3 ms·

US Covid relief bill smaller than either parties pre-election promises

32 points by konjin 6y ago

JamesBarney 6y ago
It seems to me that what happened was Before the election the Democrats were incentivized to push through a big bill to help people, and the Republicans were incentivized to push through a big bill to help them win the elections. Pelosi killed the deal, believing Trump was a larger threat than a lack of stimulus. But now that we're past the election the Republicans don't really have any reason to pass a large stimulus bill. Which leads us to a tiny bill.
- konjin 6y ago
  >But now that we're past the election the Republicans don't really have any reason to pass a large stimulus bill. And neither do the democrats since they already won.
  - DangitBobby 6y ago
    Is there anything that leads you to believe that democrats had something to do with negotiating it down?
    - konjin 6y ago
      Other than not accepting the republican offer that was twice the size of this one before the election? No, not really. In the same way I have no proof that a coin which lands heads 50 times in a row is biased.
      - cma 6y ago
        Except that the earlier one proposed to remove all business liability for negligent or even malicious coronavirus safety practices and this one doesn't have anything on that yet, right?
      - bsder 6y ago
        So you're good with businesses that were running a betting pool on how many of their employees got Covid having full legal immunity? Complete Covid liability exemption for businesses is one of the provisions in the bill you're saying the Democrats should have passed. Just making sure where you stand. That's all.
        parsimoniousplb 6y ago
        The democratic party is the party of the affluent and sacrosant, so it's no surprise that they opt to make a million poor families suffer so one injustice wouldn't slide. Their fragile world view remains intact, while none of their constituents pay the price. Just the make sure where you stand.
        bsder 6y ago
        > so one injustice wouldn't slide Amazon has pending lawsuits about this in multiple countries. Meat packers are staring down lawsuits about this across several states. These lawsuits cover millions of employees. If you are trying to argue that there was just a single instance of this kind of offense, you're in a world of fantasy. And it's a tossup as to whether they're going to get more from the lawsuits or from government assistance--both are going to be woefully inadequate.
        parsimoniousplb 6y ago
        yes, how dare these business keep the wheels on society during a crisis. They should be punished. What's a thousand kids going hungry, but a small price to pay for all of society's ills perfectly adjudicated.
- nobody9999 6y ago
  >Pelosi killed the deal, believing Trump was a larger threat than a lack of stimulus. That's odd. White House staffers said it was the president[0]. [0] https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-stimulus-negotiations-7d464d0e-924f-46f5-90d2-9e8097c9c8f7.html https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-stimulus-negotiation...
cma 6y ago
Are general/topical political posts ok as long as through a ycombinator company intermediary (substack)?
mduggles 6y ago
What a shockingly dishonest title. Well first, the relief bill is smaller by a lot because there are now 2 relief packages "worth a total of $908 billion. The first bill, with a $748 billion price tag, will include all the spending both sides have signed off on, including replenished funding for small-business loans, extended unemployment, money for schools and vaccine distribution. Senators will hive off the other $160 billion into a separate bill. That measure will focus on items that continue dividing the parties, including a business liability shield and aid to state and local governments, Politico and CNN reported Sunday night." Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/finance-202-there-new-bipartisan-relief-proposal-table-it-far-done-deal/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/finance-2... How about instead of reading totally made up blogs we stick to real news sources with actual reporting?
- konjin 6y ago
  >How about instead of reading totally made up blogs we stick to real news sources with actual reporting? Maybe read more than the title then?
  - cma 6y ago
    The article never mentions the liability thing, which is key (at least searching liability I didn't find anything).
- nobody9999 6y ago
  Matt Taibbi[0] is a well known writer/journalist known for his over-the-top, often obnoxious style. As such, it's not a "totally made up" blog. That said, he's an acquired taste. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Taibbi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Taibbi
underseacables 6y ago
While small businesses closed and people suffered, politicians played power-games with our lives. Now that we technically don’t matter anymore - the election is over - the politicians have lost interest. It happens every 2 - 4 years and this won’t be the last.

