Do I think the government needs to open up at some point, and take some mitigated risks to jump start the economy? sure. But I don't see an opportunity for mitigated risks for select businesses and workers at this time, maybe in a month or two. We need to have a reduction in cases before we even talk about opening things up.
I fully understand your point. I just disagree with it. I believe that keeping everything shut down for another two months will cause irrevocable damage. And that damage will continue to be a menace, long after this virus is considered an afterthougth.
But again, people should not be making the choice should I put my health and families health at risk so I can pay rent/pay my mortgage and bills. That choice is a non starter for me, because those less fortunate are going to be the ones that will likely have to go back to work via necessity and thus the highest risk of getting sick. And a society that values its less fortunate as expendable in a crisis like this is not a moral and ethical society to me. Those that are less fortunate have the RIGHT to return to work in a reasonably safe environment where they are not putting their health at risk to earn a meager paycheck so others can go shopping, going to movies, playing golf, going to the gym and engaging in commerce. And if it is not reasonably safe, they should be protected and compensated so we do not lose our homes and lives until it is reasonably safe.
This I love. Absolutely love. Let's cry about corporate greed, but then absolutely turn around and Sh!t on small businesses. What the eff' do you believe small businesses are? They are the retail stores, the movie theaters, the gyms, the bars and restaurants. If they are not open, they go under. And if enough of them go under where do you think their employees are going to find future employment?
This is how the economy works, I am sorry to tell you . People go out to the store or the gym and pay what they need to. In turn, those businesses pay their employees and then they go out and spend the money then want or need.
Oh, and before discussing what a meager paycheck is, perhaps you should check in with the workers at gyms for example to see if they are happy to work there.
Our government needs to have some sort of compensation for people so they can stay home until there is a reduction in cases and allow people to make hard choices for themselves about going back to work without feeling they have to to pay their bills.
They do. It is called unemployment. And the SBA loans. And the checks that people received. But you cannot just continue to print money. The government runs on tax revenue. The greater the unemployed and the more small businesses that go under, the less tax revenue exists. That is pretty fundamental. It short circuits. The more they have to pay out, the less they have to continue to pay out over time. Then the benefit well runs dry.
you repeatedly talk about how we cannot do X,Y,Z. But other countries are doing those exact things, why are we incapable of doing what Italy has done and suspend mortgage payments? Why can't we give people 2K a month like Canada is doing for its citizens? Why cant we test like South Korea? Why is every major industrial country testing better and providing for its citizens better than ours? Id love to hear your answer for this, because for me, our government and many people living in it do not have the level of empathy and care required to support and care for those less fortunate.
I am not saying that they cannot do this. I am saying that there is only so much time that they can do it for.
You can suspend mortgage and rent payments. But only for so long and will need to compensate the lenders and the renters. Otherwise, they go unemployed. Unless of course you believe that only the wealthy rent houses? Of that banks do not employ legions of employees that work in their mortgage divisions?
A government cannot simply prevent a business from charging rent for long. That becomes an infringement on their right to make a living. Unless of course the government wants to take equity in the businesses. Look how well that has worked out in China and Russia. To say nothing of what becomes of that revenue that is now non-taxable.
And I disagree on the "empathy" part. Sounds like you believe I have none. Which is an utter crock of despicable crap.
We have the largest economy in the world, the global economy basically runs on the US dollar. I never said it will not cost a lot, but the idea that every other nation has figured out a way to help its citizens better than ours and your only answer is "it cannot be done" If America is so great, why can't it even take care of its own people?
What are you talking about? You have not seen the economical effects that is has on every nation. In fact you have seen exactly NONE. So I have no idea of how you can even begin to make that statement.
America can take care of its one people. But at some point the rubber hits the road. Once you have created a new class of citizens that are permanently unemployed, well I am not sure you really want to see what society is like at that point.
