Elon Musk Launches Neuralink, a Venture to Merge the Human Brain With AI

/0 Comments/in , /by

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk is backing a brain-computer interface venture called Neuralink, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company, which is still in the earliest stages of existence and has no public presence whatsoever, is centered on creating devices that can be implanted in the human brain, with the eventual purpose of helping human beings merge with software and keep pace with advancements in artificial intelligence. These enhancements could improve memory or allow for more direct interfacing with computing devices.

Musk has hinted at the existence of Neuralink a few times over the last six months or so. More recently, Musk told a crowd in Dubai, “Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence.” He added that “it’s mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself, particularly output.” On Twitter, Musk has responded to inquiring fans about his progress on a so-called “neural lace,” which is sci-fi shorthand for a brain-computer interface humans could use to improve themselves.

These types of brain-computer interfaces exist today only in science fiction. In the medical realm, electrode arrays and other implants have been used to help ameliorate the effects of Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and other neurodegenerative diseases. However, very few people on the planet have complex implants placed inside their skulls, while the number of patients with very basic stimulating devices number only in the tens of thousands. This is partly because it is incredibly dangerous and invasive to operate on the human brain, and only those who have exhausted every other medical option choose to undergo such surgery as a last resort. (Read more from “Elon Musk Launches Neuralink, a Venture to Merge the Human Brain With AI” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Is THIS What Really Happened Regarding Candidate Trump’s ‘Wiretaps’?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

“Stop the presses,” as they used to say in the old days, “for this one!”

Is the letter written by Freedom Watch’s Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman, Esq., real news or fake news? That’s something everyone in the USA ought to be entitled to know the legally correct answer to and, as the familiar colloquialism goes, “where the bodies are hidden,” e.g., the real facts of what happened!

Here is the four-page letter Attorney Klayman wrote to Chairman David Nunes, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the U.S. House of Representatives. Attorney Klayman was so insistent that the Chairman and that Committee received his incriminating letter, he sent it several ways: Facsimile, Federal Express and Mail.

What could be so important about information Klayman was presenting? Remember he’s a licensed attorney, who is subject to legal sanctions for his inappropriate actions, so for him to go out on a limb with the information he presented truly is ‘earth shaking’ not only for him and his career, but also for those involved who are the perpetrators of Klayman’s allegations and apparent proofs.

Since my computer ‘censors’ won’t permit me to copy and paste any part of Klayman’s letter, I refer readers to paragraph 2 on page 1.

Paragraph 1 on page 2 offers some interesting insights:

Regrettably, neither Chairman Nunes nor anyone else on the Committee raised the serious questions I suggested be posed to FBI Director Comey at the hearing on March 20, 2017. In the interests of justice and a full hearing of the important issues before it, these questions must be asked in open session at the subsequent hearing now scheduled for March 28, 2017. Indeed, Chairman Nunes has asked that persons with important and relevant information come forward. That is exactly what whistleblower Dennis Montgomery has done, through me, his undersigned counsel.

In the following paragraphs on page 2, Attorney Klayman goes on to elaborate what whistleblower Montgomery has as documentation: “47 hard drives and over 600 million pages of information” Montgomery left the NSA and CIA with which, according to Klayman, “expose that the spy agencies engaged for years in systematic illegal surveillance on prominent Americans, again including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, other justices, 156 judges, prominent businessmen such as Donald Trump, and even yours truly.”

On page 3, paragraph 2, Attorney Klayman states:

It was there that Montgomery laid out how persons like then businessmen Donald Trump were illegally spied upon by Clapper, Brennan, and the spy agencies of the Obama administration. He even claimed that these spy agencies had manipulated voting in Florida during the 2008 presidential election, where illegal tampering resulted in helping Obama to win the White House.

In paragraph 4 on page 3, Attorney Klayman alleges:

It would appear the FBI’s investigation was ‘buried’ by FBI Director Comey, perhaps because the FBI itself collaborates with the spy agencies to conduct illegal surveillance.

