What’s Next Out of Washington: Politics, Profits or People?
It's time to push progressive solutions
Now that corporations, even the slimy ones, have looted the treasury, Republicans are moving to shut down all this COVID-19 chatter and get back to the business of destroying the fabric of the nation.
Carnival, a company with passenger vessels registered in countries with little to no environmental and labor standards, managed to acquire billions in capital thanks to the Fed. And now other companies are getting in on the action.
Here's the latest from the Washington Post:
A Federal Reserve program expected to begin within weeks will provide hundreds of billions in emergency aid to large American corporations without requiring them to save jobs or limit payments to executives and shareholders.
Under the program, the central bank will buy up to $500 billion in bonds issued by large companies. The companies will use the influx of cash as a financial lifeline but are required to pay it back with interest.
Unlike other portions of the relief for American business, however, this aid will be exempt from rules passed by Congress requiring recipients to limit dividends, executive compensation and stock buybacks and does not direct the companies to maintain certain employment levels.
Those of us who paid taxes this year are still waiting for our one-time stimulus electronic deposits, thanks to a decision holding up distribution so Trump campaign talking points could be sent to us via snail mail. Those who aren’t connected to the IRS electronically, will receive both a check with Dear Leader’s signature AND the campaign material.
The administration and their allies quest to return to the previous standards of what was considered “normal” includes denigrating the science, challenging the statistics, and prioritizing the economy over health concerns.
In addition to the astroturfed “ReOpen America” death chanters, the right wing media is going all in with confusing and dishonest stories designed to gaslight us.
Locally, KUSI-TV (In addition to its newsomercials for Supervisor Gaspar and assorted grifters) gave a platform to a couple of doctors claiming the close down was unnecessary, since herd immunity was all we needed to shut down the pandemic.
Over at Fox, Tucker Carlson took to the air to tell us there is no scientific justification for quarantine. Laura Ingraham is still touting the benefits of the anti-malarial drug that serious researchers have warned against. Brit Hume amplified the right wing “fact” about COVID-19 deaths being overcounted.
An OAN host compared stay-at-home orders to the internment of Japanese residents in World War Two.
Arizona Republican leader Kelli Ward has been openly encouraging anti-stay-at-home protesters to dress like health care workers to defuse the reality that real nurses and doctors are horrified by the irresponsible rightwing protests.
The Attorney General of the United States is ready to use the powers of his office to go after state and local officials who don’t play nice with the loosening of restrictions.
From Talking Points Memo:
A new memo issued Monday by Attorney General Bill Barr told federal prosecutors nationwide to “be on the lookout” for COVID-19 public health measures that “could be violating the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individual citizens.”
Barr’s memo alluded to the disputes have arisen between churches and government officials who have shut down religious gatherings due to the pandemic. But he added that the “legal restrictions on state and local authority are not limited to discrimination against religious institutions and religious believer
“For example, the Constitution also forbids, in certain circumstances, discrimination against disfavored speech and undue interference with the national economy,” Barr said. Barr’s interest in those supposed constitutional violations comes as conservative groups have rallied behind protests of governors who have issued shutdown orders, while President Trump’s allies more broadly push for a “re-opening” the economy,
And the President wants schools to reopen, presumably so parents will be free to go back to work until the next wave of infections pops up.
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1255128370460983296?s=20
https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1255088147798597633?s=20
There appears to be some confusion with the GOP ranks over the possibility of yet another round of funding aimed at helping state and local governments to maintain needed levels of service. They --after saying no way-- are now looking for loopholes and/or leverage.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and the President say “nope” for states whose budgets were already in trouble. (In real life this means the administration is looking for ways to use bailout bucks to reward Republican-governed states.)
From the Washington Post:
A bipartisan bill pushed by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) would provide up to $500 billion for state and local governments.
That is equivalent to the amount state governments will probably need to cover their shortfalls over the next two fiscal years due to the coronavirus, according to a research paper by the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Elizabeth McNichol, a senior fellow who co-authored the paper, said the shortfalls are a direct impact of the coronavirus, and not due to poor fiscal management by states.
“It’s not a red state or a blue state effect,” she said. “It is happening all across the country, in states all across the country.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel is reportedly open to another deal, provided there is inclusion of a free pass for businesses whose employees sue for dangerous working conditions.
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1255169322688958464?s=20
All this back and forth over the states (who will need help) serves to obscure the other issues that a future coronavirus package needs to address. Last time around, the legislation passed with assurance from the Democratic leadership that shortfalls would be part of the next deal.
There are two overlapping efforts to push for progressive policies.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have joined forces to advocate for an Essential Workers Bill of Rights as part of any coronavirus relief package .
Those policies include:
Truly universal paid sick leave and family and medical leave.
Health and safety protections, including personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by employers at no cost to workers.
Protections for collective bargaining agreements & whistleblowers with safety concerns.
Health care security to ensure all essential workers get the care they need during this crisis, regardless of their immigration status.
Robust funding to help struggling child care providers during this pandemic and reliable, safe, healthy, and high-quality child care for essential workers.
Indivisible, the grassroots activist organization, is part of a coalition calling on supporters to demand representatives pledge to vote ‘no’ on the next coronavirus package unless it prioritizes the People First Agenda.
The package, according to Indivisible, must include these four policies:
Keep people on payrolls: Stop mass layoffs, and preserve employment relationships for all businesses, including small businesses. Ensure federal dollars go to workers and small businesses, not enriching CEOs and Wall Street.
Provide financial relief: Expand aid for the most vulnerable in the COVID-19 epidemic, including direct cash assistance, increased food aid, debt relief, and eviction protections.
Protect public health: Guarantee full health coverage for all COVID-19 care and protections for all frontline workers.
Defend elections: Enact a vote-by-mail requirement for 2020 federal elections while maintaining access to in-person voting for those who do not have access to mail voting.
Other members of the coalition include: Social Security Works, Ultraviolet, Friends of the Earth, Mijente, Bold Progressives, NextGen America, United We DReam, the Women’s March, and Bend the Arc/Jewish Action.
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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com
Lead image: Taken at the Women's March by Phil Roeder from Des Moines, via Wikimedia