160,000 Dead Americans Later, Congress Clears Final Hurdle To New Stimulus Deal
Pat Toomey, who decided to undermine stimulus talks in Washington at the last minute by attempting to insert language into a long-sought virus relief bill limiting the Fed's capacity to establish certain kinds of emergency facilities, "agreed to drop" at least a few of his demands, Democratic aides said late Saturday.
That, in turn, cleared the way for Congress to finalize and pass the $900 billion proposal, which will be attached to a broader government spending package for fiscal year 2021.
Internal rot is a far greater threat to America’s continued prosperity than the rise of China.
I dream of a world where a Friedman k-percent rule is added to the constitution, fiscal policy does the heavy lifting in emergencies and the Chair of the Federal Reserve enjoys a 10% name recognition. I know Toomey was playing politics rather than expressing his deeply held beliefs, but I will take any step that heads towards taking away the discretionary money-printing power which the Fed now has.
Is this our final destination where the genius of a Pat Toomey is going to determine how the central bank operates. My point, what are politicians qualified to do these days. Most are lawyers and we’ve seen in recent years they are not even very skilled in crafting bills. Remember the uninformed (stupid) questions they asked the CEO’s of major tech companies. To say most didn’t have a clue is being generous. Now we are counting on their wisdom to keep the economy strong. This is what makes me worry about when I should go to more cash.
The Toomey proposal was very clearly designed to give the (GOP-controlled) Senate greater say into how and when the Fed can intervene in markets. As Democrats have suggested, the idea is to limit the Biden administration’s ability to enact its economic priorities.
At this point, no one should be surprised that the GOP is putting party over country.
I usually ascribe incompetence over malice with regards to situations such as what we have been facing this last while.
It does seem more and more apparent to any rationale observer that what we have witnessed is perhaps among the greatest moral failures put upon our own.
The string of activities to undermine democracy, and on an on, has entered the ream of purposeful decision making. It does appear certain actors have opted to ensure the economy is weakened to the extent possible using our political system, to ensure with the greatest probability, that the incoming administration fails when faced with the fusillade of challenges that are sure to happen.
I can envision a future committee tasked with providing a report to the American people of the government’s response to COVID. Should we call it a national reconciliation? Unfortunately, we already know how that will committee will play out. Specifically, on present course, it would avoid any content about the moral wrongs and failures that were put upon our own.
This COVID response so far, and we are only about half way through deaths and are still within realm for a financial economy crash, is the American, domestic Abu Ghraib.
Our country is broken, not sick. America does not come back from this. This is an important point in history and we have to decide where we go next.
“In reality, it was a total debacle.” Sad because it is true, but also because we could say the same to describe so many actions (or failures to act) by the executive and legislative branches of our government in 2020, debacle describes the Trump years perhaps better than any other word.
I don’t need a stimulus check. Can I transfer that $600 to someone unemployed?
This is really disturbing. In 2009, Republicans offered virtually no assistance on Obama’s stimulus bill. The legislation that was passed was a step forward, but nothing close to what was really needed to revitalize the economy quickly. The Republicans then blamed him for not doing enough . The important point is that their strategy worked. The 2010 midterm elections were a disaster, and Obama never again had support from a Democratic house and senate. Poor Biden isn’t getting much of a honeymoon. Even before taking office, the goal is not merely to hamper the Fed, but to take actions that will cripple the economy. And, they are doing it in ways that the vast majority of the public does not really understand. Attempts to “privatize” social security were a political nightmare for Republicans. But I can’t imagine too many people will take to the streets to protest modifications to authority of the Fed. Their strategy may very well work–both in hurting the economy and delivering political gains in the midterms.
I would like to know how much Jerome Powell’s net worth has increased since the beginning of the Fed’s interventions/programs related to the COVID-19 crisis…
I admit that I’m more cynical than most (OK, by a lot), But if you believe that a multi, multi, millionaire like Powell is motivated to be Fed chairman by a few bucks, I hand you the crown.
Yeah, sorry, but that’s absurd. Jerome Powell isn’t trying to inflate the value of his portfolio in his role as Fed chair. This thread is venturing into Fed conspiracy theories, and regular readers know how I feel about that: I don’t countenance it. This isn’t that kind of site. If you want to traffic in Fed conspiracies, there are places you can go to do that. This isn’t one of them and never will be.
In late breaking news, Giuliani has filed emergency appeals with the Supreme Court, the UNHCR, the Philadelphia chapter of the D.A.R, the Tooth Fairy, and the Prince of Darkness Himself seeking to overturn the presidential election.
So far, only the Prince has responded, noting ” I already have trump’s soul; your currency is worthless Rudy”.