And further down in paragraph 7,

My [Klayman’s] expressed purpose: to have Chairman Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee ask Comey, under oath, why he and his FBI have seemingly not moved forward with the Montgomery investigation while, on the other hand, the FBI Director recently claimed publicly, I believe falsely, that there is ‘no evidence’ of surveillance on Donald Trump and those around him by the Obama administration. Indeed there is.

Attorney Klayman ends his legally-challenging letter to the Committee and its Chair with this admonition, which is indicative of the swamp that exists within the halls of Congress and Washington, DC, federal agencies:

Do you intend to get at and investigate the full truth, or as has regrettably been the case for many years in government, sweep the truth under the carpet?

Applause, applause, and kudos to Attorney Klayman and whistleblower Montgomery!

Where is the real fake news and media on this one? Why aren’t they knocking on Attorney Klayman’s door for interviews, especially 60 Minutes and the networks nightly news anchors? What’s truly wrong with letting people know the depth and scope of the illegalities government agencies are undertaking upon unassuming citizens in the USA? If this were happening in some foreign country, wouldn’t it be headline news? Maybe not, because this all could be part of the cabal’s New World Order takeover plan so many politicians are clandestinely involved with.

Readers, please do your homework, then demand accountability and transparency from Congress, federal agencies and judges. (For more from the author of “Is THIS What Really Happened Regarding Candidate Trump’s ‘Wiretaps’?” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

New ‘Children’s’ Book Has Prince Charming Finding True Love With Farm Boy

/0 Comments/in , /by

Here is a short argument to keep in mind as you read about a new “children’s” book that promotes homosexual relationships.

If there is nothing morally wrong with same-sex relationships, then there is nothing wrong with exposing children to same-sex relationships. After all, kids will see same-sex relationships around them in our culture. And some kids will go on to form same-sex relationships. So, if there is nothing wrong with such relationships, why not show kids stories about men in love?

This was the implicit reasoning used by authors Adam Reynolds and Chaz Harris who wrote Promised Land. This is a picture-book about how “a young Prince and a farm boy meet in the forest and their newfound friendship blossoms into love.”

The Prince’s mother is divorced and has taken up living with an evil man. The evil man covets Farm Boy’s land. The land sits, as expected, in an Enchanted forest.

The book ends with a lovely picture of the Prince and Farm Boy smacking each other on the lips over the words, “They got married and started their own family.”

That is, of course, impossible. Two men cannot marry. And two men certainly cannot start a family. That is biologically impossible. These are not only theological truths. They are scientific realities as well.

Well, nobody expects Reality in a children’s fantasy. Magic isn’t real either, but that didn’t slow sales of, or enthusiasm for, Harry Potter. We shouldn’t therefore be critical of fantastical elements. But can we say anything against positive portrayals of homosexual love?

We cannot. Not if we cannot also say, out loud and in public, that homosexual love is immoral. Now love between two men, or two males, need not be immoral. A father loves his son. A man loves his friend. But if homosexual love is different than the love of two friends, what is that difference? It is sexual desire. Yet that desire is objectively disordered. The desire, if one indulges it, often leads to homosexual acts, which are immoral and sinful.

But if we cannot say that, then we cannot say that Promised Land should not be shown to children. And we cannot say that it should not be shown to children in schools. The only argument we can muster against it would be based on some bad effects of doing so. “We cannot show the book,” the utilitarian might argue, “because we do not want to pay for it.” What happens when a generous soul then donates copies?

We have reached a point in our culture where we could teach Promised Land in schools, but we could not teach about the Promised Land!

“And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people. And give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather” (Genesis 28:3-4).

What an inversion.

The press is in love with Promised Land. Huffington Post says the book is about a place “where all people are equal no matter what they look like or who they love.” It’s obvious the author of that sentence has not thought through all its implications. Should men who love children be celebrated? Doesn’t Equality demand such a thing?

Harris told Huffington Post a truth: “The [kinds of media] we consume as kids and young adults form our attitudes towards those around us. … Most importantly, they influence our attitudes towards ourselves. … If we can be heroes in stories, we’re seen more positively in the real world.”

That homosexual relationships will be seen in a more positive light is just the effect Promised Land will have.

