South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) declined to take federal stimulus money allotted to her state from Covid19 relief funds citing the healthy condition of her state’s economy as the reason.
“My administration is very grateful to@realDonaldTrump for the additional flexibility that the ‘Lost Wages Assistance’ would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it,” Noem tweeted yesterday.
My administration is very grateful to @realDonaldTrump for the additional flexibility that the “Lost Wages Assistance” would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it. Here’s why (THREAD):
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) August 14, 2020
Noem cites never having shut down due to the Coronavirus as the reason her economy is doing well.
“South Dakota’s economy, having never been shut down, has recovered nearly 80% of our job losses…And many businesses are looking to relocate to SD because of the decisions we made during the pandemic. South Dakota is open for business. That applies to our business owners AND their employees,” Noem said.
South Dakota has the 3rd best housing construction market in the country. And many businesses are looking to relocate to SD because of the decisions we made during the pandemic.
South Dakota is open for business. That applies to our business owners AND their employees. (3/)
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) August 14, 2020
“The facts on the ground here did not support shelter-in-place,” Noem had said in April. “We just didn’t have the spread.”
“For me personally,” she added. “I took an oath to uphold our state Constitution. I took an oath when I was in Congress to uphold the United States Constitution. So, I believe in people’s freedoms and liberties, and I always balance that with every decision that I make as governor.”