What do you do when the government won't help you?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Don't expect this administration or the Republican party to do anything at all to help you, your family, or your friends during this pandemic and Trump Depression. Ever since 1980, the Republican Party has used each Republican presidency to shovel another few trillion dollars to their friends and owners, America's billionaires. Most recently, between Trump's 2017 millionaire tax cuts and the coronavirus stimulus programs, they've shoveled another 2 or 3 trillion to the billionaires, and the Fed has put a $6 trillion icing on that cake. And now, Republicans are telling us, the money is all gone and there's nothing left for average working Americans.To add insult to injury, they're also proposing cuts to long-term Social Security in exchange for small cash payments out of the Social Security fund today. At the same time, because of five months of lies and bungling incompetence from Trump and Kushner, over 40 million Americans have lost or are on the brink of losing their health insurance. The Republican response to this is similar: "We've got ours and screw you." Red state governors are even still refusing to expand Medicaid, while state unemployment systems, like the one that former Florida Governor Rick Scott intentionally rigged to make hard to use or get benefits from, continue to fight making payments to working people.
While Northern European countries that put working people ahead of billionaires have kept their unemployment rates below 6% and kept their middle-class prosperous even in the face of a pandemic, average Americans are getting wiped out at the same time that America's billionaires dramatically increase their wealth. Only a political revolution in this country to bring us into line with the rest of the developed world and solve this crisis.
-Thom
Comments
#2
Good points, avn013, and well said. Also, an awesome video clip with Trevor Noah interviewing Thomas Piketty -- doesn't get much better than that.
It's really a shame that the once-great United States of America, the past envy of the world, is today earning the scorn and pity among both her enemies and friends abroad thanks to the creeping economic fascism in vogue with Republicans since Reagan. Their prevailing aspirations -- one-party rule, institutionalized corruption, and the nation's mass of wealth monopolized by the greedy and the ruthless -- have culminated, as one would expect, with a dangerously dysfunctional Party leader, an authoritarian buffoon who gives voice to the incestuous progeny of fascism, promoting undemocratic policies and cultivating truly profane attitudes among his tragically misled constituents.
The Republican Party's lust for power has nearly destroyed what the Founders struggled so hard to achieve-- that delicate economic balance between free enterprise and the commons, and politically, between states' rights and a strong central government under a system where all power resides with the People, not with bought-off politicians and their puppetmasters on Wall Street.
America has sold her soul for trinkets and baubles and false promises. And now the chickens are coming home to roost as we sink deeper and deeper into possibly the worst depression the world has ever seen. Why is it not surprising that our deceitful, clownish dictator wannabe is using this crisis to consolidate his power?
#3
Interesting that 3+ months in to this virus and now everyone other than Trump is required to wear a mask in the White House. Had they required masks through out the country from the beginning, we could be getting over this. Now masks have become a political object. A defiance. A freedom to not wear one ( and spread the virus). Taiwan has 24 million people, 440 cases and 7 deaths. That number has not changed in weeks. They wear masks and have single payer healthcare. If you compared that to the USA 330 million population, we would have 6050 cases and 96 deaths. Instead we have 1347936 cases and 80684 deaths. And we will have many more. The Castle Rock restaurant was an organized attempt by Republicans to get many restaurants to open on Mother's Day. One did. They had signs at the entry saying no mask zone. I feel sorry for business's during this virus pandemic. But, if they defy this health law, what other health laws do they defy. One person in that restaurant could have spread the virus to all. The Government support of small business has been poor. The Trump/Republican response to this virus has been poor. Those that support this administration enable this carnage.
#4
Is this not politicizing the Virus response? Moscow Mitch blames the Obama Administration. Seems to forget that they gave them " The Playbook for Response to High - Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents." It warned of potential problems like shortages in personal protective equipment that have plagued the nations response.The Trump administration negated to implement it's recommendations. And an office called the Pandemic Preparedness Office.... which they abolished. And a global monitoring system called PREDICT.. that they cut by 75%.
Here it comes! https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-report-shows-coronavirus-235200812.html
#5
The Obama administration seriously depleted the supply of N95 masks during the H1N1 epidemic in 2009, and did not replenish them in spite of being asked to do so.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/04/03/fact-check-did-...
#6
2009. 11 years ago. What is the shelf life of an N95 mask? Anyway Trump has been in office for 3 years and 113 days. From your article: "ProPublica reported on April 3 that congressional budget battles in the early years of the Obama administration contributed to stockpile shortages. But the article notes available funds were used not to replenish masks: "With limited resources, officials in charge of the stockpile tend to focus on buying lifesaving drugs from small biotechnology firms that would, in the absence of a government buyer, have no other market for their products, experts said. Masks and other protective equipment are in normal times widely available and thus may not have been prioritized for purchase, they said." And the reference: https://www.propublica.org/article/us-emergency-medical-stockpile-funding-unprepared-coronavirus
Looked it up, 5 year shelf life. https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/869238O/3m-health-care-particulate-respirator-and-surgical-masks-storage-conditions-and-shelf-life-faq.pdf
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European countries (northern or southern) occasionally (like the stopped clock) say and do correct things. Unfortunately, USA is all alone. (Loneliness is by definition the price (or part thereof) a leading nations has to pay, in order to be recognized as a leader). I may be wrong (as is often the case), but my impression is that what made USA a country, which others have been trying to imitate (not always successfully), is a “healthy balance” between capitalism and democracy. (Apparently the desire of “money” is more common among different cultures than believing in the same God(s). Also the inherent desire of equality and justice seems to permeate all kinds of different cultures despite the variance in governments worldwide). However, this balance has been seriously disturbed in the last ~30 years. As a people we have voted in decision-takers who are mainly for capitalism and only nominally for democracy. This is so obvious that even a person from the other side of the Atlantic can see it clearly (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtahuPcsNVM). Can’t we? Maybe not. The ancient proverb “know thyself” is as difficult (and perhaps more) as simple it sounds.