Teen Vogue calls Promised Land “required reading” and that says that the book “smashes any taboo around the subject” of homosexual relationships. It does, too.

The book has already set off a debate in New Zealand (home of the authors). Women’s Weekly asks, “Should children be taught about homosexuality in school?” The question was, as you might guess, mostly rhetorical.

What this book is doing is no different than what Disney did in Beauty and the Beast. That’s the new movie to made a point to show “an exclusively gay moment.” And they did it in a charming way. Kids who saw the movie would, as calculated, look with a kinder eye on homosexual relationships.

As they should, if there is nothing wrong with homosexual relationships.

Update: Santa Claus to be “Gay” Too

Just in is news that another picture-book will feature Santa Claus in a homosexual relationship with a black man. Time reports the book will be titled Santa’s Husband and will go on sale on 10 October. (For more from the author of “New ‘Children’s’ Book Has Prince Charming Finding True Love With Farm Boy” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Former Planned Parenthood Medical Director: “Pay Attention to Who’s in the Room” When Infants Are Born Alive

/0 Comments/in , /by

Today the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) released a new video of their investigation into Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby body parts. This video features former Planned Parenthood of Arizona Medical Director Dr. DeShawn Taylor. Taylor describes in detail how she delivers intact fetuses. She also suggests that she ignores an Arizona law that protects infants born alive.

This video comes a day after California attorney general and Planned Parenthood champion Xavier Becerra charged CMP’s David Daleiden with 15 felony counts. Daleiden promised to release more footage, even though there is a campaign to silence him.

Previous CMP videos showed Planned Parenthood executives negotiating for sales of body parts from aborted babies. The first video featured Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola. In it, she explains how she harvests organs using partial-birth abortions.

This latest video confirms what we knew from earlier videos: Selling baby body parts is a strategy by Planned Parenthood of America to help their affiliates profit.

The new footage shows Nucatola presiding over a boozy reception at a meeting for abortionists. She is happy to connect Daleiden, who poses as a buyer from a biotech company, with Dr. DeShawn Taylor. Nucatola trained Taylor as a former medical director for Planned Parenthood Arizona.

“I get a lot of referrals from Planned Parenthood,” Taylor tells the investigators.

She discusses her “technique” in abortion, and explains that she prefers to deliver fetuses that are dismembered rather than fully intact.

“It’s not a matter of how I feel about it coming out intact, but I gotta worry about my staff and people’s feelings about it coming out looking like a baby,” Taylor said. She agrees with the investigator’s suggestion that this is for her staff’s comfort. She also claims that “Arizona is so conservative, I just don’t even want to send a full fetus for cremation.”

It may be that Taylor herself is not at ease with the intact body of a dead fetus. “We have the people who do our paperwork for the fetal death certificates,” she explains, “they email us calling them ‘babies.’ Baby this, baby that, baby so-and-so, and I’m like, that’s creepy!”

But she knows the law. So, she tells the investigators, “In Arizona, if the fetus comes out with any signs of life, we’re supposed to transport it. To the hospital.” One investigator then asks, “Is there any standard procedure for verifying signs of of life?”

Taylor responds, “Well, the thing is, I mean the key is, you need to pay attention to who’s in the room, right?”

She then laughs. “It’s a mess,” she says as she repeats what the Arizona law requires. “It’s a mess.”

Taylor then describes in grisly detail how she prefers to do abortions. It’s known as dismemberment dilation and evacuation. It requires a drug known as “dig,” for digoxin. The drug kills the fetus before the forceps enter the womb. She says, “My biceps appreciate when the dig works.” Taylor then says that without the drug it takes “a bit more” force to perform the abortion with her forceps.

“I remember when I was a [Family Planning] Fellow and I was training, I was like, Oh, I have to hit the gym for this,” she says.

Taylor’s next admission is the most damning. She explains how delivering an “intact calvarium [head]” requires killing the fetus when most of its body – all but the head – is outside the womb. This is the partial-birth abortion method Nucatola described in the first CMP video.

As the conversation wraps up, Taylor says she’s “definitely interested” in a partnership with the buyer. She assures them that her “market share of the abortion services continues to increase.”

