Trump Wants to Bail Out Airlines and Cruise Ships. How About Us?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump Wants to Bail Out Airlines and Cruise Ships. How About Us?
If 2008 and 2009 are any indication, the industry bailouts Trump’s talking about are coming—and the beneficiaries will be wealthy Americans and the politicians they call their own.
David Rothkopf
Get out your checkbooks. The rich are about to ask for another handout.
Yes, the airline industry used 96 percent of its free cash flow during the last decade on stock buybacks. Yes, that’s tens of billions of dollars it could have used as a safety net to aid it in times like these. But Monday, in the wake of the industry saying it wanted a $50 billion handout from the government to help it get through the current downturn in travel, the president said the U.S. will back them up as needed. Cruise-line executives have indicated they would need help. Energy executives hurt by plummeting oil prices are already getting help through the government’s plan to buy oil for the national strategic reserves. Hotel owners have said they may “need” assistance from our Hotelier-in-Chief, who knows something about their businesses and plenty about using other people’s money to get out of tight spots. And Monday night, even the casinos got in on the action and put their hands out.
The question now is what remains for the rest of us as markets are being rocked as never before thanks not only to the crisis but due to its mishandling by the president, his team, and other nearly as bad governments worldwide. (I’m looking at you, Boris Johnson, and your insane idea of letting the disease run its course in the hopes of creating “herd immunity,” while potentially losing hundreds of thousands of British lives along the way.)
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Capitalists hate "socialism" until they need it.
If we had a libertarian society and a pandemic hit the cruise industry, I guess that would be the end of the cruise industry.
There are reasons human beings unite and form rules (government) for the society.
How are they going to support Trump's stimulus while still disparaging Obama's? I forecast some very dizzy right wingers very soon.
Does it ever occur to you that most of what you do here is "whataboutism?"
The difference is that your "whataboutism" is general in nature, while we use specifics.
Specifics:
[deleted]
Watch 'em John. It's the old switcheroo. And, oh, ODS has struck again! Projection is out on the lam again too!
Wrong again!
On Tuesday Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the administration wants to send checks to Americans “in the next two weeks”
if the airlines need cash, let them sell stock, in this market...
He will bailout any business that feeds his own global businesses. How will rich folks get to a Trump golf course or hotel or other global interest once this over? He will bail out his supply chain 1st.
As president he doesn't have the freedom to do anything that personally would benefit his interests. In case you forgot, spending bills originate in the House of Representative.
Well Mitch must have forgotten that because he stated that 'phase 3' will start in the Senate:
You must hate innovation.
You must love obfuscation.
So you are okay with Trump forsaking that hard "facts over feeling" Alt-right mantra and falling back on George Bush's compassionate conservatism? Why not let those industries and the country as a whole-rise and fall on their own power? # Feelings. # Election.
Add Boeing to the list as they just asked for $60 billion and Trump has said he is in favor of it.
Boeing spent $43 billion in stock buybacks over the last 6 or so years. Probably wish they had that cash right now, but never fear the US public will bail them out.
They dont have to do the right thing. They will always have the taxpayer to bail them out.
I say NO, they can use the money they spent on stock buy backs.
They are just about broke. Yes, they should have paid of debt and kept a lot of cash, but the only people hurting right now are ordinary working people and family providers.
Should they have to suffer just because you don't like Trump?
Not my fault they used their tax windfall unwisely doing stock buybacks...maybe, just maybe if they had banked the money then they wouldn't be in this position.
Could you say the same for your average "Worker" ?
They seem to have a hard time "Saving" for a "Really Bad Rainy Day" too.
Has it been so bad for the "Workers" in America over the years, they couldn't have even saved 10 or 20 bucks a paycheck the entire time (YEARS) they've been working" ?
MOST Americans are a paycheck away from financial ruin. One emergency wipes out any 'fund' they may have been lucky enough to save. That's what happens when real wages stagnate and other costs keep rising.
How many is ….. MOST ?
197,456,389.
I'm sure a "Link" was attached to that number.
About 15 minutes ago Trump was asked the question .
"We are hearing that the "well connected" are getting to front of the list for coronavirus testing. Do you approve of that?"
"I don't like it," Trump said, "but isnt that the story of life" ?
Always has been.
Even Gov. Cuomo, in his newest "Fire Side" Chat today, told us he told his sister to not get a "Test" …. just because.
Doesn't seem to be in the "Mainstream yet". Must be too new to find so far.
Somewhat off topic but related.
