The Dangers Of Deficit Dogmatism And The Courting Of Disaster
What do we know now that we didn't know coming into this week? Not much, really.
The GOP's virus relief plan isn't really a "plan", per se. It's actually a hodgepodge of different bills which Senate Republicans would have you believe constitute a single piece of legislation when considered together.
No matter your partisan affiliation, it was virtually impossible to come away from Monday thinking Republicans were on the same page. And, in case you were inexplicably inclined to believe Mitch Mc
The problem with having a moratorium on evictions is that the renter, after paying for food, health, etc. might purchase a new TV, clothing, etc. ( unnecessary items) ahead of rent, knowing that they can not be evicted.
Even without eviction moratoriums, landlords are going to be incentivized to work out a deal with current tenants. Eviction only makes sense if there is someone waiting to rent the newly “evicted” apartment who is a better credit risk.
That is not currently the case.
One way to curtail expenditure on “unnecessary items” is to throw people in the street, where a new TV would be useless. Clothing for winter, however, would be essential, so I guess that bit would help the economy.
But you’re observation on better credit risk makes sense.
Just wondering: How many job openings will there be for Republican office aides, come November?
You say that but lots of evictions have been filed and a lot of people are more reactionary and rule based rather than seeing the overall complexity of the path forward. Given most landlords screen for evictions I expect there to be a giant spike in evictions and a crisis for renters and landlords before anyone realizes what happened and works out solutions.
Starting to look like classic Republican brinksmanship. They know exacty what they’re doing. Make it look as if nothing will be passed. Avoid negotiating with Democrats. Wait until people are starving and living in the streets (it’s a great negotiating position when you really don’t care what happens to the average citizen). Then, with the clock ticking and Democrats wringing their hands, the Republicans finally “agree” on something, with appeasements to highly principled “holdouts” such as tax breaks for their favorite investment vehicles (remember Jeff Flake? Bob Corker?), Then announce that you aren’t even sure that your own Republican party can stomach the deal, because it gives so much away and violates the high principles of its members. Democrats, and the country, should be happy that there is something that the truly important people, the Republicans, can agree on. Better not try to negotiate any further or the whole deal will fall apart.
What a bunch of crap. Democrats need to stay together and stay strong to avoid seeing the entire country played once again.
this is why Bismark compared making legislation to making sausage.
” …. at least some Senate Republicans are irritated with Mark Meadows and Steve Mnuchin for caving to too many Democratic demands.”
What the hell is wrong with us? Isn’t anyone really getting tired of the GOP plan VERSUS the Democrat plan? Call me naive but it seems to to me that the prospect of hundreds of thousands of people dying and the economy in self-destruct mode is something bigger than what these clowns are doing; it is something that demands all their attention and cooperation. Every time Congress acts these days it seems there is a large faction that wants to make sure that a huge number of actual people will harmed by what they do. These 535 idiots we collectively elected to lead our country all took the same oath of office and they all were elected to serve us … ALL of US, not just the folks in their respective party religious sects or whatever. Lately, before I go to bed at night I say a little prayer that maybe if God is really in Heaven and really cares about us He will stand up tomorrow and wipe out all 535 of these idiots in Congress and say OK now this time do it right or I’ll fix it again.
People sitting around debating $3 trillion or $1 trillion is insanity, we need ongoing commitments to establish some sort of predictability and stability. Even the $600 per week unemployment kicker is ridiculous to debate when you recall unemployment generally runs out in about 6 months… March, April, May, June, July, August… By September we’re on track to be a smoking crater where an economy used to be.
Sorry you have the number wrong it is 536 if you really want to be accurate. And I am not sure I would include all of Congress anyway.
Truly, it’s 53 members of the senate, and the president, where you can focus that. There is always ample grounds for criticizing politicians of both parties, but in the present moment there is a clear place to focus the blame.
It would be interesting to see an analysis of the second-order effects, things like increases in property crime (presuming property crimes will go up when people), the effects on the rental market of counties releasing prisoners from jail early (because the counties can’t afford jails so much now), and child development and achievement for kids whose families live in a car. Too soon to evaluate second-order effects. But hopefully studies will be forthcoming.
…and the great insolvency hasn’t really started yet. sigh.
This is yet another mic-drop article, Heisenberg. Extremely well done. Keep preaching the facts!
A repeat of the standard defense – whether its healthcare or housing, your inability to procure same is due to a fault of character. Any policy proposal that may ameliorate is labelled as being “Un American” , or as somewhere on the “Socialist-Communist” spectrum.
And it will probably be a lot easier to control the virus with millions of men, women and children living in their cars. Madness.
Madness indeed.
Anyone remember Press Sec. McEnema’s comments on re-opening?
“We cant’t let science get in the way.”
Well, the quote study from Yale U constitutes “science”, expect it to be ignored by the GOP.
another excellent article, by the way, totally agree with George