COVID19 Free Money USA

[winniman]

Originally Posted by twinboat

That only works until the 1%ers drop out of the 1% group. Then its the .9%ers and so on.

My contracting company build mansions, (cottages), for the extremely rich. If you can spend 10 million on a cottage, how much money do you have. If each of these people had 100 million in the bank, and gave even one million each, they would hardly be putting themselves at risk of going broke. This doesn't even take into account the ultra rich. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet could probably dig out the economy themselves, and still have money to spare.

[jacwjames]

How many times have you read or heard that most of the USA families have essentially no emergency fund. I have preached to many people to have at least 1 year emergency fund, some have heeded my advice, most haven't. If you are making minimum wage how much can you save. If you are making $15/hr and have a family, how much can you save. Probably not much, so in a case like this, where for no fault of their own they loose their jobs and livelihood.

I believe we do have to do something for people and small businesses that barely make ends meet.

I do not agree with giving money large corporation who have not had the foresight to save for a rainy day while all along paying huge salaries, bonuses and dividends. Even after receiving a significant tax break.

My wife and I have already had a discussion of possibly helping out our nieces and nephews. If we do receive a check we might as well put it use where it can do some good.

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by Donskiman

M
Regarding unemployment, I think when the details are released it will be that people will receive UP TO an additional $600 per week to bring them UP TO their full pay. I doubt people are going to be making more on unemployment than they did when they worked. For some, they may only get $300 extra, while for others even the full $600 won't bring them up to full pay.

From Fox News:
"Democrats said the package specifically would help replace the salaries of furloughed workers for four months, rather than the three months first proposed. Furloughed workers would get whatever amount a state usually provides for unemployment, plus a $600 per week add-on, with gig workers like Uber drivers covered for the first time."


I agree with you Don, one shouldn't get a raise going on unemployment. And it's for 4 months. What's keeping these folks from just staying on unemployment for the whole time?

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by McRod

US postal service is getting $10B. I went the post office yesterday. Was operating as normal.

Farmers/Ranchers are getting $24 Billion. The least likely to get COVID19. Demand for food went up. I still can't find hamburger!

Food stamps and cold nutrition $25 Billion.

Schools are getting $30 Billion. Grrr!

Telemedicine $200 Billion. Skype like telemedicine. Really? Just use Skype! It's free!

DoD gets $10.5 Billion.

State and local governments get $150 Billion. To offset revenue lost from closed businesses and unemployment costs. I get this one, but...

The postal workers put on a braver face to the public, I think. I try to be extra nice to the Window Unit staff. The USPS could use some extra money but like you, I question if *this* is the time, manner and place to do it.

Family farmers and ranchers are in trouble and have been for decades, but especially since the 2008 recession. The temporary land value increases sucked in a lot of young farmers: they borrowed against the value of their land to buy better machinery & technology to increase yields and reduce labor costs, but then the value of land collapse and left many of them under water. Independent dairy farmers are losing money on every hundred weight and have the highest suicide rate in agriculture. Probably the question for the ag segment would be "is $25b enough?" My question is why is the COVID response the place for this assistance? It seems that more focused agricultural policy would be better at helping America's farmers, ranchers and dairy(wo)men. Maybe this was the fastest way to help?

Food stamps and nutrition programs have had budget cuts over the last few years. It seems Congress-critters only votes for this assistance when they can hide the money in another bill (like this one) so they don't get called out at re-election time. Is this money needed? Probably.

Schools? We ask public schools to do a whole lot beyond educating kids to take standardised tests, upon which future school funding is predicated. Now they are being tasked with providing remote learning across the entire K-12 spectrum while maintaining special education and being a distribution point of nutritional assistance. The job of education just got harder and not cheaper.

Skype is free to individual users but business pays for the service. There are other considerations in telemedicine (like delivering the network connection to rural areas where telemed is most needed, encryption and patient confidentiality, etc). There's a bunch of infrastructure that needs built out, built up, or built to begin with, and then physicians, PAs, nurse practitioners, and line staff need to be trained to make effective use of this tool. We need more hardware in reserves, too, like the ventilators we've heard much about, plus single-use supplies and medications in reserve.

DoD? Assistance to the families of our service members to help them? Better care for our veterans (we can hope)? Pay for emergency transportation, logistics, and medical services? I haven't heard where this $$ is going.

Local and state governments are losing a huge amount of money from sales/use taxes and income taxes. My question is whether or not $150b will be enough, not that I'm advocating giving them more at this time.

I tend to agree that large corporations need to keep assets on hand to deal with downturns, but the corporate tax system tends to penalize retaining earnings, plus investors want to see dividends and rising share prices. Not an excuse, but an explanation.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by riverforest

How about the cruise ship industry, alot of them fly under foreign flag's to keep from paying U.S. taxes...wouldn't it be ironic if they started crying for help ?

How about it ?

Who supplies and stocks the food, works the docks and fuels them ?

Who handles Port security ?

Who flys the passangers to the cruise port city, gets them from the airport to the cruise port, handles the luggage, checks them in ?

If you drive, where do you park your car, how do you get to the ship ?

They even use our pilots to run them into and out of the harbors.

Many cruisers stay at hotels before and after the cruise.

Ever look at the port taxs when you cruise ?

Its more then just the foreign flagged ships.

[Donskiman]

Originally Posted by F4Gary

From Fox News:
"Democrats said the package specifically would help replace the salaries of furloughed workers for four months, rather than the three months first proposed. Furloughed workers would get whatever amount a state usually provides for unemployment, plus a $600 per week add-on, with gig workers like Uber drivers covered for the first time."


