Sunday, August 2, 2020

COVID19 Update - Day 145

US Tests: 56,569,072*
US Cases: 4,640,581*
US Deaths: 147,110*
Worldwide Cases: 17,965,567*
Worldwide Deaths: 687,072*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

The country is being devastated by the coronavirus.  Up to 40 million Americans have lost their jobs.  The economy just suffered its worst-ever quarterly drop in GDP.  There are long lines at food shelves.  Nearly 150,000 people are dead, and that total could double (I believe it's guaranteed to double).  Trump, of course, doesn't give a shit and is out golfing, but the Democratic-led House and the Republican-led Senate have each passed their own bills to address the crisis.  The differences in the bills are revealing.  At a high level, these are the bullet points:
  • Democrats want to extend $600 weekly jobless payments, while Republicans want to slash them.
  • Republicans want liability shields for businesses, while Democrats are pressing for protections for workers.
  • Democrats would allocate $1 trillion for state and local governments. Republicans left them out entirely.
  • Both proposals would provide for another round of direct payments to American families.
  • The Republican proposal would condition some school funding on reopening, while Democrats would not.
Read the whole thing, consider your priorities, and then vote accordingly.

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