Coronavirus Bill Stalls As GOP Lawmakers Demand Corrections, Transparency

Coronavirus Bill Stalls As GOP Lawmakers Demand Corrections, Transparency

House Democrats’ coronavirus package which was passed on Saturday has become a point of contention, as Republican lawmakers continue to pick apart the bill negotiated between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Speaker Nancy Pelosi which garnered a late endorsement from President Trump, according to The Hill.

The bill faces two primary hurdles. First, technical changes had to be dealt with between House Democratic leadership and the White House – which they had hoped to have hammered out on Monday to no avail.

Second, with House lawmakers on a vacation of indefinite length over coronavirus concerns, any agreement will need to clear the house by consent – which isn’t guaranteed at this point

Republicans have also demanded more transparency, with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) insisting that the technical corrections be read on the House floor before he’ll let it move to the upper chamber, according to House aides on both sides of the aisle.

“He’s concerned and wants all of the changes to be made public before the vote,” one GOP aide told The Hill.

If Gohmert isn’t satisfied, he could stall the revamped House coronavirus bill until Pelosi is able to bring the chamber back to Washington to vote a second time.

I cannot in good conscience give my consent to something that has not been finished or made available to members of Congress before it is up for a vote,” Gohmert told CNN about the holdup.

The measure, which passed 363-40 on Saturday, includes provisions that would ensure some workers can take paid sick or family leave, bolster unemployment insurance, and guarantee that all Americans can get free diagnostic testing for the coronavirus.The Hill

GOP Senators have criticized the bill for not doing enough to protect small businesses, or help struggling Americans cover short-term costs while the coronavirus epidemic takes a toll on the economy.

“I and a lot of the other senators who I’ve spoken to over the weekend are worried that we’re not doing enough to get cash in the hands of affected workers and families quickly, so we’re going to be focused this week on how to do just that,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) told Fox News in a Monday interview.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) also pushed back against the House bill during a Monday interview with Wisconsin radio station WTMJ, according to The Hill. “Nancy Pelosi is going to make businesses give paid leave when people aren’t working. The businesses are going to pay for that.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) also signaled opposition, saying he wants to insert additional protections for small businesses into the House bill.

Another potential roadblock was removed on Monday after Senate GOP leaders cut a deal to extend three USA Freedom Act provisions for 77 days, along with allowing a handful of amendment votes once they adopt the deal passed by the House last week.

The House bill pairs an extension of the intelligence programs with certain changes to the court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Recall this is the same court which the Obama FBI tricked into granting a surveillance warrant on a Trump adviser during the 2016 US election, only to issue slaps on the wrist all around and carry on with business as usual.

We’re working on trying to process both of these measures. Those discussions have been underway over the weekend, and we’re hoping to move with dispatch on both the House-passed bill, once we get it, and some way to move forward with the FISA issue as well,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

Senators have urged leadership to agree to a short-term extension so they can turn their immediate attention to the coronavirus legislation.

Senators in both parties had urged leadership to agree to a short-term extension so they can focus on the coronavirus package.

The FISA program can also be extended with Senator [Mike] Lee’s [R-Utah] proposal for a 45-day extension and future consideration of the House bill with six amendment votes. That could all be done by [unanimous consent] as well. Given this pandemic, time is of the essence and we should not delay,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a statement.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, indicated that he could support a short-term extension.

If the alternative is staying dark, I’ll take an extension,” Warner said. 

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) added that the FISA program needs broader reviews and that the Senate should instead pivot to the coronavirus legislation.

FISA needs to be carefully reviewed. That takes time. That can wait. The emergency response to #coronavirus should be the first order of business in the Senate tomorrow. There is no reason for this to take days & days,” Hawley tweeted on Sunday. –The Hill

McConnell faces greater pressure from within his own party over the coronavirus legislation – as any amendments would mean the bill is bounced back to the House, which is now on the aforementioned indefinite break.


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 21:50

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3b7n0pX Tyler Durden

McDonald’s Closes Dining Rooms, Play Areas To Protect Customers From Covid-19

McDonald’s Closes Dining Rooms, Play Areas To Protect Customers From Covid-19

Even after President Trump explicitly said he was not asking restaurants to close, though many have as state and local officials bar large gatherings and – in some cases – explicitly order restaurants, bars, gyms, venues etc. to close, McDonald’s has apparently decided to stay “ahead of the curve” by closing the dining and play areas of its company-owned restaurants, and strongly encouraging its franchisees to do the same, CBS 2 Chicago reports.

