10405 replies to this topic

[RShack]

I get the desperation to get rid of Trump - and agree of it's importance. But you can't just lie on the campaign trail that blatantly, and get away with it. The $2,000 down to $1,400 doesn't bother me that much. 

 

He said $2000 *before* the Repubs came thru with a measly $600.  When the Repubs came thru with $600, that left a balance of $1400... which totals to the $2000 he originally said.  There's no BS there at all, it's entirely consistent.

[You Play to Win the Game]

AFAIK, there *is* a limit and everything I've heard from the left is that want that, they don't want well-to-do people getting it.  The issue is that, if you want the relief to go out fast, you can't do it on a complicated case-by-case basis.  You have to just pick a $-number of cash relief per person *and* set a cap on how much an adult can earn and still get it.   Anything else is way too complicated to happen anytime soon.

 

So, you pick a $-number and you pick an income-cap-number, and you do it.  The $-number per person is $1400 (which ain't much).  The income cap is to be decided.  Biden started with an income cap of $150K per person mainly so the opposition could get focused on that and talk him down to a lower number.  Last I heard it's $75K income per adult.  That's a low cap for people where the cost of living is high, but a high cap in East Bumfrick Iowa.  But so it goes.  You gotta pick arbitrary things like that or else it will take forever. 

 

And if somebody gets a few bucks too much, well, that's the very least of our problems right now.

I believe there is, but that is another thing the far left is currently up in arms about, along with the $1,400 vs. $2,000; which as I said earlier, I don't mind... $600+$1,400 = $2,000 - I just don't think $2,000, for the people who are truly hurting, is nearly enough, but that's a separate conversation altogether. But the income limit thing - I can't really understand how that's a problem. I think it's pragmatic, responsible and realistic in terms of how you're ever going to get anything done in this climate. 

[You Play to Win the Game]

He said $2000 *before* the Repubs came thru with a measly $600.  When the Repubs came thru with $600, that left a balance of $1400... which totals to the $2000 he originally said.  There's no BS there at all, it's entirely consistent.

Like I said, this one didn't really bother me. I think the far left looks at it as, if he truly cared for the people who are desperate right now, he'd be fighting for $2k or more, regardless of what was done before. I think that's where they lose me a little bit. Until there is some sort of dramatic, probably super scary and traumatic uprising in this country, this is the way things work and simply put - I want what they're on if they really think with a straight face he can actually get anything done above what he's about to get done (which we still don't even know the extent of anyway).

[You Play to Win the Game]

Covid relief is still covid, but it is definitely political - a bit blurry here so Mods feel free to remove if crossing the line.

 

The Senate Parliamentarian tonight ruled that the Dems' $15/hr Min. Wage provision can't be included in the covid relief bill. So there's that. I think it sucks personally, but probably in turn helps to get it approved in the end.

[Mike in STL]

Covid relief is still covid, but it is definitely political - a bit blurry here so Mods feel free to remove if crossing the line.

The Senate Parliamentarian tonight ruled that the Dems' $15/hr Min. Wage provision can't be included in the covid relief bill. So there's that. I think it sucks personally, but probably in turn helps to get it approved in the end.

I’m receiving way too many fast food orders screwed up for minimum wage to go up.

Joking. The cost of living is rising faster than wages.

But seriously. I’m not exaggerating when I say the last 10 times I’ve gotten drive thru or something delivered, it’s been a mistake. Ice cold hot food. Forgetting food. Wrong food. Ignoring simple modifications like “no tomatoes”.

[glenn__davis]

Well I've been blissfully ambivalent about the vaccine appointment issues because I figured I didn't qualify yet, but we just got word that we've been declared essential personnel and are in group 1C.  (Which really we probably should have been all along since we never locked down even in the prime lockdown time.)  So now I guess I have to look into figuring this thing out...

[NewMarketSean]

Well I've been blissfully ambivalent about the vaccine appointment issues because I figured I didn't qualify yet, but we just got word that we've been declared essential personnel and are in group 1C.  (Which really we probably should have been all along since we never locked down even in the prime lockdown time.)  So now I guess I have to look into figuring this thing out...

Same here. I’m going to be hitting refresh a bunch next week. 

[The Epic]

Covid relief is still covid, but it is definitely political - a bit blurry here so Mods feel free to remove if crossing the line.

 

The Senate Parliamentarian tonight ruled that the Dems' $15/hr Min. Wage provision can't be included in the covid relief bill. So there's that. I think it sucks personally, but probably in turn helps to get it approved in the end.

 

I'm fine with this, as, like you said, it helps things move more quickly, and people need help now. 

 

The $2,000 (which, tbh, I always saw as $1,400+$600) is entirely different and should be added as promised. Though IJS, I'd have been like, "Screw it, here's $2,000 flat out. We all need it." and moved on.

[RShack]

The best way to get the $15 into law is to do what they did the last time they raised it:  stick it in a Pentagon funding bill near a deadline and tell the other party that nobody gets to go home for the weekend until it passes. 