“This footage,” Daleiden says, “shows a longtime Planned Parenthood abortion doctor willing to sell baby parts for profit, use criminal abortion methods to get more intact body parts, and even cover up infanticide.”

He says that Taylor “was trained by Planned Parenthood’s Senior Director of Medical Services and encouraged by her to participate in the fetal body parts market.”

Daleiden vows that this latest video is not the last. It is “just a preview,” he says, “of the damning and incriminating admissions of Planned Parenthood leaders on our further unreleased tapes, being censored by an unconstitutional gag order from a federal judge in San Francisco.” (For more from the author of “Former Planned Parenthood Medical Director: “Pay Attention to Who’s in the Room” When Infants Are Born Alive” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Something Disgusting Was Just Found in These Coca Cola Cans

/0 Comments/in , /by

Police have launched an investigation after what appears to be human waste was found in a shipment of drinks cans at a Co Antrim factory.

Multinational Coca-Cola said it was probing the matter with the PSNI. It added products currently on sale were not affected.

The night shift at Lisburn’s Coca-Cola plant was disrupted last week when a container of cans thought to have arrived from Germany clogged up the machines – only for workers to discover a number were filled with what looked like human waste.

“It was absolutely horrible, and the machines had to be turned off for about 15 hours to be cleaned,” a source said. “It was unusual because normally the cans come from somewhere else in the UK, but this time they apparently came from Germany.

“The rumour is that some poor immigrants could have made that long journey in the lorry and that in their desperation were forced to use the cans instead of a toilet. (Read more from “Something Disgusting Was Just Found in These Coca Cola Cans” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Record Snowfall Buries Anchorage

/0 Comments/in , /by

It was a late March surprise for residents of Alaska’s largest city, the kind that snarls traffic and keeps kids at home for the day.

The National Weather Service said 8.8 inches (22.4 centimeters) of snow fell on Anchorage between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday . . .

The latest snowfall on record of at least one-tenth of an inch is May 22, which occurred in 1964. (Read more from “Record Snowfall Buries Anchorage” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

GOP Senators Ask Trump Administration to End ‘Too Big to Fail’ Policies

/0 Comments/in , /by

A group of Republican senators is leading an effort to end government-backed “too big to fail” bailout policies.

In an effort to end the practice of taxpayer bailouts of private companies, 10 Republican senators from the Senate Banking Committee penned a letter to the Trump administration requesting to terminate these policies for nonbanks, claiming they have resulted in significant expenses.

“Too big to fail” is a policy implemented by the Obama administration under the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that allowed the Financial Stability Oversight Council—a federal board—to offer nonbanks taxpayer support for bailouts.

The letter said, “You have our strong support for using all the tools available as Secretary of Treasury to end ‘too big to fail’ and ensure that hard-working Americans are not responsible for any new bailouts.”

The senators specifically targeted the Financial Stability Oversight Council, as they claimed the council carries out “inconsistent practices,” which result in “unnecessary regulatory costs” that can hurt U.S. businesses.

The letter demanding the end of “too big to fail” policies was signed by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton from Arkansas, Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania, Richard Shelby from Alabama, Mike Crapo from Idaho, Mike Rounds from South Dakota, John Kennedy from Louisiana, Ben Sasse from Nebraska, David Perdue from Georgia, Thom Tillis from North Carolina, and Tim Scott from South Carolina.

The lawmakers also added that Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin should evaluate the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s practices to rethink other financial rules and regulations.

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allowed the Department of the Treasury to review fiscal regulations, which include policies put in place by the Dodd-Frank Act that allowed for the creation of Financial Stability Oversight Council and “too big to fail.”

“Get rid of the designation process altogether. If you want to end ‘too big to fail,’ the last thing you want is to have the federal government identifying the firms that are too big to fail,” said Norbert Michel, a finance expert at The Heritage Foundation.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have defended these policies, claiming they play a vital role in preventing financial institutions from causing another economic catastrophe.

Jack Lew, the treasury secretary under the Obama administration, defended the Financial Stability Oversight Council last year.

