The US Senate just passed a Covid relief bill. It is designed to help the American public weather the pandemic and economic collapse of some businesses due to forced shutdowns. It will provide economic assistance to local governments, schools, businesses and ordinary people. Unfortunately for some it will be too late. It will also provide more funds for administering the vaccine. A notable circumstance of this piece of legislation was that it passed without any Republican support. I find this to be a sad statement of our political climate.
While we have our differences, we are all Americans. We need to support each other in these difficult times. We need to take the vaccine if it is offered to us so that we provide a living barrier to the virus. We need to support our local businesses so that they survive. While some states are lifting mask requirements we can continue to wear them until we are absolutely sure the virus has been defeated. We need to put aside our political differences and put our country first.
Years from now people will look back on this time period and ask, what did you do?
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Perhaps we can hope that they remember fairly soon--like come November of 2022?
Yes.
All other issues aside it is nice to have what appears to be a functioning White House. As someone said, running a government isn't easy, but the United States government is more complex than most.
Trump was incompetent on so many levels. What we have now is an economic and social crisis on a par with the Great Depression. It needs competent attention.
I don't see that in he Republican legislators at the moment. Business as usual won't work to get us out of the woods.
On another subject...while I can understand people's hesitation to bump up the minimum wage to $15 an hour I do think $7.25 is far too low. In Minnesota we have upped the minimum wage gradually. Which is what they are actually proposing with regard to the $15 federal minimum proposal. It is not as if they will more than double the minimum wage all at once. Right now Minnesota's minimum wage for large employers is $10.08. For smaller employers it is $8.21. And, frankly, those businesses who really need workers will pay more.
"It is not as if they will more than double the minimum wage
all at once."
I get the impression that most people don't know that because that's not really an important point to those opposed to raising the minimum wage. Consequently the proponents don't think of making a point of it either--on account of it ain't gonna make any Republican congressmen or senators vote in favor of proposal.
They're opposed to it because Biden's in favor of it. That's reason enough for them to filibuster the proposition. This strategy consistently worked against Obama. They have no reason to abandon the strategy this time 'round. (Not yet anyway.)
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A thought persisting from the last thread…
"… they are now removing the mask mandate."
Not too many months ago some states were imposing quarantines on travelers from out of state, or from specific states. Could be Texas finds itself on such quarantine lists again in the near future. And, there are yet other Republican governors who're already vying with Texas Governor Abbot to claim the political mantle of "first poseur for covid politics".
So, could be others join Texas on the list.
On the other hand, they may get lucky and it won't bite 'em on the ass, in spite of their best efforts to achieve ass bit status.
"Could be Texas finds itself on such quarantine lists again in
the near future. …could be others join Texas on the list."
↑↑
I notice that the CDC guidelines for travel for vaccinated persons has been pulled from their latest update of proffered guidance. Politico It may be they're looking at a potential need to allow states to invoke interstate quarantines.
I get the impression that most people don't know that because that's not really an important point to those opposed to raising the minimum wage.
I can see where it wouldn't matter to Republicans, but it may make a difference to those Democrats who are hesitant to raise the minimum wage if it wasn't such a large leap.
But maybe it's a moot point, if a filibuster would tank the whole thing.
Btw, the Covid relief bill passed the Senate 50-49. Who was the missing Republican? And why was he/she missing?
Iowa has tightened it's voting rules.
The legislation, which passed both Republican-controlled chambers of the state legislature last month, will reduce the number of early voting days from 29 days to 20 days. It will also close polling places an hour earlier on Election Day (at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.).
The bill additionally places new restrictions on absentee voting including banning officials from sending applications without a voter first requesting one and requiring ballots be received by the county before polls close on Election Day.
"…it may make a difference to those Democrats who are
hesitant…"
They already know. Joe Manchin thinks it's too much to pay as a starting wage in a West Virginia coal mine already struggling against cheap natural gas (or at the local McDonalds), and Krysten Senima thinks it's too much to pay the Hispanic household help in Phoenix, Arizona. Can't get 50 Democrats--so the filibuster is irrelevant.
Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) missed the vote of the covid-19 relief bill to attend a funeral for a family member.
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The thing about voter suppression is that it works better when it's done on the quiet side. It can piss off the suppressed population and backfire, resulting in increased commitment to voting amongst those they thought to discourage.
We'll have to wait and see how it works out in 2022, but i might just backfire. Been known to happen.
