Breaking: $600 Stimulus checks deal in the US

[virasog]

Really underwhelming but what can you do. This is such a crummy deal that I don't know if I really care.

Also there's provisions that were added in there to appease the republican donors, aka some tax loopholes.

For those living outside the US $600 dollars here don't cover living expenses for 2 weeks and a lot of people were practically forced out of work due to their place of work being shut down by the government.

Edit: it's not really "breaking:" I just found out late.

I understand the amount is not enough but since they have to give it to so many people, they couldn't have given more funds even with a printer on and printing the fiat currency 24/7.  Eventually the purchasing power of the people will decrease and dollar will lose its value with a lot of inflation.

[Mauser]

Really underwhelming but what can you do. This is such a crummy deal that I don't know if I really care.

Also there's provisions that were added in there to appease the republican donors, aka some tax loopholes.

For those living outside the US $600 dollars here don't cover living expenses for 2 weeks and a lot of people were practically forced out of work due to their place of work being shut down by the government.

Edit: it's not really "breaking:" I just found out late.

I am not sure if the increase in the stimulus is going to pass legislation. As far as I understand it they are going to vote tomorrow if the support should be increased to $2000. There seems to be a lot of Republicans who want to block it. But honestly, $600 is just not enough. We still have to pay rent and all our other fixed costs. $2000 seems a much better help in my opinion.

[OgNasty]

Watching the government groom our younger citizens to expect financial support is interesting to watch. As the length of time between each check grows shorter and shorter, I wonder at what point it will become permanent in the form of universal income as well as how long it will be before the next check after this one.

[BADecker]

I could go for $2,000 rather than $600.  I could buy a little more Bitcoin! How about you?


GOP Rep. Buck: I Think GOP Will Support $2,000 Check if Pork Is Removed, But Just Adding $2,000 Payment ‘Unacceptable’

On Saturday's broadcast of the Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends," Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) stated that he believes Americans should receive $2,000 direct payments, and that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) removes the pork from the spending package, "she'll get overwhelming Republican support. She'll certainly have my support, but just to add a $2,000 payment instead of a $600 payment to the pork that's in the bill is just unacceptable."

Buck said, "I absolutely am in favor of giving the American people $2,000. I think it's the right move. I think the president's absolutely right, but that's only part of what the president is suggesting. Nancy Pelosi gave the members of the House just a few hours to read 6,000 pages of legislation. She did that because she had stuffed this bill full of pork. … What the president is saying is, make America first. Bring America — make America the priority, so stop funding foreign projects in a COVID relief bill, knock that out, and take that money and use it to fund the — and give the American people a $2,000 check. If Nancy Pelosi does that, I think she'll get overwhelming Republican support. She'll certainly have my support, but just to add a $2,000 payment instead of a $600 payment to the pork that's in the bill is just unacceptable."

[squatz1]

Watching the government groom our younger citizens to expect financial support is interesting to watch. As the length of time between each check grows shorter and shorter, I wonder at what point it will become permanent in the form of universal income as well as how long it will be before the next check after this one.

Pretty sure this entire generation that was born in the tech bubble onwards have never seen a recession dealt with without massive support from the government.

2008 recession was dealt with with a massive stimulus package — most of this money ended up going to companies directly in the banking sector — though that’s still how the government tried to pull us out of it.

Coronavirus was massive federal action, fed reserve action, and so on and so forth. More testing of increased unemployment, direct payments, and so on. Though there still was a lot of money being given directly to corporations as well. Banking industry made off like bandits from the the whole PPP filing fees.

But ya know, that’s that. Guess we’ll see what the government decides to do for the next recession.

[KonstantinosM]

Now that the $2000 Stimulus passed the house, it's up to the senate. So I guess there is still a chance the stimulus will be more than crumbs.

Since this is a Republican Control Senate, it can still be easily blocked.

It's Bitch Mcconnel's move. I wonder what his actual constituency has to say.

I'm sure that Trump would love to use this for 2024. Trump 2024 is hell world.

[theymos]

This'll put Senate Republicans in a really awkward position. $2000 checks are wildly popular, and Trump will use this vote as a "loyalty test" going forward, so Republicans really want to vote for it. If Republicans cause it to be killed (ie. even if McConnell doesn't bring it to the floor), then this fact will also be used against the Republicans in the critical Georgia race. But most Republicans are strongly opposed to it ideologically, and they also have a large constituency who really cares about the debt and will never forgive a vote for something like this, even if the pro-Trump constituency is probably 2-3x bigger.