“[Financial Stability Oversight Council’s] authority to designate nonbank financial companies is a critical tool to address potential threats to financial stability, and it has made our financial system safer and more resilient,” Lew said. “We intend to continue defending vigorously the process and the integrity of FSOC’s work, and I am confident that we will prevail.” (For more from the author of “GOP Senators Ask Trump Administration to End ‘Too Big to Fail’ Policies” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Trump’s Budget Cuts Face Resistance From Republican Lawmakers

/0 Comments/in , /by

Republican leaders are voicing disapproval of budget cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.

“I doubt there’d be a lot of appetite for dramatic cuts this year,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Roll Call. “I just look at it as a conversation. They’ve got their views, we’ve got our views, and we need to sit down and work that out.”

According to CQ Roll Call’s Budget Tracker newsletter, Republican leaders such as Cornyn are openly disproving of Trump’s requested $18 billion in spending cuts for the current fiscal year budget, Politico reports.

Funding for the federal government will run out during the last week of April. In order to avoid a government shutdown, Congress must pass a spending bill by April 28.

Trump has suggested several ways to trim government spending, and some of the reductions include cutting “$1.3 billion from Pell Grant funding for college students; $1.2 billion from the National Institutes of Health; and $1.5 billion from the Community Development Block Grant program,” according to Budget Tracker.

Some of these cuts are alarming Republicans lawmakers such as Sen. Lamar Alexander. The Tennessee Republican chairs the Senate energy-water appropriations subcommittee. He’s hinting that Trump’s requested budget cuts may go ignored.

“[Trump] suggested some things and of course we’ll look at them, but we’ll write the budget,” Alexander told CQ.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who serves as chairman of the House subcommittee on labor, health and human services, education, and related agencies, also suggested that Trump’s requested budget cuts might not be implemented.

“You know that’s fine, but it’s a little late in the process,” Cole told CQ. “We’ve closed out our bills.”

In his “skinny” budget proposal for the next fiscal year, Trump proposed to end taxpayer funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public TV and radio broadcasters like NPR and PBS.

“This is an agency we all admire,” Cole said, according to Budget Tracker.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received $445 million in federal funding in 2016.

According to Budget Tracker, Republican lawmakers appeared skeptical about ending funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. One GOP lawmaker, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, questioned if funding the corporation is necessary.

Romina Boccia, deputy director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal in an email that the apparent refusal of Republican lawmakers to support Trump’s budget cuts are disappointing.

“For years now, Republicans have told the American people that if only they controlled both chambers of Congress and the executive, they could actually get stuff done,” Boccia said. “Now, we are seeing that those too were apparently empty promises.” (For more from the author of “Trump’s Budget Cuts Face Resistance From Republican Lawmakers” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Why These GOP Senators Aren’t Concerned About Democrats’ Threat to Filibuster Gorsuch

/1 Comment/in , /by

Despite the looming threat of a Democratic filibuster, a group of key Republican lawmakers from the Senate Judiciary Committee displayed confidence that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed during a press conference in the District of Columbia.

“The Democrats will not succeed in filibustering [Gorsuch],” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. “Judge Gorsuch should be confirmed to the Supreme Court and he will be confirmed.”

The other senators who gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court included Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Judiciary Committee members Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.

Several former Gorsuch law clerks were also present at the event.

Graham said he was confident that Gorsuch would eventually be confirmed by the Senate.

“I’m here to tell you [Gorsuch] is going to be on the Supreme Court … it’s not a matter of when, but how,” Graham said.

Graham, who said there is “no better qualified person” than Gorsuch to sit on the Supreme Court, concluded by saying to his Democratic colleagues: “If you’d filibuster a judge like this, then it’s obvious that you’d filibuster anyone.”

Grassley was shocked by the Democrats’ filibuster threat, saying, “It leaves me very stunned why there’s this talk about a filibuster, because if he’s not qualified, then nobody is … it’s quite purely politics.”

Since a whip count has not been conducted yet, Grassley added that is he unsure if Republicans have enough votes to “go nuclear” and stop the Democrats’ filibuster.