Many readers might not realize it, but McDonald’s dining rooms serve an important function in society: they provide a gathering place for people who have nowhere else to go, or are living on a fixed income. Retirees often congregate in McDonald’s restaurants in the US, and homeless people often depend on McDonald’s for myriad reasons, most of which we’d rather not get into, though you can read more about that here.

For these reasons, Micky D’s dining rooms are often referred to as a “poor man’s lounge”, or a “crossroads of humanity.”

Perhaps because so many of McDonald’s most loyal customers are elderly or poor (both high risk groups), the company’s decision is understandable. In a statement, it said protecting customers’ safety is the company’s “highest priority.”

“Ensuring the health and safety of our people and our communities is our highest priority as the United States quickly mobilizes to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our decisions are guided by expert local and national health authority guidance. Additionally, we are complying with all local and state restaurant restrictions, where applicable,” the company announced in a news release on Monday.

Another reason for the decision: most of the company’s directly-owned restaurants are in Illinois (McDoanld’s corporate headquarters relocated to Chicago a few years back from nearby Oak Brook), they will need to comply with Gov. JB Pritzker’s order to close all restaurants and bars in the state at the end of business.

In addition to the dining area, the company is closing all beverage and service kiosks. Restaurants will continue to serve food through drive-through windows, walk-in take-out, and McDelivery through Uber Eats.

“We believe this temporary change is the right decision for our consumers, our communities, and our business and will continue to evaluate our operations as the situation evolves,” the company said in a statement.

McDonald’s franchisees are being “strongly encouraged” to do the same, and the company says it expects “most” to follow suit.

“Franchisee leadership completely supports the decision to adhere to social distancing guidelines and ensure that large groups of customers are not gathered together inside our restaurants. We are committed to our role in supporting the communities in which we do business and protecting the public’s health by shifting our operations to Drive-Thru, walk-in take-out and McDelivery,” said Mark Salebra, National Franchisee Leadership Alliance Chair for McDonald’s

McDonald’s employs 517,000 people in a full or part time capacity in the US, most of whom will not receive benefits – though its corporate employees and restaurant managers typically receive benefits including PTO and sick pay).


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 21:30

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/3aYMJAE Tyler Durden

Nasdaq, Dow, S&P Futures Surge Limit-Up, Erasing Trump Presser Melt-down

Nasdaq, Dow, S&P Futures Surge Limit-Up, Erasing Trump Presser Melt-down

Another overnight session that reverses trend entirely from the day session… and another limit-up futures halt…

Nasdaq futures are limit-up… once again…

S&P futures are limit-up…

And for context, Dow futures (are limit-up) have erased the late-day melt-down during Trump’s presser, up almost 1000 off the lows…

 

 


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 21:26

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2WiHEPB Tyler Durden

Oregon Police: ‘Don’t Call 911 Just Because You Ran Out Of Toilet Paper’

Oregon Police: ‘Don’t Call 911 Just Because You Ran Out Of Toilet Paper’

In an almost hard to believe story which proves people are taking the “shit hit the fan” description of the current state of things way too literally, an Oregon police department had to warn people in a public announcement against calling 911 because they were out of toilet paper.

“It’s hard to believe that we even have to post this,” police in Newport, Oregon stated in an official Facebook message. “Do not call 9-1-1 just because you ran out of toilet paper. You will survive without our assistance.”

The national phenomena of panic-buying toilet paper is the one thing in all of this that makes least sense, unless perhaps given that markets are in nose-dive — and who knows if currencies could be next down the line — people are viewing TP as the next currency of the post-apocalypse, giving new meaning to ‘dirty money’. 

The Newport police statement urged people to “Be resourceful. Be patient. There is a TP shortage. This too shall pass. Just don’t call 9-1-1. We cannot bring you toilet paper.” And it went so far as to offer ideas as using grocery store receipts, torn magazine pages, cotton balls, and even corn cobs as apparently the Mayans and some among Colonial Americans did. 

“History offers many other options for you in your time of need if you cannot find a roll of your favorite soft, ultra plush two-ply citrus scented tissue,” the department wrote. 

The local police department posted the below after apparently receiving multiple 911 calls:

Meanwhile, it seems as much of the nation settles in for a possibly lengthy self-isolation mode, Facebook and other social media sites have been inundated by a deluge of toilet paper hording memes.

This is so much so that mainstream media has begun reporting on the accompanying meme craze, noting that their consistent message is: “Go urgently and buy toilet paper. Don’t worry how much you need, buy as much as you can.”

