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Yes, 2020 is over and so far 2021 has been pretty bumpy. So it’s a relief to report on an uplifting story that any American can embrace.
Dave Portnoy, founder and president of Barstool Sports, reportedly has raised over $18 million. Portnoy’s goal has been to help struggling small businesses that have paid employees throughout the crippling government lockdowns due to COVID.
From The Federalist:
Nearly 80 businesses have already been supported by the Barstool Fund after Portnoy became fed up with unjust lockdowns and no relief.
Mr. Portnoy believes the most basic right of Americans has been taken from them:
I can’t believe in this country that what I consider the most basic right of them all, the right to earn a living, the right to earn a livelihood, is now being stolen. And they’re saying that they protect us. Let us protect ourselves. You’re not protecting a family that you just destroyed.
As The Federalist points out, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waited months to pass a COVID-19 bill after the initial coronavirus relief benefits expired in July. NP even turned down a $1.8 trillion package offered by the Trump administration as a compromise.
At the final hour, before the year ended, Congress finally passed a bill, but many Americans have been less than pleased to discover that millions of dollars that could have been allocated to struggling small businesses will actually be given to special interests that have nothing to do with the pandemic.
Where the Relief Money Is Going
- $25 million to Pakistan
- $15 million to “democracy programs”
- $10 million to unspecified “gender programs”
- $1.5 million to The Office of Diversity and Inclusion of the Appropriations Committee
- $200 million will be going toward new cars for foreign HIV/AIDS workers.
- $40 million to the Kennedy Center for operations, maintenance, and renovations — after having receiving $25 million in the first round of relief.
Unlike when citizens blindly hand over tax dollars to the government monolith, Barstool Fund donors know their money will really be helping people. The countless testimonies posted on Portnoy’s Instagram are a perfect example of why private-sector support is more effective, efficient, and trustworthy than big government.
