is Slate’s senior business and economics correspondent. He’s been reporting on the federal response to the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus and talking to struggling business and franchise owners. About a month ago, Weissmann was faintly hopeful that Congress would do something to catch Americans in financial free fall as the economy looked on the verge of collapse and layoffs were beginning.
Another portion of the stimulus bill is the boost to unemployment insurance: $600 a week, which in some states, I think, more than doubles what you would have been able to receive. This is another program that theoretically an enormous number of people should be taking advantage of. What’s the evidence we’ve seen that this is working?
Something that’s come up both with the checks and the unemployment insurance is that, for America’s mighty federal government, our administrative state is in shambles. We can’t figure out how to do anything. When this is all over, I want there to be bars and restaurants and bookstores and fitness studios and the things that make living life in a city worthwhile. And if we don’t save small businesses, that stuff is all going to die in the course of this crisis, and this economic recovery is going to take much, much longer than it otherwise will have to.
The crooks will be expose
it wasn’t a plan to save the economy in the first place. It was a scheme to cosmetically prop up key economic indices to goose up the Dow. So that Our dear leader could point to artificially surging stock market and claim economy is doing well when millions are losing their jobs.
hint: it’s because they don’t give a shit if you get it or not. All they care about is that the corporations got billions. Until you have money to spend again they’ll just give them all of the governments money.