Of course, given stores like HEB and Kroger have begun cutting back on hours, and as more cities declare states of emergencies, with San Francisco and the Bay area issuing a ‘shelter in place’ emergency on Monday, we could soon see a situation where the very places selling the valuable TP simply shut down.

And then those who didn’t stock up could be shit out of luck.


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 21:10

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2UbEg6j Tyler Durden

Is The Bottom Finally In: Bridgewater Puts On $14 Billion Short

Is The Bottom Finally In: Bridgewater Puts On $14 Billion Short

2020 has been a bizarre year: not only did stocks finally crash after the longest and most artificial “bull market” in history, sending an entire generation of clueless traders who had never seen more than a 10% correction puking into their toilet paper-free bathrooms as the Fed finally ran out of ammo to artificially prop up markets, but the metaphorical demise of Dennis Gartman meant a replacement had to be found for the market’s biggest counter-indicator, and how refreshingly surreal is it that the new Gartman turned out to be none other than Ray “Cash is Trash” Dalio.

You see, back in late January when stocks were melting up to new record highs every single day, Ray Dalio speaking from the Coronavirus-free billionaire boondoggle of Davos, put on his best momentum extrapolation hat on, and predicted that “cash is trash.”

Little did Dalio know that just a few months earlier some Chinaman had bitten off the head of a typhoid bat, in the process setting off the apocalypse, and as the world literally ground to a halt amid a cascade of sovereign quarantines, global stocks suffered their biggest crash since Black Monday.

It got so bad that Dalio’s own macro fund suffered its worst start to a year in history, losing an epic 20%  in just a few weeks (we are still waiting for confirmation that the Bridgewater risk parity fund still exists). Speaking to the FT, as if compelled to explain why his performance was so dismal to the general public, Dalio said “we did not know how to navigate the virus and chose not to because we didn’t think we had an edge in trading it. So, we stayed in our positions and in retrospect we should have cut all risk. We’re disappointed because we should have made money rather than lost money in this move the way we did in 2008.

And while Dalio didn’t specify “in what terms” he should have made money, just like that the new Dennis Gartman was not only born but baptized in blood, er bat.

Which is great new for all the bulls who have just suffered through the most painful three weeks of their careers, because if Dalio is indeed the new Gartman, his turning bearish would mean the bottom is in… which according to media reports, that’s just what the billionaire Bridgewater founder is now. Bloomberg writes that Dalio – perhaps disgusted from seeing his reputation sink to the level of a newsletter author – has built up a $14 billion short position in European companies, expecting they will “continue to sink amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak.”

According to the report, Bridgewater has made a string of wagers-against stocks in countries from Germany to Italy, according to filings between March 9 and 12 compiled by Bloomberg. They include a $1 billion bet against software company SAP SE and a $715 million wager against semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV, with France and Germany at the top, responsible for roughly $5 billion in short positions each.

And while the value of Bridgewater’s European shorts has been rising this month as European stocks – well, really all stocks – got crushed, it appears the fund still has more than an offsetting amount of longs as the fund already lost about 12% in just the first two weeks of March.

Naturally, it’s not clear whether the bet is an outright wager on a fall in shares or part of a broader hedging strategy of the firm that manages about $160 billion. Ironically, a similar report published by the WSJ last November suggesting Dalio had developed a “bearish view on the stock market”, was met with harsh criticism by Dalio and a barrage of petulant LinkedIn posts. Ironically, if only Dalio had been bearish, he would be on top of the world now instead of being the butt of watercooler jokes about cash somehow being trash at a time when the Fed just backstopped or injected over $6 trillion in, drumroll, cash.

However suggesting that this time Dalio was indeed bearish was his latest LinkedIn post in which he said that the Fed’s decision to cut rates to almost zero puts the markets in an even more precarious position.

“Long-term interest rates hitting the hard 0% floor means that virtually all asset classes go down because the positive effects of interest rates falling won’t exist (at least not much).”

“Hitting this 0% floor also means that virtually all the reserve country central banks’ interest rate stimulation tools (including cutting them and yield curve guidance) won’t work.”

So yeah, it looks like Dalio has indeed gone to the dark side which in this bizarro world, in which the founder of the world’s (formerly) biggest hedge funds is now also the market’s most reliable contrarian indicator, is probably the best news the steamrolled bulls could hope for.


