Study follows the science and finds Fla. beat NJ on handling COVID (Opinion)

When it comes to handling the past two years of lockdowns and mandates New Jersey literally had the worst showing among all 50 states.

This is according to a new study that dug deep into the economic impact of the lockdowns and mandates as well as the impact on education. The study also compared states on the level of mortality coming out of the pandemic. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, New Jersey was the worst-performing state overall.

The report was done by the "Committee to Unleash Prosperity" and is a comprehensive study that shows what I have been saying for two years: lockdowns make the problem worse.

Stephen Moore is arguably one of the smartest people I've read and he has offered some great advice and insight. One thing that we can point to is the very real-world example of how Sweden fared during and now after the world shut down. They rejected nearly all restrictions and as a result, have come out stronger and better than just about every other nation that opted for extreme measures.

Here's the pull quote from the article discussing the study:

The study, published by the Committee To Unleash Prosperity, graded states by comparing COVID-19 outcomes based on the number of deaths, the economy and impact on education.

Overall, the bottom 10 on the study’s “report card” were dominated by states that had the most severe pandemic lockdowns and were among the last to finally reopen schools.

“Shutting down their economies and schools was by far the biggest mistake governors and state officials made during COVID, particularly in blue states,” Stephen Moore, one of the study’s authors and co-founder of the Committee To Unleash Prosperity, said Monday.

Stephen Moore called into the show to discuss why New Jersey received this grade.

Here is more information from freedomworks.com:

Stephen Moore is FreedomWorks’ Senior Economist. He communicates FreedomWorks’ vision for a pro-growth economic agenda to grassroots activists and media nationwide, as well as conducting original economic analysis. His columns have appeared in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Forbes, Fox News, and National Review. He also served as a chief economist at the Heritage foundation and as a Senio economic analyst at CNN.

Education: B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; M.A., George Mason University.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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