As of right now, the stock market is lower than it was on the day Trump took office. 3 1/2 years of "the greatest stock market of all time", gone.
I know, I'm down quite a bit of money both in the market and my 401(k).
Still trying to buy stocks
trump must have gotten tired of winning
ask trumpski that in less than 8 months
I'm not speaking for myself, I'm lucky. I'm speaking for Americans I know and love and those I don't. I pay attention to things that are outside my orbit too.
Did you see what Greg did? He spun it on you. Trump is the conservative champion! They hired Trump over any better republican fitted to the job for the purposes of kicking liberals in their political teeth! Now they it appears to have backfired, they are wanting to the stage to fade to black and when the lights come back up they're a 'partner' to all!
We will take the proper exchange of help for the masses, and at the same time, see the political snakes forking it over!!!
So they are estimating this next phase will cost 1T. Yes that is trillion.
The debt by the government is 23 trillion, I guess one more wont hurt....
Well, allowing the travel, tourism, and entertainment sectors to collapse would be a giant step toward mitigating climate change. The COP21 targets could easily be met by eliminating travel, tourism, and entertainment. And, as a bonus, the trends toward globalization would be reversed, too. Reversing globalization would provide some protection against future pandemics.
Of course, to obtain those benefits it would be necessary to revitalize industrial capitalism and begin building domestic factories and creating jobs. That would require allowing the stock market to strangle itself so that capital could be invested in capital projects rather than worthless paper.
But those things won't happen. The House Democrats extolled the virtues of extended unemployment benefits which sent a signal for businesses to begin massive layoffs now. Democrats extolled the virtues of expanded child care which seems contrary to the demands for social distancing. Democrats have opposed a payroll tax holiday which helps, a little, to maintain payrolls and jobs. Democrats are promising free testing, free medical treatment, free internet, free lunches, and are doing little to protect jobs. Democrats are only seeking political revenge for how badly the 2008 financial crisis was handled.
Now that Democrats have an opportunity to provide the country with more free time, people have no where to go. So, let's blame Trump.
What we are experiencing is the SARS pandemic that WHO and medical experts have been crapping their pants about for the last 15-16 years. We are witnessing 15 years of preparation by WHO and the international medical community. SARS is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome caused by coronavirus. The press would rather blame Trump than ask why the international medical community failed to prepare us for the hair-on-fire scenario they've used to obtain funding over the last 15 years.
Right now everyone is bailing out the international medical community. That's the bailout we should be talking about. But let's not. Let's blame Trump and sweep the last 15 years under the rug. An ignorant public doesn't need to know the truth, after all.
So you are going to blame layoffs on unemployment insurance? That is a stretch.
Pointing the finger at the help people receive after being laid off...
And yes I oppose a payroll tax holiday as it will not help if people are not getting a paycheck. It would also take money out of SS and Medicare when those programs would need the money the most.
People blame donald for his ineptness. Denying there is a problem until he could not deny it anymore.
But you can't even describe what he did that was inept. He never denied the problem, he just pointed out the overreaction and hysteria to it that the media started and which is still going on.
Why should I? As I have seen, some think donald can do no wrong.
It is always everyone else at fault doncha know....
It's a signal that Congress is going to support unemployment rather than employment. Congress could have chose to provide funds to assist businesses make payroll and keep people's jobs. But that wasn't what Congress chose. Congress deliberately chose to provide monetary assistance for those who lose jobs rather than those who keep jobs.
Congress is telling businesses to engage in massive layoffs and the public will provide income for those who don't have jobs. That's not a very good way to protect the economy.
A payroll tax holiday provides a small amount of assistance to maintain payrolls and protect jobs. The mechanism is already in place; it's fast and doesn't require bureaucracy. Why is Congress so concerned about putting public funds into Social Security? Congress is going to have to do that at some future date, anyway.
Why are Democrats so opposed to payrolls? Extended unemployment isn't going to be cheaper than transferring public money into Social Security.
Politicians blame scapegoats to divert attention away from their own self-serving stupidity. Who is President doesn't matter as long as politicians can scapegoat the President. Congress will be blaming Joe Biden, too, if he wins the election. Changing the President won't change the politics.
Unemployment insurance was created in 1935. In all of that time and years of use it was never any signal for companies to lay off people. Imo that is just being used as a scapegoat.
As far as a payroll tax, do you really think that having an extra 7 dollars in a paycheck a week would make that much of a difference? It is a knee jerk reaction that will deprive the government of income at a time they would be paying out massive amounts.