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 20:52

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2UgJXQq Tyler Durden

The World Must Not Forget The Fight For The Saudi Crown Amid Virus Panic

The World Must Not Forget The Fight For The Saudi Crown Amid Virus Panic

Authored by Patrick Cockburn via The Independent,

The fear caused by the coronavirus outbreak is greater than that provoked by a serious war because everybody is in the front line and everybody knows that they are a potential casualty. The best parallel is the terror felt by people facing occupation by a hostile foreign army; even if, in the present case, the invader comes in the form of a minuscule virus.

The political consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are already vast because its advance, and the desperate measures taken to combat it, entirely dominate the news agenda and will go on doing so for the foreseeable future, although it is in the nature of this unprecedented event that nothing can be foreseen.

History has not come to a full stop because of the virus, however: crucial events go on happening, even if they are being ignored by people wholly absorbed by the struggle for survival in the face of a new disease. Many of these unrecognised but very real crises are taking place in the Middle East, the arena where great powers traditionally stage confrontations fought out by their local proxies.

Top of the list of critical new conflicts that have been overshadowed by the pandemic is the battle for the throne of Saudi Arabia: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), whose dwindling band of admirers describe him as “mercurial”, this month launched a sort of palace coup by arresting his uncle, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, and his cousin, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, whom he displaced as crown prince in 2017.

The new purge of close relatives by MbS may be motivated by his wish to eliminate any potential rivals for the crown who might step forward upon the death of King Salman, his 84-year-old father. This need to settle the royal succession has become more urgent in the past few weeks because the US presidential election in November might see the crown prince lose an essential ally: Donald Trump, a man who has become increasingly discredited by his shambolic response to Covid-19, and who faces Joe Biden’s emergence as the likely Democratic candidate for the presidency.

Trump has been a vital prop for MbS, standing by him despite his role in starting an unwinnable war in Yemen in 2015 and his alleged responsibility for the gruesome murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. MbS has denied personal involvement in the killing, but told PBS last year: “It happened under my watch. I get all the responsibility, because it happened under my watch.”

The record of misjudgements by MbS after he established himself as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia five years ago makes Inspector Clouseau seem like a strategist of Napoleonic stature by comparison. Every one of his initiatives at home and abroad has stalled or failed, from the endless and calamitous war in Yemen to the escalating confrontation with Iran that culminated in Tehran’s drone and missile attack on Saudi oil facilities last September.

The latest gamble by MbS is to break with Russia and flood the market with Saudi crude oil just as world demand is collapsing because of the pandemic’s economic impact. In living memory in the Middle East, only Saddam Hussein displayed a similar combination of hubris and erratic performance that inspired disastrous ventures such as the Iraqi invasion of Iran in 1980 and of Kuwait in 1990.

I once asked a Russian diplomat knowledgeable about the workings of the Iraqi ruler’s inner circle why none of his senior lieutenants, some of whom were intelligent and well informed, had warned him against taking such idiotic decisions. “Because the only safe thing to do in those circles was to be 10 per cent tougher than the boss,” explained the diplomat. MbS reportedly shows similar impatience towards anybody critical of the latest cunning plan.

When it comes to the oil price war, the likelihood is that the Kremlin will have thought this through and Riyadh will not. Russian financial reserves are high and its reliance on imports less than during the last price conflict five years ago between the two biggest oil exporters. Inevitably, all the oil states in the Middle East are going to be destabilised, Iraq being a prime example because of its complete reliance on oil revenues. Iran, suffering from the worst outbreak of Covid-19 in the region, was already staggering under the impact of US sanctions.

In time, the Russians may overplay their hand in the region – as all foreign players appear to do when over-encouraged by temporary successes. For the moment, however, they are doing nicely: in Syria, the Russian-backed offensive of President Assad’s forces has squeezed the rebel enclave in Idlib without Turkey, despite all the belligerent threats of President Erdogan, being able to do much about it.

These developments might have provoked a stronger international reaction two months ago, but they are now treated as irrelevant sideshows by countries bracing themselves for the onset of the pandemic. It is easy to forget that only 10 weeks ago, the US and Iran were teetering on the edge of all-out war after the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was assassinated at Baghdad airport in a US drone strike. After ritualistic Iranian retaliation against two US bases, both sides de-escalated their rhetoric and their actions. Rather than drastically changing course, however, the Iranians were probably re-evaluating their strategy of pinprick guerrilla attacks by proxies on the US and its allies: this week, the US accused an Iranian-backed paramilitary group of firing rockets at an American base north of Baghdad, killing two Americans and one Briton. Iran has evidently decided that it can once again take the risk of harassing US forces.

