We've already planted the seed, and now it seems it's too late to turn back. Data from over 40 states shows chronic absenteeism is far above pre-pandemic levels. The COVID farce that was imposed on America will forever be felt—not just medically, but economically and academically as well. The states that didn't tell all of the school kids to stay home are so far above the curve.

Students became so comfortable with staying home that now the absentee rate, viewed as chronic (meaning missing at least 10% of school days), is 25% of all students. In places like Alaska, it's 45%; in Colorado, it's 31%. In Washington, D.C., where all of this phony stuff originated, it's 44%. This has also conditioned the workforce in America. People became so accustomed to staying at home that companies are now having a hard time getting their employees back to work.

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Don't get me wrong—some jobs enable people to work from home and still be great contributors to the company, but many have now abused the stay-at-home and work options. It's too easy now to stay home for both workers and students, and it's our fault because we let them set this precedent. Will we ever recover? I don't know, but the results clearly show what damage was done with lower test scores and proficiency levels for students and less worker productivity.

Maybe next time a disease rolls around, people will listen to the science and doctors—not Helena or Washington, D.C.

See you tomorrow at 5 for the weekend.

USA Today's Top 10 Best Cities To Retire

The research team at USA TODAY Homefront examined 329 cities with populations above 100,000 across 13 measures to find the best cities for retirees. For some metrics, data was only available at the county level.

Gallery Credit: Kyle Matthews

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