Senate adjourned till November 9

[Arc F1]

I thought the various rent relief proposals were about making sure people that could no longer afford their rent would be able to keep their homes, while the landlords would continue to receive the rent they need to pay the mortgage, property taxes, and maintenance for the properties being rented out.

Is this proposal different some how?

The one I downloaded was the 3 trillion proposal. It was just keeping people from getting evicted.

 

[Arc F1]

I read that article, saw no “pork.” Other than the bailout for the post office, it’s all items to help people financially. Every dollar we give to the unemployed and small businesses goes right back into the economy. That’s a good thing!

Download and read the 1800 pages. It's not just the Dems. The other side is also full of pork projects.

 

[Arc F1]

Can you guys really not come up with critiques more substantive than this swill?

From the article (which was written in May):



Huh, turns out that that policy could've come in handy, eh?


So?



If you help out renters, landlords won't be struggling so much.

And if Republicans want to negotiate for assistance to landlords, too, I'd be all for it.



So? Lots of people are going to go bankrupt now and student loans often can't be discharged through bankruptcy. This strikes me as a great vector for helping people.



Huh, yet another bit of prescience on the part of Pelosi et al.



Lots of people are voting by mail this time around specifically because of the post office and USPS is/has been short-staffed because of people calling in sick. It sure would be nice if we could've shored up a means of voting in time for the election.



Did you read it?

The wi-fi hotspot section was for schools and libraries. Lots of people are working and doing school from home now, and many folks (especially poor and rural folks) don't have decent internet access at home. It sure would've been nice to have helped them.

Arts? Do you have any idea how many people work in the arts and how much economic activity it generates? The arts (especially live performing arts) are arguably the most severely impacted industry in this entire shutdown. Trump is up there whining about restaurants having to install plexiglass dividers, while all my friends who are professional musicians, actors, and technicians saw their entire industry evaporate overnight in March with little hope of returning to anything resembling its previous state for at least another year. Without some significant help, a significant portion of that workforce will migrate to other industries permanently and venues will shut down permanently. That's an existential threat that you can't quickly bounce back from.

I take it the repayment won't fall on your shoulders.

 

[Arc F1]

Not in government. Not when trying to manage a national crisis. You can negotiate, make changes, cut the pork. But simply sitting down in the corner and looking at the wall helps no one.

I think somebody should have stopped about 25 trillion dollars ago.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I take it the repayment won't fall on your shoulders.

No rebuttal, huh? I’m not surprised - I’ve been in a few discussions about these stimulus bills and I have yet to come across a conservative complaining about them who could mount a substantive argument.

 

[Arc F1]

No rebuttal, huh? I’m not surprised - I’ve been in a few discussions about these stimulus bills and I have yet to come across a conservative complaining about them who could mount a substantive argument.

Haven't I already made my point? Do I really need to go over the entire 1800 pages?

 

[iluvatar5150]

Haven't I already made my point? Do I really need to go over the entire 1800 pages?

You have made your point, but I and a couple others have pointed out how the examples that you and the author of your article chose are not silly and are, in fact, good ideas. It’s even more obvious now five months later that Pelosi was RIGHT back in May.

 

[Arc F1]

You have made your point, but I and a couple others have pointed out how the examples that you and the author of your article chose are not silly and are, in fact, good ideas. It’s even more obvious now five months later that Pelosi was RIGHT back in May.

My response showed that those not worried must not be the ones paying all this back. 25 trillion in the hole and what are our politicians doing? Adding trillions more.

I can't just run out and rob a store to get what I need. I also have to pay property taxes, not paying isn't an option for me. After the election we will see some major tax increases. On top of paying those taxes we will have the burden of businesses passing on their increases. That's a whole lot of pain coming our way.

 

[GreatLakes4Ever]

My response showed that those not worried must not be the ones paying all this back. 25 trillion in the hole and what are our politicians doing? Adding trillions more.

I can't just run out and rob a store to get what I need. I also have to pay property taxes, not paying isn't an option for me. After the election we will see some major tax increases. On top of paying those taxes we will have the burden of businesses passing on their increases. That's a whole lot of pain coming our way.