Covid-19 is already changing political calculations in the Middle East and the rest of the world: a second term for President Trump looks much less likely than it did in February. The election of Biden, an archetypal member of the Washington establishment, might not change things much for the better, but it would restore a degree of normality.

Trump’s foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere has always been less innovative in practice than his supporters and critics have claimed. Often, in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was surprisingly similar to that of Barack Obama. The biggest difference was Trump’s abandonment of the nuclear deal with Iran, but even there Trump relied on the “maximum pressure” of economic sanctions to compel the Iranians to negotiate. For all Trump’s bombast and jingoism, he has never actually started a war.

However, this is now changing in a way that nobody could have predicted, because in its political impact the pandemic is very like a war. The political landscape is being transformed everywhere by this modern version of the Great Plague. By failing to respond coherently to the threat and blaming foreigners for its spread, Trump is visibly self-isolating the US and undermining the hegemonic role it has played since the Second World War. Even if Biden is elected as the next president, the US will have lost its undisputed primacy in a post-pandemic world.


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 20:30

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2xL5xoP Tyler Durden

US Food Industry Scrambles To Resupply Stores Amid Apocalyptic Surge In Demand

US Food Industry Scrambles To Resupply Stores Amid Apocalyptic Surge In Demand

As coronavirus spreads throughout the United States, millions of panicked Americans have been hoarding everything from canned food to absurd amounts of toilet paper. Images of empty store shelves are compounding the situation, as worries over shortages amid a potential quarantine have added to the surge in purchases.

According to the nation’s largest retailers, meat producers and dairy farmers however, there’s plenty of food in the country; the problem is that the supply chain wasn’t designed to handle this type of nation-wide surge in purchases and is now scrambling to catch up, reports the New York Times.

Industries that are calibrated to supply consumers with just enough of what they need on a given day cannot keep up with a nationwide surge of relentless shopping fueled in large part by fear. –NYT

As distributors and retailers struggle to restock shelves with a sudden demand for canned soup and oat milk, industry officials insist that these are temporary problems.

“There is food being produced. There is food in warehouses,” said North American Meat Institute CEO, Julie Anna Potts. “There is plenty of food in the country.”

Costco COO Ron Vachris said in a Saturday interview “Our stores are getting stocked every day,” adding “Transportation is functioning, our suppliers are working around the clock and the flow of goods is strong.”

Notably, hot dog orders at Costco and Walmart have increased by as much as 300% according to meat suppliers – with some hot dog plants adding Saturday and Sunday shifts, and are shipping Memorial Day stockpiles to meet the surge in demand. Hot dog makers say they have a year’s supply of ingredients such as garlic, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the National Chicken Council says they aren’t seeing any disruptions in production – and that “ample surplus supplies of chicken” are currently in cold storage – 950 million pounds worth, according to government data.

None of this matters to shoppers facing empty shelves right now, however.

The panicky buying is testing the food system’s capacity in the near term. Over the past few weeks, sales of rice have increased more than 50 percent, according to data from the research firm Nielsen. Canned meat is up more than 40 percent. And sales of other essentials like beans, pasta, peanut butter and bottled water have also risen substantially, with a sharp spike this month. Kroger told its suppliers that demand had surged 30 percent across all categories in recent days. (For comparison, the company’s sales for all of last year rose about 2 percent.) –NYT

Another factor in helping to restock store shelves is shifting the food supply from closed restaurants, school cafeterias and college campuses.

“The food is there. It’s just going into different spots,” according to FreshDirect CEO David McInerney. “Cruise ships are not using up all of the avocados. We have a giant surge of avocados.”

The hoarding began around two weeks ago. According to the Times, shortages in hand sanitizers and wipes “set off a wave of panic buying that spread in recent days to include bread, canned goods, milk and frozen food.” Perhaps a more plausible explanation is that the reality of a potentially protracted home-quarantine combined with people who don’t want to shop at a store with aerosolized, three-hour hang-time coronavirus in the aisles has driven Americans to stock up before it hits en masse.

Ramping up

Despite there being ‘enough food’ – there are logistical issues to increasing production, such as the 50-days or longer it takes for chickens to go from egg to mature bird to store shelves.

For some chicken suppliers, the process takes even longer, depending on the type of bird.

Across the industry, “you’re talking about 50 days to get to a customer,” said Matthew Wadiak, who runs Cooks Venture, a chicken supplier based in Arkansas and Oklahoma. “Fifty days ago, we didn’t know this was even on the horizon. There was essentially no way to plan for it.”

