As Gov’t Shuts Down Restaurants, Guy Fieri Raises $21.5 Million for Workers “Doing More than Congress”
As Gov’t Shuts Down Restaurants, Guy Fieri Raises $21.5 Million for Workers “Doing More than Congress”
by Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project
December 14, 2020
Thanks to hypocritical governor Gavin Newsom’s tyrannical lockdown in the state of California, 1 in every 3 California restaurants will be permanently closing their doors this year. Other states, like New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Minnesota face similar fates while most states across America have suffered massive layoffs in the restaurant industry.
The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report on December 4 showed employment in leisure and hospitality is down by 3.4 million jobs since February. About 17,000 jobs in “food services and drinking places” were cut in November alone.
In the meantime, both parties have been so hell bent on attacking each other that all attempts to provide aid to the American people have failed. As a result of the gross incompetence among those in power, food lines are growing longer by the day as Americans experience a food shortage akin to the great depression.
Despite massive unemployment, widespread homelessness, and the closure of thousands of small businesses in California, Newsom seems hellbent on continuing the tyrannical lockdown. It has gotten to the point that now people are fighting back.
After Los Angeles officials banned eating at restaurants last month — including outdoor dining — the California Restaurant Association, or CRA, has since joined a growing number of restaurant industry groups in cities and states across the country attempting legal action to overturn COVID-related dining restrictions.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in cities like Philadelphia and St. Louis, as well as states such as Michigan and Oregon in recent weeks — each in different ways attempting to get COVID-19-era dining bans overturned.
As government continues to prove its incompetence, those in the private industry are stepping in to help. Food Network personality Guy Fieri worked to raise more than $21.5 million over the last seven weeks to help unemployed restaurant workers.
His work has led to many folks praising him online, correctly stating that he is “doing more than Congress” to aid struggling workers during the pandemic.
“Guy Fieri has raised $21.5 million for unemployed restaurant workers, which means Guy Fieri has done more for unemployed restaurant workers than Congress has in the last 8 months,” tweeted author Dan Price.
“.@GuyFieri has raised more than $21.5 million in seven weeks to assist unemployed restaurant workers. Shame on every single one of our government ‘leaders’ who have failed them. God bless the ‘Fundraiser of Flavortown,’” tweeted Janice Dean, senior meteorologist at Fox News.
As Newsweek reports:
The longtime TV host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives made personal pleas with large corporate sponsors, including PepsiCo, Uber Eats and Moët Hennessy USA, to support his Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. Fieri started the fund on March 27 as the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly spreading through the U.S. and much of the world. The group has helped more than 43,000 restaurant workers “who have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis,” particularly through $500 grants to restaurant workers in every state.
Over the weekend, Fieri took it a step further and joined the resistance against the lockdowns. He announced his support from the CRA lawsuit mentioned above.
“We gotta keep Flavortown open for biz!” Fieri tweeted.
Fieri is obviously passionate about food but noted that restaurants are more than just food — they are the “heart and soul” of America.
“I’ve traveled coast to coast visiting thousands of restaurants across the country on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and after all the time on the road, it’s clear that restaurants are the heart and soul of their communities,” Fieri said in a statement released through the Discovery Channel last week. “When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the impact on the restaurant industry was immediate. Restaurant Hustle 2020: All On The Line provides a real and intimate first-hand look into the lives of four top restaurateurs [as they] navigate through it all.”
As government employees continue to collect their paychecks, while failing the people who pay their exorbitant salaries, it is heartening to see the private industry step in to help. Sadly, however, because of the damage done by the lockdowns, $21.5 million is a drop in the bucket of what is actually needed. The only thing that will save the “heart and soul” of America now will be government reversing course — which is not at all likely — or massive resistance, which is already happening.