If it makes it to the Senate floor, then I think that it passes by a pretty wide margin; nearly all Democrats and maybe a third of Republicans will vote for it. Every single Republican will be politically damaged in the process, regardless of how they vote, since they'll always piss off a big chunk of their base. I think that McConnell will refuse to bring it to the floor, though even this will definitely have political consequences as well, especially if Trump goes after him hard.

About $450 billion of the recent $900 billion relief bill (with the $600 checks) was actually not new appropriations, but moved from unused funds in the CARES act. The increase of the check size will cost about $450 billion, so it's doubling the actual cost (or bringing the actual cost to the "face value" $900 billion number). People are throwing these "billion" numbers around willy-nilly, but this really is a massive increase in what is already a huge hole in the budget. The MMT people are right in that the US is not a household and this is not going to cause some sort of immediate problem, but in practice this extreme deficit spending is going to lead to the collapse of the dollar as the world reserve currency, and the faster the US spends, the sooner this day comes.

All of this government relief is bad for a number of reasons, but I'm kind of hoping that this increase passes. It's one of the better ways of delivering aid to those who need it, and it's good for the petrodollar system to get closer to its death sooner. Probably better for poor people to get money now than for the dollar system to last an extra few years, during which the US will just waste money on foreign wars and other similarly stupid/bad stuff.

I've already been thinking that we may be in for 3-5% inflation in the next couple of years due to all of the stimulus and Fed action, and this increase would be even more inflationary. Poor people are the most likely to spend rather than save/invest, and this is a very liquid and fast cash injection (unlike Fed actions, or tax cuts, or specific government programs). If this passes, maybe we'll even see levels of inflation which cause people to freak out a bit.

most of this money ended up going to companies directly in the baking sector

Sadly, the American people have proven to be powerless against the influence of the baking system, which has for years profited off the opium that is simple carbs. Is it any wonder that since the 2008 bailouts, obesity has increased by 25%, to the point where nearly a third of Americans are clinically obese? We need a return to Gold Standard 100% Whey, which can be used in all sorts of nutritious and delicious recipes.

(Sorry, you even edited out the typo before I replied, but I couldn't resist. )

[squatz1]

most of this money ended up going to companies directly in the baking sector

Sadly, the American people have proven to be powerless against the influence of the baking system, which has for years profited off the opium that is simple carbs. Is it any wonder that since the 2008 bailouts, obesity has increased by 25%, to the point where nearly a third of Americans are clinically obese? We need a return to Gold Standard 100% Whey, which can be used in all sorts of nutritious and delicious recipes.

(Sorry, you even edited out the typo before I replied, but I couldn't resist. )

Ouch.

Got a quote from you, and a  message from KonstantinosM, the only upside for me is that I at least know that people care enough to read the shit that I write. Makes me kinda happy.

But onto the topic:

Would much rather see America give poor people some direct cash instead of them handing Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and the rest of the military industrial complex money when the next foreign war starts. So I totally have to agree with you there. Direct aid is truly one of the best ways to provide stimulus to people. Plus you’re ensuring that this group of people is most likely going to spend that money, instead of saving it, which causes the stimulus to have the biggest effect on the economy as it is being used.

This vote is TOTALLY a loyalty test too. Trump can use it to prove to the Republican base that he isn’t like the rest of the corporate Republicans and that’s something that he wants his legacy to be remembered by. If this passes and he gets to take the credit for forcing the GOP to do it, then he looks pretty good in the eyes of his people.

Not sure if anyone is following the Bernie Sanders filibuster in the Senate, though he wants to force a vote on the $2000 checks in the Senate and he is filibustering the override of the defense bill to do so — https://www.axios.com/bernie-sanders-covid-2000-checks-veto-override-75627b4c-56d7-44a9-978f-63ccf102feac.html — An added part of this that Axios is reporting on is that it is going to mess with the election schedules of the two GOP GA senators that are currently in a battle for their seats, and with that, the balance of the Senate.

Interesting to see how this all turns out.
 

[Gyfts]

McConnell blocked the 2k checks, rightfully so. Trump jumped the gun here. He put the GA races in jeopardy because now they're put in the position of having to either support or condemn the 2k checks even though it's not up for a vote anymore. I'm curious if the house R's that voted for this knew that it would get struck down in the senate. A 2/3 majority for this shitty bill is shocking.

