MAKING MATTERS WORSE

The Trump administration is making the pandemic worse.  His disaster relief is misplaced, pushing small businesses and ignoring all others that are suffering most, primarily the individuals without income. The other important entities that are suffering without relief are the following:

Post Offices – They suffer due to increased rural deliveries.  Post Offices lose each year, due to these inefficient, required deliveries to far out places.  With stay at home orders more rural deliveries.

Hospitals – They did not plan for the pandemic’s onslaught of non-paying emergency room visits, and the equipment and overtime needed to fight the virus.  The cost of and need for massive amounts of PPE has yet to be adequately supplied putting EMT, Emergency room, and other Health care workers at risk.

States – States are being squeezed by the inefficiencies of the Trump administration Fifty states competing for a mask, at what was a normal price of $.50 is now $5.00. This is due to everyone competing for supplies and equipment.  They also now must develop testing and have it approved by the CDC and FDA and each state must also be responsible for the administration of the tests.  As I call it, “50 ways to screw up a pandemic”.

In the new bailout bill, “Moscow” Mitch McConnell is only interested in added funding for the Small Businesses.  Trump has already given away $ 250 Billion to small businesses that will not need to repay, if they keep their employees on the payroll for 2 ½ months which is insane.  Most small businesses will suffer for at least 1 to ½ years not 2 ½ months – so why not give the money to those who will ultimately be paying it back – the individual.  These small businesses will suffer anyway and will ultimately fail, so why prolong their misery.  If the pandemic lasts for a year, will the taxpayer be willing to fork out an additional Trillion and a half dollars more for no service whatsoever and then pay it back? “Moscow” Mitch and Trump are pushing hard for the new monies, as it is a boon to his targeted assistance in his campaign for reelection and balking at helping the most needy.  The lower levels of government, cities and counties are also hurting because they support hospitals, EMT workers and city and county employees.  They support infrastructure and Police as well.  Systemic high levels of unemployment need support for wages and salaries and those in most need.  Trump talks about reopening without a plan.  The council he instituted for reopening comprised of a corps of cronies. He is not listening to the medical professionals and science.  His motto is “if it isn’t happening today, don’t bother me”, so consequences be dammed.  

The daily briefings have not included HHS secretary Azar, who has been conspicuously absent and Trump has been silent on where Azar is (he wrote 2 memos warning Trump of the pandemic). Trump also stated in the briefing, that he would cease to fund the WHO.  WHO funding is authorized by congress and defunding it is illegal.  Congress authorized the funding, just like the Ukraine funds he used and that he was impeached for.  He does not have the authority!  According to his rationale, the WHO stated that China was fully transparent in January, and the statement was misleading. So now he is blaming the WHO for his inadequacies.  At the same time the WHO made that statement, Trump said he had a call with Xi and expressed the same remark of his transparency. Trump is touting that because, if the WHO has not put the entire blame on China, he will have the funds withheld.

In other news, Trump stated he was about to authorize shipping PPE and ventilators supplies to European countries including to Russia.  This announcement was stated when rural hospitals are now getting hit and most rural states have fewer ventilators than there are in a large metropolitan hospital.

Additionaly, 22 million jobs have been lost to date, due to the pandemic. There was an 8.7% drop in retail sales last month. This was the worse job loss on record, even more than in the great depression, which took until WWII to recover.

Trump keeps touting his swift (sooner and better than anyone) action in closing the U.S. border to China.  The truth is, he was in negotiations on the trade deal and did not want to hinder its progress.  The fact he does not want everyone to know is, 45 countries closed borders before Trump semi-closed the border to China, whereas 40,000 individuals were still allowed to enter the U.S. after his so-called ban.  This lack of total closure, cost San Francisco and Seattle their outbreaks, as these cities have large populations of Chinese visitors and Chinese descendent citizens.

Tomorrow more about the WHO…