Joe Manchin thinks it's too much to pay as a starting wage in a West Virginia coal mine already struggling against cheap natural gas (or at the local McDonalds)...
There was an interesting article in my paper the other day regarding the effects of raising the minimum wage by larger retailers. Basically they found that if a large corporate entity, like Amazon, raised it's starting wage then other companies in the surrounding area were also doing that. It was a question of attracting or retaining workers.
But, of course, that doesn't take the place of a federal minimum of $15 an hour. However, it does show that we may be heading in that direction despite elected officials reluctance. At least in some states.
That coal mine may find itself competing for workers if other industries start to flourish.
History doesn't repeat they say (except for the ones who say it does). However, it appears QAnon has flagged the 20ᵗʰ of March for Trump's return to power, having recalibrated of necessity after March 4ᵗʰ didn't pan out for them.
There's less faith in this one however, belief is down from the number who were waiting expectantly on the morning of the 4ᵗʰ and this'll probably be the last time they choose a date for the triumphant return of the Great Orange One. (After all, the Seventh Day Adventists learned not to pick dates after only a few disappointments--surely QAnon will learn as quickly.)
Forgot to include the link.
Question, how do you feel about the size of the Covid relief package Biden and the Democrats have put together? Will this be too big or just right? Will this ultimately help those who really need it?
For those states that are actually showing a surplus, like Minnesota, will they be able to use any federal funds for other projects, such as infrastructure? Have you heard anything about how the funds states and municipalities receive can be used?
I've not been down into the weeds of the relief package. I've got no answers for your second paragraph.
As for the first paragraph… The funds are allocated over several years. If they're not needed, if they're extraneous, then they'll not get spent. One doesn't keep sending unemployment checks to people who are reëmployed. One doesn't need to keep spending for upgrades to school ventilation systems once they're already upgraded (or the viral danger has passed, whichever comes first). One doesn't keep paying out "payroll protection" money once the business is making a profit again.
There's $1 trillion (with a "T") that actually went unspent from Trump's two relief packages (of about $4 trillion total authorized). I expect we'll see the same thing happening with this (last) relief package.
If it's not big enough that's gonna be too bad, 'cause Biden's unlikely to get another shot at boosting the total payout.
Lynnette
“ Question, how do you feel about the size of the Covid relief package Biden and the Democrats have put together? Will this be too big or just right? Will this ultimately help those who really need it? ”
My impression so far is that the vast majority of all these stimulus packages, I.e new money printed, has sort of trickled to the top. We have insane increases in value of assets such as homes and stocks, but little inflation in consumer goods. So those who own property and stocks get vastly richer (at least on paper). While those who rent and live from paycheck to paycheck get even further behind. And them that lost jobs due to the pandemic are in a bad place.
It seems to me a lot of new money printed has gone to asset inflation mostly. Now that may be nessessary to avoid a collapse and an even worse outcome, I don’t know, but the whole thin really does seem to benefit the well off way more than the struggling ones.
Hmmm...if there has been that much money unspent from earlier relief packages and the possibility of the same with this one then I presume they have not been targeted properly. Also, I would presume that they will not give rise to inflation like so many people fear as the money has actually remained in the Treasury.
My impression so far is that the vast majority of all these stimulus packages, I.e new money printed, has sort of trickled to the top.
We have definitely seen an increase in the gap between haves and have nots. I believe a lot of that right now has to do with the way the virus has affected the business sector. Many of the businesses that were so adversely affected by the shutdown, like restaurants, employee lower wage workers. So they have been really impacted far more than those who retained their jobs, those who can work from home. And those latter jobs are more white collar, middle class jobs.
We have insane increases in value of assets such as homes and stocks, but little inflation in consumer goods.
With interest rates so low it has forced more people to invest in hard assets like homes or the stock market. It is the only place, currently, where they can get any return.
But I think there is a misconception that there is no inflation with regard to consumer goods. You only have to look at the shrinking of products without raising prices. Sure the price is the same, but you get less bang for your buck. It's hidden inflation.
...the whole thin really does seem to benefit the well off way more than the struggling ones.
This has been true for some time. The tax cuts also did the same.
I do think they tried to shift more money to those who are struggling this time around. They have continued the unemployment benefits, increased the child credits and included stimulus checks.
But all of these are temporary. So we have to hope that Covid wanes with the advent of the vaccines and the economy can then rebound putting people back to work. The question then becomes the minimum wage. An increase would help bring lower workers out of working poverty.