32 points by konjin 6y ago

It seems to me that what happened was Before the election the Democrats were incentivized to push through a big bill to help people, and the Republicans were incentivized to push through a big bill to help them win the elections. Pelosi killed the deal, believing Trump was a larger threat than a lack of stimulus. But now that we're past the election the Republicans don't really have any reason to pass a large stimulus bill. Which leads us to a tiny bill.

konjin 6y ago
>But now that we're past the election the Republicans don't really have any reason to pass a large stimulus bill. And neither do the democrats since they already won.
- DangitBobby 6y ago
  Is there anything that leads you to believe that democrats had something to do with negotiating it down?
  - konjin 6y ago
    Other than not accepting the republican offer that was twice the size of this one before the election? No, not really. In the same way I have no proof that a coin which lands heads 50 times in a row is biased.
    - cma 6y ago
      Except that the earlier one proposed to remove all business liability for negligent or even malicious coronavirus safety practices and this one doesn't have anything on that yet, right?
    - bsder 6y ago
      So you're good with businesses that were running a betting pool on how many of their employees got Covid having full legal immunity? Complete Covid liability exemption for businesses is one of the provisions in the bill you're saying the Democrats should have passed. Just making sure where you stand. That's all.
      - parsimoniousplb 6y ago
        The democratic party is the party of the affluent and sacrosant, so it's no surprise that they opt to make a million poor families suffer so one injustice wouldn't slide. Their fragile world view remains intact, while none of their constituents pay the price. Just the make sure where you stand.
        bsder 6y ago
        > so one injustice wouldn't slide Amazon has pending lawsuits about this in multiple countries. Meat packers are staring down lawsuits about this across several states. These lawsuits cover millions of employees. If you are trying to argue that there was just a single instance of this kind of offense, you're in a world of fantasy. And it's a tossup as to whether they're going to get more from the lawsuits or from government assistance--both are going to be woefully inadequate.
        parsimoniousplb 6y ago
        yes, how dare these business keep the wheels on society during a crisis. They should be punished. What's a thousand kids going hungry, but a small price to pay for all of society's ills perfectly adjudicated.
nobody9999 6y ago
>Pelosi killed the deal, believing Trump was a larger threat than a lack of stimulus. That's odd. White House staffers said it was the president[0]. [0] https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-stimulus-negotiations-7d464d0e-924f-46f5-90d2-9e8097c9c8f7.html https://www.axios.com/trump-coronavirus-stimulus-negotiation...

cma 6y ago

Are general/topical political posts ok as long as through a ycombinator company intermediary (substack)?

mduggles 6y ago

What a shockingly dishonest title. Well first, the relief bill is smaller by a lot because there are now 2 relief packages "worth a total of $908 billion. The first bill, with a $748 billion price tag, will include all the spending both sides have signed off on, including replenished funding for small-business loans, extended unemployment, money for schools and vaccine distribution. Senators will hive off the other $160 billion into a separate bill. That measure will focus on items that continue dividing the parties, including a business liability shield and aid to state and local governments, Politico and CNN reported Sunday night." Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/finance-202-there-new-bipartisan-relief-proposal-table-it-far-done-deal/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/14/finance-2... How about instead of reading totally made up blogs we stick to real news sources with actual reporting?

konjin 6y ago
>How about instead of reading totally made up blogs we stick to real news sources with actual reporting? Maybe read more than the title then?
- cma 6y ago
  The article never mentions the liability thing, which is key (at least searching liability I didn't find anything).
nobody9999 6y ago
Matt Taibbi[0] is a well known writer/journalist known for his over-the-top, often obnoxious style. As such, it's not a "totally made up" blog. That said, he's an acquired taste. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Taibbi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Taibbi

underseacables 6y ago

While small businesses closed and people suffered, politicians played power-games with our lives. Now that we technically don’t matter anymore - the election is over - the politicians have lost interest. It happens every 2 - 4 years and this won’t be the last.