On Monday, during the Great Conjunction, Capitol Hill was active in introducing and passing a new stimulus package for COVID relief. This relief was snuck into a simple omnibus deal for 2021, which was easy to do as the entire bill is an easy read at 5,593 pages. Total planned expenditures coming from this bill is $1.4 trillion, with a cool $900 billion being tied directly to COVID relief.
Naturally, the easiest and best stimulus package has been once again ignored. Certainly, millions of Americans have been wanting to open everything up, go back to work, and assume an air of normality since COVID became popular. I know I have. Such a simple solution would remove the “need” for the relief package. One person can theoretically pull in almost $4,000 just between a stimulus check and the extra padding on unemployment. That timeline would take 11 weeks, or almost three months. On the other hand, a person earning $24,000 a year can go to work and make the same amount of money in 2 months, and still experience the joy of income tax as if they were on unemployment.
Let’s go back to the size of the bill. 5,593 pages is absolutely ridiculous. How can we expect anyone to vote on this bill in good conscience when they surely have not had the time to read and understand what’s inside? It’s an insane thought. What’s even worse is the idea that there is a legislative lawyer somewhere who is possibly picking apart the bill to find the one line which opens up a giant loophole that, say, gives Congress a raise and a pat on the back for a job well done. Or sells California to Canada. While the second example is obviously a little hyperbolic, the first one seems to have a strong chance of possibility to me. What better place to quietly slip a raise in for yourself than in the middle of a huge bill that no one has time to read?
The craziest part of all this is that while we have been living a life hindered by the most absurd and nonsensical COVID restrictions, these legislatures have allowed themselves to continue working in some way as if they are not subject to the same restrictions. Why should they be allowed to work, spend money that we lose through taxes to pay themselves and continue lowering the country into debt, and turn around and tell us how to live? They act as if the whole nation needs to be babysat. As if the possibility of viruses with deadly potential has never existed before. As if there has never been a precedent for what to do if you have the flu, or pneumonia, or bronchitis, and how to determine who may be at a higher risk if they caught one of those sicknesses. Generally speaking, if you know to avoid visiting friends and family when you are sick, you can safely survive in this COVID era.
Yet the people who encouraged massive shut downs and endlessly contradicting rules has just approved a $1.4 TRILLION spending package, while the nation is currently operating in a $27 TRILLION national debt (and federal spending at $6 trillion, and federal budget deficit at $3 trillion, all as of the time of writing). Oddly enough, they were joined by many folks who denounced the shut downs and rules and frivolous spending.
The weaponization of COVID as a scare tactic has led to some ridiculous actions. See above spending package. See the outdoor vs. indoor restaurant seating. See reactions to protests in the country and reactions to bars being open. I saw a high school football game, which was full contact and without any extra masks or anything like that, and at the end of the game the teams could not shake hands and say “Good game” (and this is still going, see page 6, Section 1 in the below PDF link). They had to stand on the sidelines and wave at each other. Much like many of our elected officials have been standing on the sideline, waving at us as we continue to slip into decline.
Source:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/21/stimulus-congress/
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-democrats-file-omnibus-spending-bill
Bayou Observant 