“It’s clear that the modern supply chain, for all its efficiency and speed, is not equipped to deal with this kind of surge.” –NYT

Amazon’s algorithms, for example, have been designed to provide near-perfect estimations of exactly how much inventory warehouses or particular stores must keep on hand during a typical week – but they’re unable to cope with this type of exogenous event leading to bare shelves in such a short period of time.

“When the shelf is emptied in the course of 24 hours and the safety stock was built intent upon protecting a week or two of demand, you get this tremendous dislocation,” said Columbia Business School director of retail studies Mark Cohen.

“The trouble is that the hoarding hasn’t abated. We’re just seeing the very beginning of this kind of behavior,” he added. “The question is: How long will it take for industry to catch up?


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 20:10

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2U5cfxa Tyler Durden

Why The Covid-19 Rescue Plan Should Be Vehemently Opposed

Why The Covid-19 Rescue Plan Should Be Vehemently Opposed

Authored by Bruce Wilds via Advancing Time blog,

More than a few reasons exist to vehemently oppose the federal covid-19 economic rescue package. This is the hastily drawn up package, which Trump said he fully supports and is rapidly working its way through Washington on its way to becoming law. The two major reasons for strongly objecting to this bill are, we have no idea what it will cost and it will totally miss its target while dealing a crushing blow to small businesses across America. Still, because of politics, the measure passed in an overwhelming 363-40 vote in the House soon after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reached an agreement.

Politics And Grandstanding For The Masses

The 110-page bill is being painted as proof lawmakers could work together during a crisis after being sharply divided over party lines during the failed impeachment of President Trump.  By framing the poorly and hastily crafted pork-packed bill this way promoters are positioned to demonize those unwilling to support it. The chamber approved the bill less than an hour after the text was released. This bill is aimed at assisting millions of Americans directly and is in addition to the $8.3 billion emergency spending bill already approved to curb the spread of covid-19.

Jim Banks, a congressman from northeast Indiana was among 40 Republicans who opposed the bill. Interestingly, the rest of Indiana’s nine-member delegation, six Republicans and two Democrats, voted in favor of the act which has been named “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” Banks claimed it was because “Some language will mean major harm for small businesses and our economy.” Bank’s office referred to a message sent to House leaders from the National Federation of Independent Business, which objected to a provision of the legislation that would require employers with fewer than 500 workers to provide paid medical and family leave. The question is, how many struggling businesses with two to twenty workers have the resources to weather this storm.

90% Of Businesses Are Small

The bill scheduled to go to the Senate will provide free testing for the virus, expand unemployment assistance and increase spending on nutrition programs. Banks tweeted: “There is much in this bill we need to pass, but as the NFIB said in their letter of opposition, the bill would impose potentially unsustainable mandates on small businesses’ hurting not helping the backbone of our local economies.”

The NFIB correctly contends that “many small business owners simply cannot afford the cost of the new mandate at the same time as they experience increasingly slower sales.” The advocacy organization said that many businesses “may not stay afloat” long enough to claim quarterly tax credits provided by the paid-leave provision. According to the bill, employers would have to provide 14 days of paid sick leave for at least two-thirds of a worker’s pay. This applies to employees who have the coronavirus, are caring for a family member who has it or who need to care for children due to facilities being closed. For those now forced to take on this burden, this is enough to make their heads spin, unlike government agencies small business owners cannot turn to taxpayers when they can’t pay their bills.

Below is a list of what this legislation promises to do:

  • Requires private health plans to cover covid-19 testing at no cost, and allocates $1 billion for testing for uninsured Americans

  • Ensures employers with fewer than 500 employees and government employers offer two weeks of paid sick leave through 2020.

  • Requires those same employers to provide up to 3 months of paid family and medical leave for people forced to quarantine due to the virus or care for family because of the outbreak

  • Offers payroll tax credits for employers providing those leave benefits

  • Puts $1 billion into emergency state grants for providing unemployment insurance benefits. It includes $500 million for staffing and logistical costs for states, with an additional $500 million reserved for states that see a 10% increase in unemployment

  • Puts $500 million into food assistance for low-income pregnant women and mothers with young children, $400 million into local food banks and $250 million into a senior nutrition program

  • Suspends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements for the duration of the crisis

In an effort to silence GOP opposition Trump wrote this bill “will follow my direction for free CoronaVirus tests, and paid sick leave for our impacted American workers.” He also said he directed Mnuchin and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia “to issue regulations that will provide flexibility so that in no way will Small Businesses be hurt.” Many political pundits see Trump’s declaration of a national emergency on Friday and his endorsement of this package as an effort to mitigate damage from his administration’s initially weak response to the crisis.

