LaxPower Back-Up Stick

So what’s in the stimulus bill that McConnell is trying to ram through the Senate? It grudgingly provides some, but only some, of the aid Americans in distress will need. Funny, isn’t it, how helping ordinary Americans is always framed as a “Democratic demand”?
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it also includes a $500 billion slush fund for corporations that the Trump administration could allocate at its discretion, with essentially no oversight. This isn’t just terrible policy; it’s an insult to our intelligence.
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Finally, we’ve just had a definitive test of the underlying premise of the McConnell slush fund — that if you give corporations money without strings attached they will use it for the benefit of workers and the economy as a whole. In 2017 Republicans rammed through a huge corporate tax cut, which they assured us would lead to higher wages and surging business investment.

Neither of these things happened; instead, corporations basically used the money to buy back their own stock. Why would this time be any different?

As I write this, Republicans are ranting that Democrats are sabotaging the economy by refusing to pass McConnell’s bill — which is a bit rich for those who remember the G.O.P.’s scorched-earth opposition to everything Barack Obama proposed. But in any case, if McConnell really wants action, he could get it easily either by dropping his demand for a Trump-controlled slush fund or by passing the stimulus bill House Democrats are likely to offer very soon.

a fan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:46 pm Walt. Advanced diplomas brewing and distilling. Scott has MEnvEng Stanford, BS/BS Econ./Industrial Engineering Northwestern.

Walt was a "tad" more talented than I am.....

a fan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:46 pm Walt. Advanced diplomas brewing and distilling. Scott has MEnvEng Stanford, BS/BS Econ./Industrial Engineering Northwestern.

Walt was a "tad" more talented than I am.....

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:52 am

a fan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:46 pm Walt. Advanced diplomas brewing and distilling. Scott has MEnvEng Stanford, BS/BS Econ./Industrial Engineering Northwestern.

Walt was a "tad" more talented than I am.....

Woulda wagered it was the other way around.

Trinity wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:36 am Are you new in this country? How many times must Democrats restart the economy after a Republican has crashed it. Biden will govern a country in far worse shape than the one he and Obama handed off, maybe worse than GW Bush left.

6ftstick wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:12 am Cut to the chase. Does anyone really believe Nancy Pelosi and the democrats want to stimulate the economy?

seacoaster wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:55 am The political system is not built for this kind of crisis, and the rancor of the weekend and yesterday was to be expected. Aim your fire at Democrats? Sure, but remember that McConnell didn't even get his entire caucus to back the bill he proposed. From the Post article this AM:

"Democrats have argued that the Senate GOP bill is disproportionately tilted toward helping companies and needs to extend more benefits to families and health-care providers. Republicans have countered that the measure offers unprecedented financial assistance to the entire economy and needs to be passed before more people lose their jobs. Some economists have projected that more than 3 million people were laid off last week as businesses and consumers pulled back, and those numbers are only expected to grow.

The vote Monday was 49 to 46, well short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the legislation for a final debate."

Republicans proposed a bad bill; Democrats countered, with one from the house of Congress that appropriates the money, that is flawed. The push and pull is not "bad," so much as it is to be expected. They'll pass a bill today that will be seriously imperfect, and will result in a series of hole-plugging bills over the next few weeks. It won't be pretty.

Meanwhile, the Chief Ninkompoop wants everyone to go back to work and stop all this palaver about distancing...so Eric has better cash flow.

https://twitter.com/T_Inglesby

CU77 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 12:57 am Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman in the NYT:

So what’s in the stimulus bill that McConnell is trying to ram through the Senate? It grudgingly provides some, but only some, of the aid Americans in distress will need. Funny, isn’t it, how helping ordinary Americans is always framed as a “Democratic demand”?
...
it also includes a $500 billion slush fund for corporations that the Trump administration could allocate at its discretion, with essentially no oversight. This isn’t just terrible policy; it’s an insult to our intelligence.
...
Finally, we’ve just had a definitive test of the underlying premise of the McConnell slush fund — that if you give corporations money without strings attached they will use it for the benefit of workers and the economy as a whole. In 2017 Republicans rammed through a huge corporate tax cut, which they assured us would lead to higher wages and surging business investment.

Neither of these things happened; instead, corporations basically used the money to buy back their own stock. Why would this time be any different?

As I write this, Republicans are ranting that Democrats are sabotaging the economy by refusing to pass McConnell’s bill — which is a bit rich for those who remember the G.O.P.’s scorched-earth opposition to everything Barack Obama proposed. But in any case, if McConnell really wants action, he could get it easily either by dropping his demand for a Trump-controlled slush fund or by passing the stimulus bill House Democrats are likely to offer very soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/opin ... virus.html

And absolutely nobody is opposed to the gubmint doing some kind of massive bailout.

There are no capitalists in foxholes.

jhu72 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:41 am Olympics are now being delayed for 1 year.

Farfromgeneva wrote: ↑Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:11 am Olympics are a tv show. Not that big a deal if they disappeared altogether at this stage.