People are being told to stay home. Some companies are continuing to pay people and some will not.
Instead of all these ideas and throwing things against the wall what needs to be done is what other countries have and is being overlooked, having mandatory paid medical leave.
Well, an additional $7 a paycheck would mean the normal paycheck is $100 a week. For a business with 10 employees that translates to $140 a week that isn't needed to make payroll. That allows more flexibility to keep 10 employees rather than laying off one or two to make payroll. In this example, a payroll tax holiday can protect one or, possibly, two jobs and avoid a 10-20 pct layoff.
An extra $7 in the paycheck won't stimulate the economy. The purpose is to protect jobs; not to stimulate consumption. Social distancing has created physical barriers to consumption that aren't caused by loss of paychecks. Stimulating consumption cannot overcome those physical barriers. What is needed now are efforts to protect jobs which requires helping businesses make payroll.
A payroll tax holiday doesn't even need to pass the money on to workers. The point is to protect the $100 paychecks. Putting extra money into workers pockets won't accomplish anything because they are prevented from consuming more, anyway.
The payroll tax holiday is a means for the government to support paychecks by assuming 15 pct of the cost of payroll. Yes, the international rat bastards will game that for profit. The global rat bastards are going to profit from extended unemployment benefits, too. But a payroll tax holiday could make a big difference for small businesses.
Imo we are in a damned if you do damned if you don't situation.
Most of our economy is service oriented. With a payroll tax cut, saving one job will be the least of a small business problem. They rely on consumers. Basically their lifeline will be blocked. So it doesn't really matter about that 140 a week if no customers are walking in the door.
I think any stimulus should be targeted but we all know how government works. It could end up being like the farm bailouts where a majority of the funds went to farm conglomerates.
Yes, that states the obvious. But the pandemic has locked the doors. Stimulating consumption won't unlock those doors. The pandemic has transformed the consumer economy into a subsistence economy.
The question is how to restart the consumer economy once the pandemic diminishes and allows lifting the restrictions for social distancing. Allowing small businesses to go bankrupt creates another physical barrier that impedes restarting the consumer economy.
What we are experiencing are war time conditions. What is happening isn't that different than a breakdown caused by nuclear war. Consumers are physically prevented from spending money. Giving consumers more spending money won't accomplish anything.
Government spending should be focused on protecting the economy. That means protecting businesses, jobs, and incomes. Instead of measures to address job loss, government should be taking measures to restart the economy after the pandemic diminishes.
The pandemic has thrown supply-side monetary policy out the window. The status quo doesn't have any way of dealing with current conditions. This isn't an economic downturn.
Apparently ….. David Rothkopf….. hasn't been paying attention ….to …… ANYTHING !
Trump = wanting a payroll Tax Holiday for workers. ( Congress turned down right now)
Trump = $ 1,000.00 of direct payment to "American Citizens" ( Congress hasn't given the go-ahead Yet)
Trump = Utility Companies, Internet Companies, Mortgage Holders, etc....suspending Cutoff's and Penalties for none payment.
TRUMP = Relief to ALL "Small Businesses" ( Congress hasn't Okayed anything yet)
Where has "DAVID" been these last few weeks ?
The Galapagos ?
He does? We just had a seed here the other day where he said he wasn't interested in talking about that - that they hadn't asked for it and we shouldn't give them any ideas.
To Each According to Their Need: Trump Promises ‘Money Coming’ to Those Hurt by the ‘Chinese Virus’
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP
President Donald Trump announced via Twitter early Wednesday morning that government assistance would be coming to American citizens hurt by the severe economic downturn caused by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The White House Coronavirus Coordination team announced guidelines of social distancing that strongly discouraged going to food courts, bars, and restaurants which is a very smart public health policy but has understandably hurt many small businesses.
Working with the Trump administration, Congress is looking to pass a $1 trillion bailout package to a number of industries hurt by the coronavirus, possibly including airline, cruise, and casino industries, though its not clear how the cruise and casino industries are essential (though they certainly employ millions of Americans now out of work.
Recent ports suggest that part of the bailout could include individual paychecks of $1,000 to each American, which Trump appeared to reference in his tweet.
While many Americans will surely welcome the federal economic support, there is some irony in the fact that just months ago President Trump was deriding the socialist policies of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , when just a few weeks later, he is overseeing and encouraging the very socialist policy of spreading wealth to those in need.
“There are no atheists in the foxhole” should perhaps be updated to “there are no free marketers in an economic disaster.”