In what appeared a contrived stunt to rally stocks, Trump declared a national emergency, 15 minutes before the market closed on Friday. In his declaration, Trump said he would temporarily waive the interest on federal student loans but more importantly directed his administration to buy oil for its strategic reserve. This caused oil and stocks to soar. The reality and fears of widespread economic disruption with workers, either sick or laid off has resulted in all major U.S. stock indexes dropping by more than 8% for the week despite rising on Friday.

As expected, in a series of tweets, the president said “I fully support” the legislation negotiated by Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and said he looks forward to signing it “ASAP!” The Senate has canceled its recess plans and is expected to take it up Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said senators “will need to carefully review” the proposal. “But I believe the vast majority of Senators in both parties will agree we should act swiftly to secure relief for American workers, families, and small businesses,” he said.

4,000 Queue For Hours At Chicago O’Hare

It is difficult to think the incompetent clowns in Washington have a handle on the cost of this bill or that the Congressional Budget Office has had time it asset it. The information is so sparse few of us are able to get details about the language it contains but one thing is certain, the politicians are rushing to pander and pour forth “free stuff.” Sadly, few are considering the unintended consequences that will flow from their so-called efforts to blunt the economic damage of the global pandemic.

Never underestimate the stupidity of government. An example of their lack of competence can be seen at the 16 US airports approved to handle Americans returning to the country. At these airports, unimaginable long lines of people crowd together for hours and hours without masks. This is also playing out in other airports, a passenger arriving at JFK confirmed that they were told to share pens and there was no hand sanitizer. “So if we didn’t have the virus before, we have a great chance of getting it now!” one passenger stated.

The reason to vehemently oppose the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” is that it is ill-conceived. Why will anyone want to work, especially government workers when they can get paid to stay home? How do you staff healthcare facilities when nobody comes to work? The greatest irony of this farce is that small business owners will be the first to take it on the chin. Privately-owned companies with fewer than 20 are the backbone of America and what makes it work. This means Trump may not understand at what point a small business becomes a medium or large business or simply doesn’t care. Ironically, the members of the NFIB strongly supported this same President that is throwing them under the bus.


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 19:50

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2QjU1ar Tyler Durden

Drunks Make One “Last Call” To Bars Before ‘Inevitable’ Nationwide Lockdown

Drunks Make One “Last Call” To Bars Before ‘Inevitable’ Nationwide Lockdown

While many townships and cities were in the process of limiting hours for their restaurants and bars, there was a small collective of people out trying to get their last hours of socializing in before what feels like an inevitable nationwide lockdown.

While some across the country are working hard at their social distancing practices, others, like Nicole Zanetti, were heading out to bars like “The Pig and the Parrot” in Hoboken, New Jersey, hours before the city was put on lockdown.

Zanetti told Bloomberg“Yes, I’m nervous about getting the virus, and I don’t want to give it to other people. But it can’t stop us from going out and drinking and having a good time.”

Actually, Nicole, if the virus kills you, yes it can. But we digress…

The mayor of Hoboken, Ravinder Bhalla announced that restaurants would be limited to delivery or pick up options beginning 11AM Sunday and imposed a curfew of between 10PM to 5AM to support social distancing efforts. 

Xavier Jones, a contractor from East Orange said: “Ten to 15 years from now, we’re going to look back and say this was silly. Yes, it is killing people, but we shouldn’t be shutting down bars and restaurants given what we don’t know.”

Bimal Patel, a tourist from Philadelphia, said: “Instead of closing things down, I feel like they should limit hours or limit the capacity. There should be a better way of handling it than shutting everything down and impacting the economy that way.”

The mayor was following suit of those around the world who have implemented similar restrictions. But in Paris and Lyon, just like in Hoboken, young kids flocked to cafes and bars before they shut down. People close to the border with the Netherlands hopped the border to “party and shop there”. The Dutch media is calling it “coronatourism”. 

Alysia Camacho, who works at a dental office in New Jersey concluded: “I do think about spreading it to elders because obviously we have elderly people in our families. But at the end of the day, what can we do but live our lives?”

 


Tyler Durden

Mon, 03/16/2020 – 19:30

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2vrp3pr Tyler Durden

Maine Island Forbids Entry (Including to Part-Time Residents and Property Owners)

I quote key parts of the proclamation below; for more, see this Courier-Gazette (Stephen Betts) article (which also notes that “The island has an estimated year-round population of 355, but that swells significantly during the summer” and “The town held its annual town meeting on Saturday and concerns were voiced by some residents about the impact of seasonal residents arriving, possibly carrying the new coronavirus”).