 

That's what worked last time... after the Usual Suspects spent months loudly professing that raising the MIN wage would ruin the entire country, suddenly it passed the Senate by something like 80-20...

[You Play to Win the Game]

The House just sent the bill to the Senate. Pelosi strikes again. There's funding for a subway in Silicon Valley, for instance. Just so gross. I don't know why we put up with this corruption.

[russsnyder]

The House just sent the bill to the Senate. Pelosi strikes again. There's funding for a subway in Silicon Valley, for instance. Just so gross. I don't know why we put up with this corruption.

I guess "earmarks" are back indeed!

[RShack]

I guess "earmarks" are back indeed!

 

Earmarks are crucial to having Congress actually work.  There is a tight correlation between measures to ban them and the inability of Congress to get anything done. 

 

If you can't do horse trading, nothing gets done on the ranch...

 

p.s.  I haven't looked to see if Schumer's money for NY-NJ bridge operations and upgrades got thru too... but you gotta expect that the Speaker gets something, and so does the Senate Majority Leader.   

 

Jim Palmer made more money than Moe Drabowsky... because he was more important to the team.  Same basic thing... except it's not money for the pol's themselves, it's something for the community they each represent.  That's just how the ball bounces.

 

I hope there's something in there for Manchin.  They already moved a big FBI operation to WVA... maybe some big chunk of Homeland Security or the CIA can move up the road a bit too...

[russsnyder]

Earmarks are crucial to having Congress actually work. There is a tight correlation between efforts to ban them and the inability of Congress to get anything done.

If you can't do horse trading, nothing gets done on the ranch...

Funding for the San Jose subway and the New York Bridge to Canada shouldn't be in the Covid Relief Bill in the first place. The " Horse Trading" involved in this bill is ridiculous IMHO. Hopefully, some of this garbage gets put out of the bill in the Senate. The " Horse Trading" is why this bill is unnecessarily 500 and some odd pages. End of rant, let's get some relief to the American People.

[RShack]

Funding for the San Jose subway and the New York Bridge to Canada shouldn't be in the Covid Relief Bill in the first place. The " Horse Trading" involved in this bill is ridiculous IMHO. Hopefully, some of this garbage gets put out of the bill in the Senate. The " Horse Trading" is why this bill is unnecessarily 500 and some odd pages. End of rant, let's get some relief to the American People.

 

Nothing is pure.  Nothing.  What matters is whether it's a big chunk of the bill or just pocket change.  See what % it is and hope it's a tiny portion... and see if it's junk or something worthwhile...  and see how much is to keep operations from going under vs. inventing something new.... 

 

Last I heard, Schumer's bridge thing was $2.5 B... out of $1900 B... which is 0.0013... that's 13 ten thousandths of it... and much of it is just to continue operations rather than fire a bunch of people because the income from it so low... due to covid...

[russsnyder]

Nothing is pure. Nothing. What matters is whether it's a big chunk of the bill or just pocket change. See what % it is and hope it's a tiny portion... and see if it's junk or something worthwhile... and see how much is to keep operations from going under vs. inventing something new.... last I heard, Schumer's bridge thing was $2.5B... out of $1900 B... which is 0.0013 %... which is 13 ten thousandths of it...

Schumer's bridge should be 0%.

It's trash and has nothing to do with Covid.

2.5 Billion is nothing when it's not your money. More importantly, I don't think people we elect to represent us should be spending billions like it's nothing.

The Democratic Rep from Maine ( Golden?)
voted against the bill. His rationale was that the bill was about 20 percent about Covid Relief. I respect his vote in that regard. While I don't expect 100 per cent pure out of our government leaders, it's disheartening that our elected officials would take advantage of a pandemic to get funding for projects in their respective areas of representation.

[Mackus]

I know nothing about this particular bridge, but covering revenue shortfalls on things usually funded by tolls or the like that are not hitting their revenue projections due to Covid should absolutely be in the bill. Not sure why anyone would think otherwise. Should we shut down all toll roads instead until people are commuting again?

[You Play to Win the Game]

There's no justifying it. It's legalized corruption plain and simple.

[You Play to Win the Game]

I know nothing about this particular bridge, but covering revenue shortfalls on things usually funded by tolls or the like that are not hitting their revenue projections due to Covid should absolutely be in the bill. Not sure why anyone would think otherwise. Should we shut down all toll roads instead until people are commuting again?

You're making a lot of assumptions Mack, who said this?

This is what I mean, it's just way too easy to justify this crap.

These resources that go to non-individuals aren't for pure reasons line keeping toll roads open. They are for political reasons solely, and I think you probably have have know that if you're being honest.

[RShack]

Schumer's bridge should be 0%.
 

 

Dream on..   

[RShack]

You're making a lot of assumptions Mack, who said this?

 

WaPo did an analysis of how much of it gets spent on what... some other sane source also did it in more detail... but I forget who it was... I bet google knows...