“If Democrats make the choice to filibuster Judge Gorsuch, it will be a foolish choice … it will be a choice driven only by the political fear of incumbent Democrats that their angry political base would primary them,” said Cruz, as he talked over a group of shouting anti-Gorsuch protesters with People for the American Way.

A group of pro-Gorsuch demonstrators also gathered at the Supreme Court and, while dressed in judge attire, sang a number of songs in support of the nominee.

“Gorsuch is uniquely well qualified for the Supreme Court … he’s read every brief, every opinion, every case involving whatever dispute is in front of him,” Lee said.

In response to the claim from Sen. Dianne Feinstein that the judge has ruled on the side of large entities and not “the little guy,” Lee said a judge should ideally side with the law in the courtroom, not “emotionally compelling arguments.”

Leah Bressack, one of the SCOTUS nominee’s former law clerks, was also present at the press conference to advocate for Gorsuch. Bressack also spoke at his committee hearing.

“There’s no question about the judge’s independence and impartiality,” Bressack said. “The hearings have shown that he will not prejudge any cases that come before him. We know that he is a justice of who all Americans will be proud.”

Gorsuch has completed his Supreme Court hearings and awaits an April 7 confirmation vote. If all Republicans in the Senate vote for Gorsuch he will need eight additional votes from Democrats to avoid a filibuster. (For more from the author of “Why These GOP Senators Aren’t Concerned About Democrats’ Threat to Filibuster Gorsuch” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

The Truth About the Economic Impact of North Carolina’s ‘Bathroom Bill’

/0 Comments/in , /by

When then-North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed H.B. 2, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (commonly known as the “bathroom bill”), into law on March 23, 2016, critics argued that corporate backlash against the measure would cost North Carolina dearly.

Now, more than a year later, the Associated Press has provided an updated estimate of the economic fallout:

The Associated Press used dozens of interviews and multiple public records requests to determine that North Carolina’s ‘bathroom bill’ will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years.

The overwhelming majority of the reported impact, or $2.66 billion over 12 years, is attributable to PayPal’s cancellation of a planned 400-employee operations center less than two weeks after the bill was passed.

The effects of similar site location decisions by Deutsche Bank, CoStar, Voxpro, and Adidas total $912 million. The loss of sporting events, conventions, concerts, etc. totals $196 million.

The reported figures probably overstate the economic impact of each individual item. They are based on input-output models, which assume that dollars spent in initial transactions—such as by a business that decides to locate in a given area—will automatically cycle through the economy, creating a ripple effect and stimulating further economic growth.

But this ignores supply-side constraints, such as the number of available workers.

If North Carolina were still in the midst of a recession and had an unusually large number of people looking for work, this model would prove more accurate. But that is not the case.

North Carolina’s average unemployment rate fell from 5.8 percent to 5.1 percent between 2015 and 2016, when it was not significantly different from the national average.

In 2016, the national unemployment rate was only 0.2 percentage points above its underlying long-term rate, down from a gap of 4.7 percentage points in 2010. Those two rates are expected to be equal in 2017.

Across the nation, labor market slack—that is, the excess number of people out of work and available for hiring—is vanishing.

Input-output model results also depend heavily on the division of income between parties.

In the case of the PayPal expansion, the model shows that the 400 “nondepository credit intermediation and related services” jobs were expected to result in annual sales of $207 million, of which $30 million would go to employee compensation, $28 million would go to other business expenses, and the remaining $149 million would be proprietor’s income.

While the forecasted effects on the North Carolina economy result mostly from proprietor’s income, PayPal is a publicly traded company headquartered in California, so the bulk of these profits would most likely be distributed outside of North Carolina, with little further impact on the state.

Even if the reported estimates of the impact of H.B. 2 prove to be accurate, they should be considered in the context of North Carolina’s half trillion-dollar gross domestic product.

In that case, the estimated impact is actually quite modest, resulting in a loss of no more than 0.1 percent of the state’s GDP, or about $1 for every $1,000 of income earned in the state.

This cost of roughly a dollar a week for the median North Carolina household would be a small price to pay to protect the privacy and safety of women and girls. (For more from the author of “The Truth About the Economic Impact of North Carolina’s ‘Bathroom Bill'” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.