The banks aren't eager to lend any money on manufacturing (or mining, or retail sales outlets, or… … any other actual business activity for that matter). But, they are eager to lend money to people who want to leverage their way into a fortune in the stock market. That's where the "paper" gains are coming from that Marcus has been noting. (Most of it--maybe some is getting diverted from the federal relief money, in fact almost certainly some is money diverted from the federal relief money. Always is. But, that's not where most of it's coming from.)
"…then I presume they have not been targeted properly."
It's not unusual for some authorized funds to not find places to do be beneficially spent, especially emergency appropriations. The unspent monies disappear back into the balance sheet in subsequent years. (That's what's supposed to happen to them anyway; bureaucrats who have excess funds on their hands tend to try to find ways to hide the money within the agency's accounts before the "budget" soaks it back up.)
It's perhaps worthy of a reminder… Dubya managed to leave about half of the TARP funds he'd been allocated unspent and unhidden. Later Obama repurposed those unused funds towards bailing out General Motors (over the howls of protest from the Republicans in Congress).
It sounds like this money will be trickling down to just about everyone. So cities that have been short changed because of business closures and a lower tax base will be able to shore up their balance sheets. One of the cities here is looking at maybe doing sewer and water upgrades, which had been put off. They are interested to see what they can use the money for, besides the obvious Covid expenses.
Later Obama repurposed those unused funds...
Repurposing unused funds seems a practical way of using the unspent money, rather than going back to Congress for more.
If there is actually unspent funds from the earlier Covid relief bill, maybe they can be diverted to infrastructure. That might be a way of getting things done without having to get Republicans to sign off on it, given their tendency to drag their feet.
But, they are eager to lend money to people who want to leverage their way into a fortune in the stock market. That's where the "paper" gains are coming from that Marcus has been noting.
That's a risky venture.
"That's a risky venture."
Risky for us perhaps. The Masters of the Universe have concluded that they're still "too big to fail" and we'll have to bail them out again next time just like last time.
Obama's most remarkable failure in my opinion.
And if that wasn't enough of a downer notion… QAnon appears to have gone global. WashingtonPost
I've argued before that the dedicated Trumpkins have fallen into a cult, a political cult, not a religious cult, but a cult nevertheless.
Shadi Hamid (a writer not previously known to me) writes in TheAtlantic that politics is becoming a substitute religion across the board in America these days. He thinks it's not just the Trumpkins.
(Interesting premise and not too long, especially for an "Atlantic" piece, if not entirely persuasive.)
He goes further and argues that "America" has always been a quasi-religious concept--a secular religion if you will. (Although I'd argue his evidence points more logically to "America" as an adopted ethnicity, something "national" (nation as opposed to country) or even tribal more like being "Swedish" or "German", or "Saxon" or such, but by adoption of the central creeds, but not necessarily born to it.)
That QAnon article was very scary. It's like all of the crazy ideas have found a place to roost.
I know fads from America have legs, but it seems crazy does too.
I suspect the pandemic has screwed with a lot of people's psychological well being.
I have always agreed with the cult analogy for Trump and his followers.
I think we are just going through the perfect storm of events that are causing massive changes and people are having difficulty dealing with it all.
They are grasping at anything to explain it all and anything that might help retain their version of normal.
But the answer isn't in stasis it is in adaptation.
♫♪Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin' ♫♪
Dylan
Current discussion in Democratic circles, and among Democratic Senators for reform of the filibuster rules center on a return of the "talking" filibuster, where the parties declaring a filibuster actually have to do it, not just threaten it. They're talkin' 'bout a return to the "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" era rules on the subject.
There is another possible change for the current filibuster rules:
Currently the Senate allows a filibuster to occur at the point of "debate", i.e. the Senate allows a minority of 40 votes to prohibit a bill even coming to the floor to be debated (in preparation for an actual Senate vote on the provisions of the final bill).
Then there's another "cutoff" vote to stop the debate and finally have the Senators vote either for or against the bill.
The talk is about doing away with the filibuster on the incoming side of the bill--i.e. a majority vote would be sufficient to bring a bill to the floor for debate. But, they'd keep the 60 vote requirement to "close debate" and hold a vote on a final version of the bill.
That would make the minority responsible for explaining why they refused to allow the Senate to pass a bill which had already received a majority (up to 59 votes), in favor of final passage. They'd take a record count of specifically who are the 41+ Senators who voted the bill down--takin' names preparatory to kickin' ass, as it were.
