2021 S.D. Legislature: Make 2022 a year of considering the facts

The past year of 2021 has been a continuation of the uncertainty brought to us as a result of the 2020 version of COVID-19. Over the past year we again suffered through the remains of the 2020 government-imposed confusion which controlled our lives and business. I say that because we never did receive the guidance and answers we needed to make well-informed decisions, even in 2021. We didn’t receive the facts as to the severity of the infections. In 2020, we delayed other medical procedures which resulted in additional losses of life and opportunities for better health, even after we found out the pandemic wasn’t actually over-running our hospitals. And, we have never received an unbiased analysis or affirmation of the naturally acquired immunities which are the result of the COVID infection. However, there is an acknowledgment that less than 1 percent of those previously infected go on to test positive a second time.

Our own Department of Health had – and continues to have – a duty to the people of South Dakota to provide unbiased fact-based and science-based information about all of the issues surrounding the pandemic. That would include the severity of the infection and its variants, the various vaccines and whether they have met the typical protocols for vaccine implementation, and the value of treatment protocols that have been approved in other countries as well as their effectiveness. There should never be anything to fear about more information which would allow everyone to make better informed decisions.   

We never did receive an unbiased review of the vaccines or their effectiveness. For many, the vaccine appears to have worked well and for some it appears to have led to adverse reactions. Even as recent as this past weekend we were informed that some of the vaccines being used are still not FDA approved. We continue to receive mixed messages as to the need for ‘booster’ shots, shots that are being given within months of the previous shots. And, analysis of the harmful effects that many have suffered as a result of receiving the vaccine is ignored. Those are some of the reasons that there has been skepticism over the vaccine, even by millions of people who have been vaccinated for various other viruses.      

Now, when vaccinated individuals still experience the COVID-19 infection or one of the variants, we are told that they suffered a ‘break-through’ infection. Many advocates who received the vaccines likewise experienced some of the effects of the virus and some of those experienced the full effect of the virus. Minnesota’s Governor and his family were all fully vaccinated, but they all tested positive last week after their son experienced symptoms. However, they tested negative only a few hours before the positive test. In fact, General Colin Powell, as well as other famous individuals who received the vaccine, died from the effects of COVID. And, this past week the commanders of one of our Navy ships, which was set to deploy, reported that there was a significant outbreak among their fully vaccinated crew. Providing unbiased factual reports would likely lead to a greater confidence in our healthcare leadership.

In addition to the medical implications of COVID during 2020 and 2021, there are the financial implications all across the nation. South Dakota earned the dubious distinction of being the largest recipient per capita of federal debt dollars. Over the past year the average state received five times as much federal money as they would in a typical year, whereas South Dakota rung the bell by receiving OVER 8.3 TIMES as much federal debt dollars as in a typical year. South Dakota is already a ‘welfare state’ as we receive 60 percent of our budget from the federal government, and that does not take into account the federal dollars allocated to the nine tribes nor does it take into account other direct payments to businesses and individuals.

So, as we enter the year 2022, we look forward to the possibility that we might return to some of the pre-pandemic stability and prosperity and find a life filled with hope instead of fear. It is also time for us to begin to sever the reliance on federal dollars which are creating a perpetual bondage that will hamper our children and grandchildren in the future.

There are great opportunities that have been delayed and overlooked while we were busy scrambling to hold onto a semblance of the past life we enjoyed. Some of those opportunities include expanding markets for our homegrown resources of grain and livestock, agri-tourism, cyber security and technology, unique manufacturing businesses, as well as Native American cultural experiences and products. There is a bright future if we apply our collective wisdom and live out our foundational principles of perseverance, integrity and hard work, all of which originate in Godly faith.

This coming week begins our work on the 2022 spending bills as well as final preparations for the Session which begins on Jan. 11. Please feel free to contact me (steven.haugaard@sdlegislature.gov) with questions or comments. You can also go to www.sdlegislature.gov to listen in on the meetings or to see what else is happening in state government.

I wish all of you a very Happy and Blessed New Year!