[squatz1]

McConnell blocked the 2k checks, rightfully so. Trump jumped the gun here. He put the GA races in jeopardy because now they're put in the position of having to either support or condemn the 2k checks even though it's not up for a vote anymore. I'm curious if the house R's that voted for this knew that it would get struck down in the senate. A 2/3 majority for this shitty bill is shocking.

I mean the reason that McConnell is blocking this is because he doesn’t want to force fiscal hawk Republicans to vote on something that is very popular with most Americans and cause them an issue when they’re running for reelection.

He knows that he can take the brunt of the damage without having to cause harm to other Republicans.

Trump is going on the offensive against him though, telling Republicans that if they don’t pass this then they have a death wish. Seems like the GOP votes are there though, McConnell is just going to need more pressure to put this up to a vote.

[Gyfts]

McConnell blocked the 2k checks, rightfully so. Trump jumped the gun here. He put the GA races in jeopardy because now they're put in the position of having to either support or condemn the 2k checks even though it's not up for a vote anymore. I'm curious if the house R's that voted for this knew that it would get struck down in the senate. A 2/3 majority for this shitty bill is shocking.

I mean the reason that McConnell is blocking this is because he doesn’t want to force fiscal hawk Republicans to vote on something that is very popular with most Americans and cause them an issue when they’re running for reelection.

He knows that he can take the brunt of the damage without having to cause harm to other Republicans.

Trump is going on the offensive against him though, telling Republicans that if they don’t pass this then they have a death wish. Seems like the GOP votes are there though, McConnell is just going to need more pressure to put this up to a vote.

But still the GOP is already facing the brunt of the damage when Trump floated the idea of 2k checks per person. You can't even win here unless it would be passed, and if it was passed it'd be a disaster. Trump siding with the dem's puts each senator in the hot seat, which wouldn't be a big deal if there wasn't a special election in GA that would dictate the entire Biden administration.

Trump fucked up or went rouge, not sure which. I never looked at him as a staunch conservative anyways.

[theymos]

Trump is going on the offensive against him though, telling Republicans that if they don’t pass this then they have a death wish. Seems like the GOP votes are there though, McConnell is just going to need more pressure to put this up to a vote.

Although I very strongly disagree with him on 80% of things, I've long respected McConnell's political savvy and stoicism. I think that he'll probably end up on top here, though Trump is definitely making the game more difficult for him, and reducing the chance of Republicans retaining the Senate. Two-thirds of the Senate would probably vote for this, and in theory they could bypass McConnell, but I think that there's too little time left, and McConnell is too good at wielding parliamentary procedure and whipping his members. All pending bills die Jan 3 as the 116^th Congress ends, the Georgia election is Jan 5, and after that the politics don't matter as much, so McConnell will be more-or-less free to give the finger to Trump and then Biden for all of 2021, really.

Trump fucked up or went rouge, not sure which. I never looked at him as a staunch conservative anyways.

Trump has no ideology; he's just a selfish narcissist. Sometimes this causes him to do good things, like being more anti-war than most presidents (war is generally unpopular), but sometimes it causes him to do things that are bad for the Republican party and/or the country, like this. Trump would happily destroy the Republican party if it promoted his "brand", and in fact he's probably going to move in this direction over the next 4 years - not because he hates the Republican party or what they stand for, but just because he wants to be the center of attention, and turning the Republican party into a circus with himself as the ringleader suits that purpose

[ololajulo]

It took a while before the decision of the $600 stimulus and was in the news throughout, I dont understand how it become a regular headline in all dailies l lately. $2000 will take off not long after the disbursement of the present $600 bill. The relief is very important with second wave around the world and to buy time and cushion the economic effect on the citizenry. I wish the fund will go to altcoin as well as bitcoin, no deprivation for coin it met at the bull pump.

[squatz1]

Trump is going on the offensive against him though, telling Republicans that if they don’t pass this then they have a death wish. Seems like the GOP votes are there though, McConnell is just going to need more pressure to put this up to a vote.

Although I very strongly disagree with him on 80% of things, I've long respected McConnell's political savvy and stoicism. I think that he'll probably end up on top here, though Trump is definitely making the game more difficult for him, and reducing the chance of Republicans retaining the Senate. Two-thirds of the Senate would probably vote for this, and in theory they could bypass McConnell, but I think that there's too little time left, and McConnell is too good at wielding parliamentary procedure and whipping his members. All pending bills die Jan 3 as the 116^th Congress ends, the Georgia election is Jan 5, and after that the politics don't matter as much, so McConnell will be more-or-less free to give the finger to Trump and then Biden for all of 2021, really.