I think the people looking at spending Christmas homeless or those who won’t be able to feed their kids are going to see your problems as small potatoes compared to what they are currently dealing with.

 

[Arc F1]

I think the people looking at spending Christmas homeless or those who won’t be able to feed their kids are going to see your problems as small potatoes compared to what they are currently dealing with.

That would be a worthy thing to spend tax dollars on. Unfortunately we will see cuts to Social programs in the near future because we can't fund them.

 

[GreatLakes4Ever]

That would be a worthy thing to spend tax dollars on. Unfortunately we will see cuts to Social programs in the near future because we can't fund them.

Then why isn’t the Senate currently in session putting together a relief package. McConnell gave the middle finger to every struggling American when he found time to confirm a Supreme Court pick but couldn’t find time to help Americans in their everyday lives.

Trump could go along way to improving his re-election chances if he demanded an immediate special session of Congress to pass a relief package.

 

[Arc F1]

Then why isn’t the Senate currently in session putting together a relief package. McConnell gave the middle finger to every struggling American when he found time to confirm a Supreme Court pick but couldn’t find time to help Americans in their everyday lives.

Trump could go along way to improving his re-election chances if he demanded an immediate special session of Congress to pass a relief package.

What good would that do? Pelosi isn't going to offer anything responsible any more than McConnell is. McConnell wants massive military spending and Pelosi wants to bail out blue states. Neither has anything to do with the virus.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

I take it the repayment won't fall on your shoulders.

It absolutely will. I'm a young professional in my 30s. While I wouldn't qualify as rich, I make pretty good money (especially for my area) and I can only expect that to go up as I gain experience. Now is the time to be spending money - when we're in a crisis. Yes, it will mean tax increases for some people moving forward - at least temporarily - but as long as the economy bounces back (which it should, especially if propped up through the tough times), we'll be able to manage.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

I think somebody should have stopped about 25 trillion dollars ago.

Me too. But that ship sailed a looong time ago. We squandered years of economic prosperity under Bush, the last few years of Obama, and the first three years of Trump by slashing taxes and boosting spending. Yes, it hurts to add more to the load, but if we don't, the recovery is going to hurt even more.

 

[Arc F1]

Me too. But that ship sailed a looong time ago. We squandered years of economic prosperity under Bush, the last few years of Obama, and the first three years of Trump by slashing taxes and boosting spending. Yes, it hurts to add more to the load, but if we don't, the recovery is going to hurt even more.

I don't know how we are going to get out of this.

 

[Isilwen]

I don't know how we are going to get out of this.

We'll be just fine.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

I don't know how we are going to get out of this.

The same we we have in the past - by spending less money than we taken in. However, if we don't prop up the economy when things are bad, there won't be an economy to take in money from later.

 

[iluvatar5150]

My response showed that those not worried must not be the ones paying all this back. 25 trillion in the hole and what are our politicians doing? Adding trillions more.

I can't just run out and rob a store to get what I need. I also have to pay property taxes, not paying isn't an option for me. After the election we will see some major tax increases. On top of paying those taxes we will have the burden of businesses passing on their increases. That's a whole lot of pain coming our way.

I work in the entertainment software industry. I used to work (and still dip my toes in from time-to-time) in the live event/theatrical/concert production industry. My house is in a gentrified urban hipster neighborhood populated by a number of small shops and restaurants. My current field is doing quite well during the lockdown, but that won't last if the whole economy goes south. My previous field is a desolate wasteland, shuttered entirely for the foreseeable future. And my neighborhood is struggling.

Contrary to your silly assertion, I am one of the ones in line to pay back on this debt. Judging by your profile pic and previous statements, I'm guessing I'm in roughly the same income tier as you and somewhat younger than you, so not only am I in line to pay back this debt, I'm likely in line to pay back more of it than you are. I will be in MUCH better position to pay back on that debt if the economy remains solid and my customers and my neighbors remain solvent. It will cost me much less money to, say, float some cash to a local bar owner to tide them through some lean months than it would to let the place close, the building to go vacant, and then take a hit on my property value because I live near an empty building.

What you're espousing is a typical conservative debt hawk perspective that sees debt as a scary boogeyman while failing to consider the cost of doing nothing.