I agree with you Don, one shouldn't get a raise going on unemployment. And it's for 4 months. What's keeping these folks from just staying on unemployment for the whole time?

I'm still of the opinion the final details will be different than what's being reported. My job pays about $660 weekly. My unemployment will be about $350. If this is true I would be getting about 50% more on unemployment than when I was working. I only planned on working until the end of the year before retiring. Between the regular stimulus check and the extra UI benefit, it would be more than $10,000. That seems very excessive and I doubt it will be anywhere near that much when it's all done.

[RVPioneer]

Originally Posted by F4Gary

From Fox News:
"Democrats said the package specifically would help replace the salaries of furloughed workers for four months, rather than the three months first proposed. Furloughed workers would get whatever amount a state usually provides for unemployment, plus a $600 per week add-on, with gig workers like Uber drivers covered for the first time."


I agree with you Don, one shouldn't get a raise going on unemployment. And it's for 4 months. What's keeping these folks from just staying on unemployment for the whole time?

^^^Delving into forbidden territory.

Unemployment insurance benefits are temporary, lasting 6 months in some cases. In CA the maximum benefit is $450/wk, if a beneficiary has Fed taxes deducted it will be $405/wk. A new claim must be filed each year, and there is a one week waiting period before benefits begin. Some people who are now out of work may have previously exhausted their unemployment benefits.

Someone earning $10-12/hr will not qualify for the maximum benefit. They may get $200-300/wk.

I am out of work because my industry shut down out of concerns over Covid-19. It has been 2 weeks and I expect to be out of work for at least 3 more weeks. I am technically out of work due to illness. However, I am not ill. If I were ill or injured and could not go to work, I would be eligible for disability insurance. In CA this pays ~$1300/wk.

The $450/wk equals a small fraction of my weekly income, as does the proposed increased amount of $1050/wk. Same goes for the $1300/wk disability. Yes, I am fortunate to make a good living. I am also fortunate to have no debt and to have saved for such a situation. 2-3 months off won’t send me to the poor house, whether I get $450/wk or $1050/wk. It could destroy a large number of American households who live paycheck to paycheck.

Sure the plan isn’t perfect. It is the plan that was devised by the people we elected to handle such a situation, so we’ll just have to deal with it however we choose. Keep the money, send it back, give it to a relative or someone in need. At least it is money going to the average Joe to do with as they please.

[F4Gary]

Originally Posted by Donskiman

I'm still of the opinion the final details will be different than what's being reported. My job pays about $660 weekly. My unemployment will be about $350. If this is true I would be getting about 50% more on unemployment than when I was working. I only planned on working until the end of the year before retiring. Between the regular stimulus check and the extra UI benefit, it would be more than $10,000. That seems very excessive and I doubt it will be anywhere near that much when it's all done.

Unfortunately, I think it is done. Enjoy your windfall and stay safe. Hope you get to retire as planned!

[2cyber71]

I’m a small business owner that has been shut down for 2 weeks. My expenses have continued. My most expensive was prepaid for a 12 month period. I’ll never get it back and the $1200 person covers nothing compare to what I’m spending with a idle business. I didn’t do layoffs but my employees are doing zero. It’s worse for a business that doesn’t have a large rainy day savings.

[Cumminsfan]

Originally Posted by baraff

It's an election year. It's a bribe.
Sorry, not trying to be political but it is what it is.

It's an election year all over the world? Give me a break. Check out how many other countries are doing stimulus packages.

[BillJinOR]

Actually I believe it was fixed in the final negotiations If your making 600 a week and the unemployment state benefit to you is 400 the feds will kick in 200 ( up to a total of 600 from the fed) to make you whole. Not more.

[Winemaker2]

Originally Posted by twinboat

I collect a pension and SS, along with the DW also collecting SS. We don't work so there is no loss of income. We're on lockdown so I can't spend money.
Why are they sending millions, like us, $2400.
I suppose I could leave it to my grandchildren to pay back.

It will be to late to by some low priced stocks.

Agree with the logic but I think we all know why would they (nonpartisan) vote to give money to the greatest # of people possible in an election year?

Do those (us) on SS, pensions need it? Why?
What's different for those on SSI?

To me the real need is for those working folks that through no fault of their own are now unemployed and facing desperate times & decisions. A one time payment of $1-3k isn't going to do much / enough.
Why not increase and extend unemployment.
I'd also try to find a way to pay hazardous duty pay to those on the front lines.
When it is time to reopen for business maybe a per rehire payment to employers would help jump start employment & economy.

[baraff]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

It's an election year all over the world? Give me a break. Check out how many other countries are doing stimulus packages.

You have a point. However, in this country it IS an election year and the current administration screwed up early detection and testing, knows they are in deep political trouble and is trying to do something about it. The other side can't object without looking like a bunch of heartless cretins, so they went along with it. So yes, it is a bribe.
There are many people in this country who don't need this "gift" from the government. Give it to those who need it, not to those who don't.

During the last cash giveaway, a lot of that money was put in the bank and not spent. I suspect that may happen this time too.

The debt we are leaving for future generations is not sustainable.

[ShelbyM]

I feel an obligation to spend it. It may not help but putting it in the bank surely won't. I've read that housing may soon take a hit. Maybe it's time to have some repairs or renovations done. After Easter, of course.