Trump fucked up or went rouge, not sure which. I never looked at him as a staunch conservative anyways.

Trump has no ideology; he's just a selfish narcissist. Sometimes this causes him to do good things, like being more anti-war than most presidents (war is generally unpopular), but sometimes it causes him to do things that are bad for the Republican party and/or the country, like this. Trump would happily destroy the Republican party if it promoted his "brand", and in fact he's probably going to move in this direction over the next 4 years - not because he hates the Republican party or what they stand for, but just because he wants to be the center of attention, and turning the Republican party into a circus with himself as the ringleader suits that purpose

Gotta agree with you on McConnell being one of the most politically savvy people in Washington. The guy has been able to keep the Republican party united and whipped under this Presidency, which is an achievement in and of itself. Even while Trump has been saying crazy shit for the last 4 years, he’s made sure the party is united under him and has been able to confirm tons of judges and pass the TCJA.

Didn’t even notice that the 116th ends on the 3rd, which puts more of a time crunch on this. Though Bernie is putting the pressure to force the vote by filibustering the Defense bill. We’ll see the outcome on that in the coming days, plus we’ll get to see what cool rule McConnell can pull out of his ass to stop that.

If McConnell sinks this Trump can just shit on him for the last few weeks of his term and try to go out as a man of the people who was stopped by the GOP and their corruption. Guy still has a mandate from the Republican voters, as his popularity among them is still sky high.

These next few days, before Congress goes into recess is going to be interesting.

[PrimeNumber7]

The guy has been able to keep the Republican party united and whipped

Pelosi and Schumer have done a much better job at this. If AOC takes Schumer's senate seat, expect Democrat senators to be less united. Ditto if Pelosi is not elected as Speaker for the next Congress regarding Democrat house representatives.

I suspect the $2000 stimulus payment will make its way to the Senate floor for a vote before the end of the session. It should pass, and it should be voted on before the special GA senate election.

[theymos]

So McConnell bundled the $2k with a section 230 appeal, which news outlets are saying is a poison pill that'll make the combined bill impossible to pass. Probably a smart move politically, since it allows republicans to vote "for" $2k, but it makes me uncomfortable that he's so willing to put section 230 on the table at all. A repeal of section 230, especially a flat repeal like what's in this bill, would be a huge blow to Internet freedom; bitcointalk.org would have to ban 95% of what goes on here, for example.

[tvbcof]

For those who might be interested in the 230 thing, they may as well take some time to understand the driving force behind doing away with it.  It's been cooking for a while, and it dovetails with some other rather unseemly policy directives, definitions, etc.  Sacha Baron Cohen in a recent speech to ADL recently because they've got the ball at the moment and are going for it!

  https://www.knowmorenews.org/kmn-videos/trump-signs-the-felony-streamers-act-amp-wants-repeal-of-section-230-to-target-anti-semitism

Theologically speaking, criticism of God's chosen people IS taking the Lord's name in vain because They (alone) hold the sacred spark of His emanations.  Pretty standard Lurian Kabbalah stuff.  Technically speaking, it's a real bitch to control blasphemy on a stream.

[squatz1]

So McConnell bundled the $2k with a section 230 appeal, which news outlets are saying is a poison pill that'll make the combined bill impossible to pass. Probably a smart move politically, since it allows republicans to vote "for" $2k, but it makes me uncomfortable that he's so willing to put section 230 on the table at all. A repeal of section 230, especially a flat repeal like what's in this bill, would be a huge blow to Internet freedom; bitcointalk.org would have to ban 95% of what goes on here, for example.

Yeah, the whole section 230 repeal is being framed as a ‘conservative voices are silenced on the internet, so if we repeal this they won’t be anymore’ Though that’s just not what section 230 really is, and it’ll KILL the greatness of the internet right now.

Pretty sure McConnell knows that a section 230 repeal isn’t going to actually happen, which is why he’s willing to bundle it all together. He makes Trump happy by putting it together, and he makes the GOP happy by giving them a better way to avoid a vote on $2k stimulus.

Shitty, but that’s the political cunningness of McConnell.

[BADecker]

The way Bitcoin is jumping up and up, hodlers won't even care about the stimulus much longer.