Sounds like a decent idea to me. There are theoretically better ideas out there, including just dumping the filibuster outright, and maybe the return of the "talking filibuster", but this one might actually pass muster with Joe Manchin (W.Vir) and Krysten Sinema (AR), and that would make this a better idea than the ones that won't pass the necessary 50 vote threshhold.
$27,000,000.00--that'll defund a few Minneapolis police.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
It's amazing how the more things change the more they stay the same.
Sounds like a decent idea to me.
They need to do something to allow legitimate dissent without it being obstructionist. The fillibuster shouldn't be used to just derail all appropriate business just because one group doesn't like what is being proposed.
The American voters have time and again voted for compromise, but their elected leaders have ignored that in their desire to promote their own agendas. If the Democratic led legislature and White House can find a solution then they will have really created a lasting legacy. One that would hopefully actually benefit the entire country and democracy.
$27,000,000.00--that'll defund a few Minneapolis police.
It should also be an admission of guilt.
"The fillibuster shouldn't be used to just derail all appropriate
business just because…"
The filibuster survived as long as it did only because it was very rarely used. (Mitch McConnell, last time he was minority leader, trashed that tradition and began using the filibuster across the board, trying to prove Obama was impotent and, famously, hoping to thereby make Obama a one-term President.)
I'll consider intermediate steps--short of abolition, which is why I mentioned that idea of allowing a filibuster only after a bill was actually ready for an up or down vote ↑↑ (that notion may have some promise). But if such intermediate steps don't solve the problem, then I'm still in favor of solving the problem. The filibuster can be discarded by majority vote. And I have no real problem with that solution. (Ain't like McConnell won't do it soon as it's convenient for him--and nary a second thought 'bout it.)
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Multiple public opinion polls have indicated that dedicated Trumpkins are 45%--50% unwilling to take their covid-19 shots.
(Ain't like McConnell won't do it soon as it's convenient for him--and nary a second thought 'bout it.)
Ain't that the truth!
Multiple public opinion polls have indicated that dedicated Trumpkins are 45%--50% unwilling to take their covid-19 shots.
Not surprised at all. I'm seeing that here with those who I would say support Trump. We can only hope that there are enough not stupid people that take it, as Dolly Parton said in her video showing her getting the shot.
NewYorkTimes: A massive pile-up is occurring at the Southern border as South American migrants are being apprehended and then sent back to wait in Mexico.
The migrants are being told, by Mexican "coyotes" and by American Republicans that the Biden Administration has an "open border" policy.
They are discovering that this is not true. However, by the time they discover the truth the coyotes have taken their money, and the Republicans are gleefully pointing to the pile-up and telling their Republican voters that it's Biden who's been telling the immigrants to come, that our borders are now open.
So, the coyotes and the Republicans are both happy. Biden and the South American migrants, not so much.
"It should also be an admission of guilt."
It would seem that defense counsel for ex-cop Derek Chauvin agrees with your analysis there. AssociatedPress He wants the trial delayed while he figures on how to keep Chauvin's jury from coming to the exact same conclusion.
So, the coyotes and the Republicans are both happy.
Perhaps if the Republicans are encouraging the migrants they should be the ones to house them. Texas is pretty big, last I looked...
I had heard about this. Apparently Trump was so busy dismantling the prior system used for dealing with immigrants that Biden will have to build it back up again before this logjam can be cleared. Meanwhile children and their families are stuck in limbo and rather unpleasant conditions.
It would seem that defense counsel for ex-cop Derek Chauvin agrees with your analysis there.
Yup. I don't think the judge had much sympathy. Basically he said that while the timing of that was unfortunate it was really too late now.
He's right. I don't think delaying the trial would make much difference now.
"Trump was so busy dismantling the prior system…"
Trump was of the opinion that allowing migrants from to have asylum hearings would result in some of them being granted asylum. (I think he was probably correct 'bout that.) His solution was to underfund and undercut the legal division of the immigration service so's the migrants couldn't get before an immigration judge in the first place. (I reject this solution--if we're going to do away with asylum hearings then the proper way to do it is to withdraw from the treaty(s) wherein we agreed to all that; we should not be signed on to agreements we don't intend to honor.)
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NewYorkTimes: U.S. intelligence (intelligence "community" joint report) says that Russia, at Putin's command, meddled in the 2020 election to support the reëlection of Trump.
