The stimulus package has been agreed upon and should be ratified before weeks end. Whatever relief you get was fought for, because the GOP basically left you out of the equation in their carefully crafted legislation that was rejected. So what was won? How are you to be supported through this calamity? $1200. That’s it right now. What does that pay for you? A month’s rent? Maybe car costs, electricity, water and sewer for a Read more…
The negotiations on the Coroanvirus Stimulus bill are revealing something that has characterized our politics for decades, ensuring the constant pendulum swing of government from conservative to, well, less so. When the GOP hunkered down to craft their response, the priorities were very clear. It was a corporate windfall, with half a trillion in a slush fund that Sec. Mnuchin would be free to dole out any way he saw fit, no oversight of any Read more…
So let’s talk about Rand, to start. Out of a hundred senators, 8 voted against the first relief bill targeted against the coronavirus. Rand was one. His argument was that the bill needed to be paid for, that they were the defenders of fiscal responsibility and it would be irresponsible to vote for this and not somehow pay for it. He suggested all troops and support personnel should be pulled out of Afghanistan to pay Read more…
I am gobsmacked. As I interact on social media, I am still coming across an alarming number of people that think this is no big deal, a political ploy to attack the President who is trying so hard to make sure everyone is ok. In a week or two we’ll all be back to work and laughing about how freaked out we all were. This past week, applications for unemployment insurance increased tenfold from the Read more…
So I have been isolating. This is day six. Some folks at work still think I’m overreacting as they go to work each day in a job that puts them in direct contact with the public for 9-12 hours a day. Because I now fancy myself a blogger, I am keeping the news rolling on the TV with an occasional break to watch a movie. I think it’s important for these musings of mine to Read more…
These irrelevant little missives I’m creating are becoming harder and harder to write each day. Though they seem pretty dark, I admit, they are the product of a great deal of restraint. They aren’t nearly as dark as what I’m feeling. We’re losing this battle. Cheer the heroes. Look for the helpers as Mr. Rogers said, and there is no shortage of them. First responders, hospital personnel, CEO’s with the foresight to close their doors, Read more…
GameStop is a store you might be familiar with.They sell pre-owned electronic entertainments to cash strapped gamers. Their employees recently received an email from the company that informed them the company considered itself an essential business in this virus-threatened environment we find ourselves in, and they would be staying open, so strap in. It is hard to choose as an indentured serf who you would rather have as a master. Is it the one that Read more…
I have been silenced all day. I have watched the numbers climb for the virus and plummet in the markets. Just watching it burning. As I try to sweep away the speculative and stick to just the numbers, data not drama, it solves nothing. What’s left as a best case is a tsunami. That is the big story, the lead no matter where you get your info. Hell, Hannity thinks there may be an issue. Read more…
So that went as predicted. All Hail the Chief! Joe is the last man standing in the contest to see who has the privilege of attempting to save the citizens from themselves. The guessing game of who will be his VP choice will go on in force, and our President will start a relentless assault on anything and everything Joe, true or not. But it’s over. If you are still out there parsing a path Read more…
Yesterday’s update on the novel coronavirus outbreak from the Administration’s team started with the President praising the beauty of the day and then announcing that the Fed had announced a reduction of the baseline interest rate to 0-0.25%, and that made him very happy. He was in a chipper mood. Not editorializing here. You can watch the tape. This was an emergency drop that indicated a very severe turn of events in the economy. The Read more…