Maybe he’s conflating the $1200 stimulus checks with part of “unemployment” despite that those checks go to all Americans, working or not.
What’s interesting is that UltraVires focused on an arithmetic detail, right or wrong, and overlooks the key point of the NY Times article:
The Phony Coronavirus Class War
Defiance of public health directives has become a mark of right-wing identity.
Were the complaint about unemployment payments, whether arithmetically sound or not, to come from a Trump supporter, it would be at odds with the GOP’s public propaganda.
Let’s take California. I am a good Bernie supporter, so I pay my employees a starting wage of $16.63/hr. The Covid-19 crisis hits and I am forced to lay them off.
They have made $8650 in the last quarter so according to this chart, https://edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2589.pdf, they get $400 per week unemployment PLUS the temporary $600 per week stipend from the feds.
They are now getting paid $1,000/wk for doing nothing, or $25/hr assuming a 40 hour work week. They have gotten a substantial raise from being laid off or furloughed so the statement:
That’s sort of the point. To incentivize people not to work so they don’t spread the virus.
I do find it interesting how, once again, the Republican party has managed to spin the narrative to draw all “moronic assholes” to their cause. “Moronic” because they once again appeal to those who wish to disregard science and educated medical opinion. And “assholes” because they appeal to those who are largely in a position where they don’t actually have to take risks themselves and can afford to not give a shit - business owners, people with more affluent jobs who can work from home and are mostly inconvenienced by having their kids home from school.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump was reelected in November. By the time the elections roll around, conservatives will have had six months to spin the narrative that Democrats overreacted to the virus, caused the economy to tank, and are keeping it depressed by preventing people from going back to work. And conservatives will believe it, because they are stupid and they refuse to hold their leadership accountable for actual results.
That statement was made to blunt the implied premise of Septimus’ argument that unemployed people still wanted the economy shut down even if it meant personal sacrifice to them. The facts show that these unemployed people are not making any sacrifice, that they are being pay well in excess of their salary to stay home. So, no shit, they are happy with that.
It cannot possibly be the purpose of increased unemployment compensation to “incentivize people not to work so they don’t spread the virus.” If that was the case, why do you put these payments in a system where a person must work if offered a job or else he loses the benefits? That doesn’t seem like much of an incentive not to work if you must when your old job comes calling.
Further it acts as a sledgehammer instead of a fly-swatter in that for however it would incentivize non-work it does so across the board whether it is a necessary job like in a meat packing plant or a non-essential job like a tattoo artist. We WANT people to keep working in grocery stores, meat packing plants, hospitals, gas stations, etc. It makes no sense to have a policy to incentivize non-work in these necessary industries.
This Dem plan would extend the incentive not to work until next January 31. You cannot sustain an economy if you don’t want people to work for almost a year. That has never been the stated goal of anyone.
To follow up, this is very shrewd strategy by the Democrats. Matt Drudge has a headline on his website that says “Shock Poll: 82% Want Monthly Stimulus Checks”
You don’t say.
When there is free shit being handed out, I want that too. If the state legislature proposes a “Let’s give Ultravires $1 million” bill, then count me as its #1 supporter. I have abandoned conservatism you say? Guilty as charged. More than conservatism, I support me-a-tism.
So the Dems proposed this knowing that it was irresponsible and that the GOP would never go for it, but look at the line that has been teed up for Biden this fall: “The Republicans are okay with spending money for wars and for tax cuts for billionaires, but when it came to giving you, hardworking American out there, a measly $2,000 per month, they said no even though they were able to work from their homes and corporate boardrooms through Zoom conferences and the like. To the waitresses and the coal miners and the bartenders and those of you who work with your hands and cannot do your job on the internet, they said they didn’t care about you.”
I presume that the implication is that they would rather take a pay cut if they had to instead of risking infection. If temporarily paying people a bit more so they don’t have to do the calculus of work vs health, I’m ok with that (in the short term).
Also, it is incorrect to say that unemployed people are “not making any sacrifice” simply because they are being compensated while not working. Some people actually like their jobs. Even people for who $600 a week on top of max unemployment is a pay increase.
You seem to have goobered up the quote function and put your own comments under a heading that says I said it. It is clear it was unintentional, but I did report it so maybe the mods can fix it.
To your first point, sure you are happy with that tradeoff, until maybe there is no food on the shelves and you are eating squirrels from your backyard. The economy, even the stripped down version needs workers and it is silly in the extreme to incentivize people not to work in needed industries.
Your second point is just beyond belief. Someone getting paid $16.60 to work versus $25 to stay at home is making a sacrifice? That is stunning. That person must have one hell of a sense of job satisfaction that he would want to take about $18k to $19k out of his pocket for that year, not counting clothing, eating out, and commute costs.
I think septimus touched on it, but a lot of the energy in these protests is coming from well-organized political groups. It’s part protest and part Trump rally. They’re protesting so that they can be visible. It’s right wing political mobilization intended to take advantage of the absence of mobilized opposition.