March 27 Update
I hope that everyone is staying healthy and safe. I want to focus entirely on how Trump’s approach to governance and the GOP’s relationship with business are detrimental to our health and security. None of this is hypothetical, it’s happening right now in front of our eyes. People we know are losing work or have family members in the hospital and the inaction of our nations leaders is where you should put the blame.
America’s failed response comes down to three concepts: an attack on science, an attack on the poor, and an attack on what’s right.
Did you see the video of Dr. Anthony Fauci covering his face when Trump made a deplorable “joke” about the Department of State being the Department of Deep State? Noticed that he hasn’t been in as many briefings since? Where is he? Anywhere but the White House briefing room, because Trump can’t handle having someone who actually knows what they’re talking about in the same space as him. Dr. Fauci has been there through this entire process, calmly providing the voice of reason and correcting Trump’s errors whenever possible, and now he’s gone from the public eye. Don’t trust that it’s a coincidence. Be very afraid of this. It’s what you’d expect from the Betrayer in Chief, but it’s unacceptable that the man who’s advised presidents on infectious disease since Ronald Reagan isn’t in the room, appealing to the American people. Whether it’s cutting pandemic response related funding or removing Dr. Fauci from White House press briefings, the complete and utter lack of respect for science and the truth is the most glaring trait of the Trump administration.
On Wednesday the Senate passed a historic $2 trillion stimulus package. Already, 3.3 million people have filed for unemployment insurance which is the highest level in the history of the metric, and it’s not yet been a month since this pandemic was treated seriously in the United States. At its most basic level, the stimulus package will do several things. First, Americans earning less than $75,00 will receive a one time payment of $1,200 or $2,400 for married couples. Second, it establishes a lending program to small businesses impacted, worth $367 billion. Third, it offers a $500 billion (one-fourth of the total package) corporate bailout to large industries, not including the cruise line industry. Fourth, it expands unemployment insurance thanks to the efforts of a certain Sen. Bernie Sanders. And fifth, and probably most importantly, it delivers $130 billion to hospitals. I encourage you to check out this thorough breakdown from Politico here.
This is already painfully obvious to you and I, but a one time check of $1,200 delivered in May does absolutely nothing. If you’ve had your hours cut or you’ve been laid off, a one time check of $1,200 covers a fraction of your monthly expenses. Hate to break it to you Senate Republicans, but this thing is going to last longer than a month. Sen. Sanders knows that and threatened to hold up the bill in order to secure more unemployment benefits. A faction of Senate Republicans didn’t want to approve unemployment benefits and Sanders absolutely trashed them on the Senate floor. You can watch it here. Thanks to Sanders leadership, the unemployment benefits are extended for an additional month, up to four months, and ensures that those who file get an extra $600 per month to make up for 100% of lost wages. That being said, even that’s not enough because there’s no telling how long this will take, and there’s certainly room in our budget to pay American people during this time.
What about the $500 billion in corporate bailout funding? While the Senate established rules to ensure that the Secretary of the Treasury isn’t directly cutting checks, there is still no telling what businesses will do with that money. Are there clearly outlined provisions that ensure that top investors and executive suite leaders aren’t able to cash out the benefits for their personal interest? No. Is there any guarantee that the money will be used keep workers on the job for an extended period of time? No. Should we trust that trickle down wealth will prevail this time around? Absolutely not. To learn more about how this compares to 2008 bailout oversight, you can click here. I can sleep a little more easily knowing that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who played a key leadership role back then, is in the Senate now. Nothing will get by Liz.
Lastly, this White House and this president are always, always, going to side with the interest of business over the interest of the people. After signing an executive order declaring he’s prepared to invoke the Defense Production Act, Trump has stalled because the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied against it. The Defense Production Act would allow the government to direct large manufacturing corporations to begin, well, production of key supplies and goods, like masks, face shields, and critical ventilators. It’s a type of wartime act, but Trump argues that companies are already doing this manufacturing restructuring voluntarily. Yes, Ford and GM are partnering for the ventilator production, but there’s been a delay in receiving parts for the ventilators, and shipments could take months. Does this guy honestly think we have months to do this? We needed these ventilators fucking yesterday. And why would he do such a thing, is it because he doesn’t have all of the information and is really optimistic about our American ingenuity? No. It’s because the Chamber said the Defense Production Act would hurt the economy and restrict business from operating as they should. In a re-election year, that’s all he needed to hear to decide that the ventilators could wait.
Lives will be lost in the peak of the hospital capacity and many more lives will be irreparably destroyed by the economic downfall that follows it, because the GOP and Trump decided that their economic and political interest was more important. In the aftermath of the pandemic, we’ll need to decide what type of leader is acceptable in the new world. It’s never been more clear, but our lives depend on our ability to vote these people out.