The assessment also says that China considered meddling but ultimately decided not to engage after concluding they were unlikely to successfully move the needle, and that the effort might even backfire.
Trump's charges of election "fraud" were again dismissed as faerie tales.
You beat me again, I was going to mention that about Russia.
This CNN link makes the case, a pretty strong one, that the GOP has the same goals as Putin.
A new US intelligence report that finds Russia interfered in the 2020 election to help Donald Trump and hurt Joe Biden also underscores a fundamental truth: The gravest threat to US democracy comes from within.
I'll have to read the NYT piece later...
"I was going to mention that about Russia."
I get to post early in the morning while you're getting ready for the office.
I've had limited success, very limited--like none, convincing Lynnette that we could have avoided the ravages of the coronavirus if we'd ramped up testing to match those countries that were successful in containing the virus.
Perhaps a (fairly) short explanation in Wednesday's Atlantic will succeed where I could not.
(It matters for next time.)
Do you think enough of us will learn anything from this time?
We can't even get some people to wear masks or be willing to take the vaccine.
Huh! Wisconsin vs North Carolina was a good game. Of course I'm doubly happy because I have them in my bracket. Oral Roberts messed me up though. I had Ohio State going quite a ways.
Also, the Republicans don't want to spend any money on helping American citizens financially, do you really think they would shell out money for testing when they don't even believe half the time that a virus is real?
Even if we keep a competent person in the White House we still have to deal with a legislature that has members who follow conspiracy theories over reality.
You seem to be suggesting that we should not have implemented the indicated testing regimen 'cause the Republicans (specifically the Trumpkin faction) are a gaggle of crazies and incompetents.
No I'm saying good luck getting testing and tracing up and running nationally because the Republicans are a gaggle of crazies and incompetents.
Canada is hesitant to reopen their border with us because of the situation here with some people not taking this seriously. As in no masks.
Our cases have started to increase again here. They are thinking due to the more contagious variants and people letting down their guard.
Luckily we have been making good progress on getting the most vulnerable vaccinated so not many serious cases going to the hospital.
But we,have our share of people who are hesitant to take the vaccine. We might have difficulty getting to that 70% mark for herd immunity.
I believe we're talking past one another. I'm not interested in convincing those who're still registering to vote as Republicans. I do not entertain some vain hope that they'll have "seen the light" next time a pandemic comes around. Nor do I think we need to get testing "up and running" nationally to fight this pandemic (too late for that now; we missed our shot at containing the virus).
The Republican Party has been shedding membership since the ascendance of Trump. (Which is why they're so committed to selling "The Big Lie", as it's been dubbed, about the "stolen" election of Trump to their remaining membership.) Instead, I'm interested in getting those newly independent voters (and previously independent voters) on-board with the idea that we could have had an outcome like South Korea or Taiwan if the Republicans hadn't been in positions of power (including the blocking power) when the last pandemic came along. I think responsibility (let's not deal in euphemisms here--I think ‛ blame’) for the vast majority of those half-million dead Americans can be laid at the feet of the Republican Party. Same goes for the "hesitancy" of about half the self-declared Republicans to accept the vaccine. And I'm mindful of the fact that those still adhering to the Republican Party believe much of what they believe not because they think it's actually true, but rather because they think they've been given permission to believe it, in spite of the fairly obvious deviations from actual facts and objective truth. Faerie tales are nothing new to "those people". And I'm not interested in wasting time trying to cure them of that disease.
So, I'm prepared to make these arguments for use as countering arguments against their current and future lies--I do not expect to try to convince them of their errors. We do not need to convert them; we need to beat them back.
Post Script:
"…too late for that now; we missed our shot at containing the virus…"
This is not to say that aggressive testing might not be indicated for smaller and more isolated populations--the refugee "camps" the Biden administration is maintaining at our southern border come to mind.
In Minnesota we are making the effort to identify new clusters of cases and track those who have come in contact with those infected. I and a friend ate out at a restaurant last Sunday and they took a phone number where we could be contacted in the case of an outbreak. My friend had just recently recovered from Covid, so she was not at risk.
As I said earlier we have seen a spike in cases in some areas. So it isn't exactly too late to prevent further spread by contact tracing and testing. This pandemic isn't quite over yet.
But in Minnesota we have an administration that is willing to take this virus seriously. It is still certain people who do not.
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