- Dec 18, 2012
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Hold up. So this guy Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel says on MSNBC that "a lock-down must go on for the next 18 months or more?" And the Fed says possible 32% unemployment? This is national suicide. If true, a bold program needs to be put in place that guarantees enhanced unemployment benefits, amounting to close to full paycheck, so that people are not locked inside slowly starving. But such a program is a budget buster unless revenue-producing measures are in place. The last thing we need is for the dollar to come crashing down and hyperinflation from all the new added debt.
A wealth tax could be implemented temporarily in these extraordinary times, to pay for this.
The Occupy Corona National Survival Plan: Full Jobless Benefits for Duration of Lockdown, Paid by Temporary Wealth Tax
Solution, Cliff notes of the main elements:
A wealth tax could be implemented temporarily in these extraordinary times, to pay for this.
The Occupy Corona National Survival Plan: Full Jobless Benefits for Duration of Lockdown, Paid by Temporary Wealth Tax
.....There is a way for the US to avoid the economic and social chaos which is unfolding before us. #OccupyCorona
Food pantries are emptying, unable to keep up with need. Now grocery supply chain workers are balking at risking their lives for low wages. No grocery chain workers, no food. We are looking at disaster full in the face. And that face is ugly.
Desperation-related crime is already rising, and we are only one month into the total lock-down. Police in some cities, like St. Paul, have openly stated they are not responding to theft or some other property crimes. We are seeing the tip of law and order breaking down.
Solution, Cliff notes of the main elements:
Long-Term Jobless Benefits at 100% Paycheck- First, slam the brakes on long-term economic uncertainty and anxiety. If Dr. Emanuel says this lock-down must go on for 18 months, then workers must know that their unemployment benefits, at 100% of paycheck or close to it, will go on for the duration of the national emergency, until the day it is lifted. The $2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, signed by President Trump in March 2020, uses a different formula, adding $600 per week to normal unemployment benefits paid by the states' average weekly unemployment check to $985. This exceeds the median weekly earnings of $936 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Essential Workers Can Enroll in Medicare - Offer workers who are deemed "essential services" workers the immediate opportunity to enroll in Medicare, regardless of their age. These are sanitation workers, grocery chain workers, food processing plant, hardware store, etc. whom the government has already ascertained are essential to keeping society running. They have earned this. They cannot get sick and then get thrown under the bus.
- Keep the Food banks Open - Establish a $100 million dollar fund and staff to keep US food banks stocked and running, for anyone who meets the qualifications.
- Pay for with Temporary Tax on Extreme Wealth - These budget-busting initiatives without revenue offsets would endanger the US dollar and threaten the economy with yet another nightmare: the collapse of the currency and runaway hyperinflation. The solution is to impose a temporary tax on extreme wealth. It has been estimated that a 2 percent tax on individuals with more than $50 million in assets and 3 percent on those with more than $1 billion would raise somewhat under $300 billion dollars per year. This would easily cover the cost of a full year's 100% paycheck unemployment benefits.