12/23/2020 — Don’t Sign It
Sometimes I’ll write something and I’ll shelve it. This one I threw in the can because it seemed contrary to the Christmas Spirit, but now that the New Year has arrived, I will kick it off with this. I still think it is relevant.
Originally written on Wednesday, December 23rd:
“The Stimulus Package That Never Was” still might not be. Nearly half a year removed from the beginnings of deliberations on Capitol Hill, our congressional check-collecters have finally agreed upon a second large coronavirus relief bill. However, in a surprising about-face, which shouldn’t surprise anyone at this point, President Trump placed the easy passage of the legislation in doubt when he opined on its contents through his Twitter account last evening. Once again, the president is pushing for more of the package to be dedicated to direct checks given to citizens and households. Stingy Republicans seem unlikely to grant this request even if House Democrats acquiesce, so this fit of pique will likely have little effect on the terms of the bill’s inevitable passage.
Any of my blog’s four (maybe five) readers know by now what I am hoping for. I would like to see this latest congressional monstrosity stymied in the wheels of government and sent back with its tail between its proverbial legs. I find little reason to think that with the most lethal days of the pandemic lurking around the corner, volatility should be hovering just over 22 as it is today. It is offensive and I would like to see it corrected by (almost) any means necessary. Pay no attention to the fact that my trading opportunities would benefit greatly…
On a less avariciously cynical note, all trading aside, there are several good reasons why I would like to see this bill fail, the first and most important being the measly amount of money doled out in direct-to-citizen checks. In March, $1200 checks found their way to the pockets of Americans at the cost of $300 billion to our burgeoning budget. Quick math deduces that if the proposed $600 checks were doubled, it would add $150 billion to this iteration’s overall price tag. Might as well make this go-round an even trillion…we stopped respecting debts and deficits long ago. As many have commented, $600 checks, like the aid package itself, is far too little too late for the citizens who have been hit hardest by the recession (soon to be depression). A twelve hundred dollar check just sounds better anyways. It can coincide with the twelfth month of the year, it goes well with the Twelve Days of Christmas song, etc.
The second reason why the bill shouldn’t pass is that it contains far too much garbage — and by garbage, I mean all the non-economic, non-pandemic related relief items. This is an omnibus bill, and no omnibus bills should ever pass. Never. Omnibus bills exist only as a means to achieve bipartisanship expenditures for grouped items that would never pass if not for being bundled with other deficit-stuffing shit.
Lastly, if deficit-stuffing shit is your thing, and it is definitely America’s thing, have we not learned to be selective amongst the various reasons for subjecting our progeny to a third-world existence? A decade ago the United States made the decision to uphold the massive financial institutions that contributed to the housing crisis and subsequent recession instead of just directly alleviating that mess by bailing out the little guy. As a result, we staved off the worst of the calamity, but the major institutions grew even larger and more powerful, and the little guy has never had it worse in modern American. That was before the pandemic, and the disparity has only worsened over the last year.
Congress carefully avoided the most egregious aid to large corporations this time around, but the relief package still contains erroneous gestures to green energy, misplaced attempts to shore-up our failing schools, and micro-management on a macro level in the form of housing assistance. A properly written bill would consist of direct checks, actual small business assistance (No handouts for the NBA and giant legal firms), and monies to procure and distribute vaccinations. That is it. Nothing else.
Corporations and poorly disguised extensions of government under the auspices of private companies need to be ignored here. They deserve the right to survive or fail according to our once cherished notions of capitalism. If there is help to be given, it rightfully belongs to the average, singular American citizen.
Similarly, it is a fools errand to spend anymore federal funds for testing, tracing, tracking, talking, or twerking about the coronavirus. Those efforts require a unified national front, a populace in support of such a program, and a way to get back to this past Spring where any of it could have been effective. America failed at other sagacious methods of dealing with the pandemic, it would be unwise to throw good money after bad instead of going all in on vaccination.
I’m sure the powers that be carefully mulled all these points in addition to many others. I don’t believe that this latest bill will pass in spite of these issues. I believe it will pass because of these issues. After all, it is an omnibus bill and will greatly appeal to both Republican and Democratic congressmen. Passage of the legislation will bolster the stock market and grow the government while doing next to nothing for the average American.
