tag for every- thing from gas and hamburg- ers to airline tickets higher each week. The other victims of this anti-work federal policy are the more than 10 million peo- ple who operate small busi- nesses. Bloomberg reported half of all small businesses are hiring and have multiple job openings. Some are even hiring workers that can't pass a drug test because they are so desperate for workers. Biden says these businesses need to "pay workers more." Easier said than done. Many mom and pop firms can't af- ford to pay the wages of big- box stores or large corpora- tions; their profit margins are already razor-thin. Biden says the solution to the jobs problem is to pass his $4.5 trillion debt bill and $2 trillion tax hike. This would only raise the tax- es on those who are work- ing, fan the flames of infla- tion and pass trillions of dol- lars in more costs on to our kids. And despite his prom- ises, most of the bill's spend- ing has nothing to do with job creation. For years, conservatives, and even many progressive Democrats, advocated a pol- icy of "make work pay." Now we have a de facto federal and state policy of "make sit- ting on the couch pay." Extra $ 300 a week unemployment benefits ended on Labor Day. Let's hope this gets workers back in the workforce, where they will earn a paycheck rather than be handed a wel- fare payment. Stephen Moore is an econ- omist with FreedomWorks. He is also a co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Pros- perity and a Washington Ex- aminer columnist. DARK DAYS Continued from page 6 WORKING Continued from page 6 MEAT PRICES Continued from page 6 Will retiring early affect my Social Security? Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Dear Rusty: I stopped working at age 55, well before my full retirement age of 66 years and 10 months. I had over 35 years working prior to retiring from work. I don't intend to start collect- ing Social Security until my full retire- ment age. Will I be penalized for all those years between when I stopped working and my full retirement age? Signed: Plan- ning Ahead. Dear Planning Ahead: Will you be "penalized? " No, because whenever you claim your Social Security benefit, it will be based upon the highest-earning 35 years over your entire lifetime (with the early years adjusted for inflation). Would your benefit be higher if you had contin- ued to work and have high earnings lon- ger? Probably, because earnings in the latter part of one's career are usually con- siderably higher than those in the ear- ly years. But everyone's situation is dif- ferent. Higher earnings today don't necessar- ily replace those in earlier years because of the inflation adjustment. For exam- ple, someone with $50,000 in 1990 earn- ings would need to earn more than about $115,000 in today's dollars to replace the earlier year. And keep in mind that your benefit computation uses only the dollars which you paid SS taxes on. So, someone earning $500,000 this year would, for benefit computation purposes, only get credit for $142,800 in earnings because the latter amount is what Social Security FI- CA (or Self Employment) taxes were paid on. It is from your high- est-earning 35 year his- tory that your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings or "AIME" is determined, followed by yet another formula to convert your AIME to your "primary insurance amount" or "PIA." Your PIA is what you are entitled to in the month you attain your full retirement age (FR A). If you claim before your full retirement age you'll get less than your PIA, and if you claim after your FR A, you'll get more than your Primary In- surance Amount. If you delay claiming past your full retirement age, you'll earn delayed retirement credits (DRCs) up to age 70, at which time your benefit could be as much as 29 percent more than your PIA. Of course, you can also claim at any time between your FR A and age 70 to get all DRCs you've earned to the point you claim. So, as you can see, the So- cial Security benefit you get will be determined by two main things—your 35 year lifetime earnings histo- ry, and the age at which you claim. You can't do much now to change your 35 year earn- ings history (short of return- ing to work and having very high current earnings), but you can con- trol when you claim. And that decision, of course, should consider your health and your life expectancy, how badly you need the money, and your marital status. Your marital status is important if your spouse can collect a spousal benefit from your re- cord, or if you are concerned about the amount your survivor(s) will receive if you die first. To submit a question, visit website (amacfoundation.org/programs/so- cial-security-advisory) or email ssadvi- sor@amacfoundation.org. REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS Allen J. Blaize conveys to Tamela J. English, real es- tate as recorded in Pike County. Cynthia A. Lowery and Christine L. Winkler convey to Centel Investments, Inc., real estate as recorded in Pike County. Lake Helmerich Property Owners Association, Inc. conveys to Adam J. Vaal and Stacie R. Vaal, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Marvin L. Goodrid conveys to Eric Cannon, real es- tate as recorded in Pike County. Michael R. Krieg, Emma J. Krieg and Emma Jean Krieg convey to Rhonda L. Anderson, real estate as re- corded in Pike County. Michael R. Krieg and Emma J. Krieg convey to Da- kota Jines and Mackenzie Jines, real estate as record- ed in Pike County. Richard O. Brumfield conveys to Richard O. Brum- field and Jana S. Brumfield, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Fred D. McCrary and Patsy Z. McCrary convey to Jes- se Underwood and Maggie Underwood, real estate as recorded in Pike County. James E. Minnis and Dona K. Minnis convey to Seth Kyle Hadley and Jessica Anne Hadley, real estate as re- corded in Pike County. Carol Sue Sutton conveys to Bryan W. Miley and Kar- en S. Miley, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Christopher Ray Kline quitclaims to Cheryl Ann Kline, real estate as recorded in Pike County.