kentuck
kentuck's JournalStatesboro Blues Live!
Trump and FOX have backslid?
"Backslid" is an old southern religious word for when somebody got saved and baptized and then went back to sinning.
For a while, they acted like they believed the coronavirus was a serious matter. FOX even made a commercial telling people how bad it was. Trump pretended to believe that hundreds of thousands would die from it and if, perchance, there were less, then he would claim he saved all those lives.
Then, just in the last couple of days, they seem to have changed their tune? They are back to their old ways. Lying and minimizing the virus. Once again, it is only the "flu".
Perhaps the news from Governor Cuomo that the trend seemed to be turning downward convinced them that it was safe to return to politics? One might think the world would end if they lose the next election?
Hedge Fund Managers Are Claiming Bailouts as Small Businesses
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-14/hedge-fund-managers-are-claiming-bailouts-as-small-businesses?fbclid=IwAR3oiAU1-KEzZ2SREBFQQX4XoO5HC9eK3rjaOcooMT6JMCF_647xKrhyb0wFree money.
That’s the enticing prospect hedge funds and other trading firms are pondering after realizing they too might be able to participate in a historic U.S. stimulus package to keep small businesses alive through the coronavirus pandemic.
Since early April, law firms have hosted Webinars and sent out alerts, and accounting firms have reached out to clients, all with the goal of explaining how they might be able to tap into the Paycheck Protection Program. The $349 billion package administered by the Small Business Administration provides loans to cover payroll, rent and utilities for up to eight weeks. The loans can convert to grants if recipients retain or rehire their workers.
Some hedge funds already have applied, filling out forms to show they have fewer than 500 employees and certifying the “current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations.”
Ironically, hedge funds are designed to employ as few people as possible so star traders don’t have to share millions of dollars in fees. The industry gets its name from the premise it can generate gains even when markets fall.
Memphis, Tennessee
Who will be the first Republican Governor to follow Trump and open up his state completely?
Who will volunteer his/her state to be the guinea pig?
Trump has no plan, other than he just wants to open up the economy so his election is not threatened in November.
Several Democratic Governors, on both the East and West coasts, are working on plans to get people back to work. But they want to do it in a thoughtful and safe way.
Trump does not seem to be overly concerned about any specific plan of safety. He is thinking of himself. That's who he is.
Also, Trump does not seem to be worried that there might be a second wave? If that happens, maybe it will happen after the election, and that would be OK with him.
In my opinion, in the end, Trump will adopt a plan that is developed by the Democratic Governors. Because Republicans have no idea how to govern.
The real reason for yesterday's press farce?
"Only I can do it."
"I take no responsibility at all."
"I have total authority."
Those are defining quotes of the Trump presidency.
Yesterday was about who to blame? He wants to open the country up but the Governors are preventing him from doing it. He says he has total authority but he doesn't want to be responsible.
With Donald Trump, it is always about covering your ass. (CYA) Now, if the economy doesn't recover satisfactorily, it is not his fault. He had the greatest economy in the history of the world and he did it all by himself. The Governors are preventing him from bringing it back, by calling the simple "flu" a pandemic. He wants to get the people back to work. Many people agree with him. Many at FOX News agree with him.
Yesterday was about not taking responsibility. It was about shifting the blame. He did nothing wrong. He was not late in recognizing and addressing the scourge that attacked our nation. (He has a political ad to prove it.) It was the responsibility of the Governors to take care of their states. It wasn't the responsibility of the Federal government. They did not prepare properly.
So, the entire purpose of the press farce yesterday was to create a scapegoat for the pandemic, for the depressing loss of jobs, for the losses on Wall Street, for the general mess in which we find ourselves. It was about creating a political position for the next election.
Back in the USSR ?
When the Soviet Union fell, it was quick.
Is American capitalism going the same route?
The Fed told the Wall Street crowd that they had unlimited money to spend to save the system when panic set in on Wall Street a couple of weeks ago. They were ready to feed it trilliions of dollars to save it. It was socialism for the rich, in the most classic form.
If capitalism is in trouble, we will not know for sure until after the fact. We will continue to operate as if nothing has changed. But if the economy collapses and businesses collapse and there is massive unemployment, there is a serious problem with our economic system.
Perhaps it is not a problem with capitalism in general, but only the American version of capitalism? I tend to believe it is the former.
Luna
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