7 Things: WH blames corporate greed on rising inflation, Ball wants to revisit ban on moving monuments, Omicron variant still not in Alabama and more …

7. Prisons are losing workers as they’re trying to hire more

The Alabama prisons system was ordered to hire more correctional workers and other employees, but now as prisons are already understaffed, they’re losing workers. Throughout the pandemic, employment in prisons has decreased.
The Alabama Department of Corrections was already reporting a 50% vacancy rate with employees in June 2020, with 1,914 correctional officers, and as of June 2021, that vacancy rate had changed to 52% with only 1,837 employees. The department said in a statement, “[C]orrectional and law enforcement organizations across the nation are struggling to fill vacant positions due to the challenging/stressful nature of the work and evolving cultural influences.”

6. Ivey and Rice are talking about economic development

The Alabama Innovation Corporation board of directors has been announced, and at the announcement, Governor Kay Ivey and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed economic development in the state.
Ivey mentioned how the commission “has done incredible work,” adding, “[A]nd I look forward to working with the Alabama Legislature and the Alabama Innovation Corporation to help Alabama reach new heights.” Rice spoke about Alabama’s future, saying, “The Hoover Institution will continue to partner with the state and the Alabama Innovation Corporation to support this initiative as Alabama continues to push for strengthening its economy so life can be good for all Alabamians.”

5. Warren is putting support behind miners on strike

Miners from Warrior Met Coal are still on strike in Alabama, and now, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has thrown her support behind those who have now been on strike for nine months. Warren has been pushing for legislation that would benefit workers like these Alabama miners.
The “Stop Wall St. Looting Act” specifically would take aim at equity. Warren outlined, “What happened with Warrior Met is what happens when these billion dollar Wall Street firms come to town. They suck as much as they can out of these companies to line their own pockets, and it comes at the expense of workers and communities.”

4. Omicron is almost everywhere, Alabama health officials await its arrival

Cases of the coronavirus have increased since the Thanksgiving holiday, but the state has not seen a single case of the Omicron variant yet. It’s been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been found in at least 35 states so far.
It appears that the Omicron variant might be more contagious than previous variants, but a vast majority of cases have been mild and not required hospitalization. There are only about 189 cases of the variant in the country, though.

3. Mike Ball speaks out on Alabama Memorial Preservation Act

State Representative Mike Ball (R-Madison) has recently spoken up against the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act and said that it’s not what the state should be focused on. The measure has been under criticism for the last few years since it prevents local governments from removing any monuments or renaming certain streets that have been there for more than 40 years.
The act mostly impacts Confederate monuments. Ball said the passing of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act “went way, way too far in this state, sanctifying these monuments. And they even went way farther than that. They took away naming rights of schools from school boards. And you know, it was a huge departure from bottom-up governance, which is one of the principles the founders of our country put in place. We need to get back to the American Revolution as opposed to staying in the Civil War.”

2. Debt ceiling has been raised

Because both parties’ reckless and never-ending spending can’t continue unless the debt ceiling is raised, a bipartisan effort to raise it has been successful in the U.S. Senate and is headed to the House of Representatives where it will surely be successful as well.
The 50-49 party-line vote is a mirage by moderate Republicans who sided with Democrats to change the vote to raise the debt limit to a simple majority vote. Surely, this will be the last time this has to happen and responsible government and sanity should return any minute now, but this limit is expected to not be surpassed until 2023.

1. Inflation continues while the White House blames “greed of meat conglomerates”

Inflation over the last 12 months for producers just hit 9.6% year-on-year, the largest increase on record over the last 11 years, when the system that measures it was changed. This follows reports that consumer inflation is also up higher than it has been since November 1982.
The Biden administration realizes that this is being caused by the federal government’s unquenchable lust for more spending and knows it is not helping their case for another $1.75 billion in a Democrat wishlist of social spending. Because they need to spin this, White House press secretary Jen Psaki answered a question about rising prices by blaming the greed of meat producers in this country. She said it was the “greed of meat conglomerates,” adding, “[C]orporate greed is a big driver of inflation right now.” Democrats have poll-tested this tactic and are now rolling it out.