My quick reaction:

(1) I think a state could constitutionally enact such restrictions, as an emergency quarantine measure, but I’m skeptical that the particular statutory provisions cited below authorize towns to do the same on their own, and my quick search didn’t find any Maine statutes that would indeed so authorize towns.

(2) I don’t think municipalities are legally entitled to enact such restrictions in the absence of statutory authorization, though I might well be mistaken.

(3) The town might hope that, even if the proclamation is ultimately held legally invalid, it will deter some people from coming.

WHEREAS, the Town of North Haven, Maine, is situated on an island of the same name lying twelve miles off the coast of Maine; …

WHEREAS, the Town of North Haven operates a non-terminating medical facility known as the North Haven Clinic;

WHEREAS, the North Haven Clinic is staffed by one nurse practitioner and is not licensed or operated as an emergency medical facility;

WHEREAS, patients with serious emergency medical conditions, including patients with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization, must be transported to a mainland emergency medical facility by ambulance on a Maine State Ferry Service vessel;

WHEREAS, transporting patients who are potentially positive for COVID-19 leaves the Town without a nurse practitioner, without a lead Emergency Medical Technician, and without its one ambulance for at least three hours;

WHEREAS, the Town has a limited supply of medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and medicine to treat potential COVID-19 cases; …

WHEREAS, the North Haven Select Board has considered the above factors [see here for the whole list], including the limited availability of people, equipment, and supplies needed to support the island’s population, and believes it needs to take steps to protect the people who live on the island from the effects of COVID-19;

WHEREAS, a board of selectmen under Title 30-A Maine Revised Statute, section 2635 shall “as a body shall exercise all administrative and executive powers of the town” except as otherwise provided by State law; and

WHEREAS, Title 30-A, Maine Revised Statutes, section 2109 states that a municipality’s home rule authority “shall be liberally construed” to effect activities for the “welfare of the municipalities and their inhabitants”;

NOW THEREFORE, in order to best protect the people of the Town of North Haven from the spread of the novel coronavirus known as a COVID-19, the North Haven Select Board hereby orders:

[1.] All travel to the island shall be limited to travel for “essential purposes,” as defined below;

[2.] People who do not reside on the island fulltime may not travel to the island due to the significant increase in risk associated with the transmission of COVID-19;

[3.] Contractors who work on the island but do not live on the island may not travel to the island due to the significant increase in risk associated with the transmission of COVID- 19;

[4.] Travel for “essential purposes” shall mean to receive or provide medical care, to provide direct caregiving to people who reside on the island; to resupply bulk food items, fuel, and other products required for human consumption, habitation, and wellbeing; to conduct law enforcement activities, to fulfill Knox County, State, or Federal obligations and to perform duties related to those obligations; and travel for other similar purposes associated with lifesaving, firefighting, and other activities related to the emergency care of persons or property;

[5.] For the time being, “essential travel” shall also include travel to the mainland and back to North Haven Island for the purpose of obtaining groceries and other essential items;

(Note: This may change should the likelihood of an outbreak of COVID-19 increase. The Town of North Haven is working with North Haven Grocery and Penobscot Island Air to arrange for shipment and pick-up or delivery of groceries and other essential items at the North Haven Grocery or via Penobscot Island Air or the Maine State Ferry Service. The Select Board strongly encourages people to order their groceries, foodstuffs, and other necessaries through the North Haven Grocery or from a service that will deliver the items via the Maine State Ferry Service or Penobscot Island Air. The Town will also coordinate efforts to screen and obtain volunteers to help with the delivery of groceries and other essential items to persons who are quarantined or who are otherwise unable to obtain these items themselves. Volunteers would be asked to place the items on people’s doorsteps; not to come into contact with quarantined people directly.)

[6.] For the time being, “essential travel” shall also include delivery of building supplies and materials needed for island residents to perform their jobs;

(Note: This may change should the likelihood of an outbreak of COVID-19 increase. The Town will work with Viking, Spears, and other suppliers of building materials and other materials needed for island residents to perform their jobs to find ways to obtain needed materials in a manner that minimizes the likelihood of transmission of COVID-19.)

[7.] People on the island shall avoid close human contact with people other than their families or others with whom they reside;

[8.] People on the island shall not meet in groups larger than ten persons, unless a family gathering would include more than ten persons; …

Thanks to commenter Dr. Ed for the pointer.

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