On Christmas, America Ponders Historic Failure Of Government
Markets weren't exactly "euphoric" after Congress managed to pass what the media characterized as "the second-biggest economic rescue package in US history."
That characterization (the quote is from Bloomberg, but some version of that language was strewn across the financial pages Tuesday) is technically accurate, but it belies the legislation's myriad inadequacies and the extraordinarily fraught nature of the negotiations, which lasted five agonizing months.
Over that period, Americans died a
Trump the self-proclaimed war time president is MIA.
He’s been too busy plotting treason with Gaetz, Jordan, Gohmert, Brooks, and other members of the Rockhead Caucus.
He is no longer missing.
Trump is now holding off on signing the stimulus bill into law. Ostensibly because he wants $2000 checks sent out instead of the $600 checks that his own Treasury Secretary recommended.
Of course, he will sign the bill into law tomorrow or the next day. Because he doesn’t care one whit about the size of the checks. What he cares about is attention. To this sad pantomime of a human being grandstanding on badly needed disaster relief is being ‘presidential’. He wanted to go on the record with the American public that he would have given them more. He wanted to hold court once more to be showered with the pleas of his sycophants.
What is amazing about the data presented is that even prior to the pandemic, there were millions of people in the US without enough food to eat. The pandemic has exacerbated what was already there.
America has surplus food to export and still provides tens of billions to farmers in direct payments. Forty percent of our food is thrown away. No one begrudges those scary farmers their cash or really worries about the food waste but still there is almost no support within the vast majority of voters to move that farm surplus to the hungry. Food stamp recipients are declining, not because they no longer need help but because increasing numbers are considered “losers” who don’t deserve help. There is a school lunch program that feeds many kids, but not enough. And this year the closure of schools has not only risked the educations of millions of kids (albeit understandingly) but has added to food insecurity because so many kids have lost the connection to the school lunch program. As an individual who was involved in the establishment of one of the first government surplus food distribution programs I have been amazed at the level of opposition by my fellow Americans to helping those who don’t get enough to eat. Heaven help us when the water starts to really run out. I urge anyone out there who is reading this to give to your local food bank. I have contributed two months of my income this year and most of that has been matched as well. In Independence, MO, home of one of our presidents something like 90% of the kids qualify for school lunches. This should never be happening! This is MAGA?