The MSM reports that the WH is preparing an $850B dollar economic boost to offset the impact of the pandemic to Americans. Do the millions of Americans who have been laid off, seen a reduction in hours, seeing the drastic cut in food, beverage or other personal services think bailing out airlines will help them make their bill payments?
There are numerous devils in the detail of such offerings and only a fool would believe that the everyday working citizen will be better off with any package from this confederacy of dunces that comprise the White House presidency or the Republican Senate.
How can the everyday citizen benefit when the Democrats, wanting to help the workers impacted by this pandemic agree to Republican demands to exempt LARGE cooperations from the sick leave and pay benefits under the assumption that a benefit package is available to ALL WORKERS?
This assumption is completely false and deadly. There are hundreds of stories reporting on workers needing to work more than one job because a company will not hire full time employees. Many are working low paying jobs.
First, major corporations DO NOT HIRE FULL TIME WORKERS for the bulk of the payroll because it is costly because of BENEFITS. Places like CVS, Target, Walmart and numerous other multi million, multi billion dollar businesses manipulate the work force to actually PROHIBIT worker from reaching the point where the quality for leave benefits.
For example, CVS requires a person to work over 32 hours a week for a full year to qualify for pro-rated benefits. In addition, store managers are directed to NOT SCHEDULE employees for more that 32 hours (and actually most are about 30 hours) per week. Managers can actually be penalized for scheduling any part time employee over the 32 hours. That means it is nearly impossible for any part time employee to gain access to health benefits and sick leave time.
There are a number of stories that contain the “payroll tax cut” promise to help make it better for workers. This is slight of hand that Republicans pulled in the earlier payroll tax cut so low and middle class workers would see “more cash” in their paychecks
Except:
- payroll taxes assume people are working.
- payroll tax “cuts” only impact the amount of take home pay in small amounts and cannot make up for shutdowns, reduced hours or other impacts of changes in the workforce by management.
- payroll taxes are NOT a savings for business except for cuts to payments to the Social Security/Medicare funds and it WILL impact the flow into the Social Security/Medicare fund. It is unknown if this will or can be made up.
- PLUS, as was seen before in the earlier Business and Billionaire Tax Cut of 2017, payroll tax cuts DO NOT MEAN a reduction of tax liability at the end of the tax year. So a cut now is just a larger liability at the end of 2020 and due in 2021.
If a person is suspended, even from a full-time job with some health insurance and sick time allowance, a $1000 check (as proposed by the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin) would only forestall the loss of income for maybe a one month bill cycle. With many citizens US workforce living on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, a one time dump of cash will only provide a very, very short benefit.
This pandemic is showing Americans where all the faults are in our current economic structure, from the loss of benefits for working class citizens regardless of the hours worked, to the minimum wage structure which does not provide many with the income necessary to meet standard costs of living (housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, food, clothing).
Finally, where is this $850B coming from? Watch as Republicans (and some Democrats) try to stiff the working class and middle class while exempting the rich and corporations. NOW is the time to reverse ALL aspects of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.