US Politics Mega-thread - Page 3110

AID TO THE UNEMPLOYED

Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended through Sept. 6 at $300 a week. That’s on top of what beneficiaries are getting through their state unemployment insurance program. The first $10,200 of jobless benefits would be non-taxable for households with incomes under $150,000.

Additionally, the measures provides a 100% subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to ensure that the laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans at no cost through the end of September.

MORE CHECKS

The legislation provides a direct payment of $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount, as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000.

The size of the check would shrink for those making slightly more, with a hard cut-off at $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for married couples.

Most Americans will be getting the full amount. The median household income was $68,703 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

MONEY FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

The legislation would send $350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments for costs incurred up until the end of 2024. The bill also requires that small states get at least the amount they received under virus legislation that Congress passed last March.

Many communities have taken hits to their tax base during the pandemic, but the impact varies from state to state and from town to town. Critics say the funding is not appropriately targeted and is far more than necessary with billions of dollars allocated last spring to states and communities still unspent.

AID TO SCHOOLS

The bill calls for about $130 billion in additional help to schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The money would be used to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase personal protective equipment. The money could also be used to increase the hiring of nurses and counselors and to provide summer school.

Spending for colleges and universities would be boosted by about $40 billion, with the money used to defray an institution’s pandemic-related expenses and to provide emergency aid to students to cover expenses such as food and housing and computer equipment.

AID TO BUSINESSES

A new program for restaurants and bars hurt by the pandemic would receive $25 billion. The grants provide up to $10 million per company with a limit of $5 million per physical location. The grants can be used to cover payroll, rent, utilities and other operational expenses.

The bill also provides $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, a tiny fraction of what was allocated in previous legislation. The bill also allows more non-profits to apply for loans that are designed to help borrowers meet their payroll and operating costs and can potentially be forgiven.

TESTING AND VACCINES

The bill provides $46 billion to expand federal, state and local testing for COVID-19 and to enhance contract tracing capabilities with new investments to expand laboratory capacity and set up mobile testing units. It also contains about $14 billion to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

HEALTH CARE

Parts of the legislation advance longstanding Democratic priorities like increasing coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. Financial assistance for ACA premiums would become considerably more generous and a greater number of solid middle-class households would qualify. Though the sweetened subsidies last only through the end of 2022, they will lower the cost of coverage and are expected to boost the number of people enrolled.

The measure also dangles more money in front of a dozen states, mainly in the South, that have not yet taken up the Medicaid expansion that is available under the ACA to cover more low-income adults. Whether such a sweetener would be enough to start wearing down longstanding Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion is uncertain.

BIGGER TAX BREAKS FOR HOUSEHOLDS WITH AND WITHOUT KIDS

Under current law, most taxpayers can reduce their federal income tax bill by up to $2,000 per child. In a significant change, the bill would increase the tax break to $3,000 for every child age 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under the age of 6.

The legislation also calls for the payments to be delivered monthly instead of in a lump sum. If the secretary of the Treasury determines that isn’t feasible, then the payments are to be made as frequently as possible.

Families would get the full credit regardless of how little they make in a year, leading to criticism that the changes would serve as a disincentive to work. Add in the $1,400 checks and other items in the proposal, and the legislation would reduce the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University.

The bill also significantly expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for 2021 by making it available to people without children. The credit for low and moderate-income adults would be worth $543 to $1,502, depending on income and filing status.

RENTAL AND HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE

The bill provides about $30 billion to help low-income households and the unemployed afford rent and utilities, and to assist the homeless with vouchers and other support. States and tribes would receive an additional $10 billion for homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments because of the pandemic.

On March 07 2021 06:50 NewSunshine wrote:
I do, however, also notice Democrats and Biden being held to standards by the media/voters that suddenly popped into existence the moment Trump left. Trump and Republicans routinely enjoyed softball headlines, questions, and reporting, when they absolutely needed to be called out for every last deplorable act they took, whereas Biden is now being grilled for coming up with a COVID stimulus and relief package that somehow doesn't whisk all of humanity out of this mess at once.

On March 07 2021 08:30 NrG.Bamboo wrote:

Wait.. Trump and the Republicans enjoyed easy treatment from the media? I am rather confused, and now questioning my memories. If I recall correctly, the past 4 years has been consistent complaining about and berating that administration and its supporters from just about anyone with a microphone (not to say that a lot of it wasn't warranted.)

On March 07 2021 16:01 Zambrah wrote:


What we need is to have leadership capable of whipping votes. Noone is talking about how the Republicans are all voting in perfect unison against this because we've all accepted that they do a good job of whipping their votes.

Democrats seem incapable of it.

Democrats also don't seem to support popular policy, so its not just that they dont support what I want, but they dont seem to support what their constituents want.

The reason for this is Democrats don't represent their constituents they represent their donors and friends and dont give a flying fuck about helping people. If they gave a shit and actually wielded power like Republicans wield power they'd crush elections and stop letting states like West Virginia go red. West Virginia hadn't had a Republican win a congressional race from the 80s til 2000, and now they're only set to get redder and redder as Democrats ignore the needs of the working class.

If Democrats gave a fuck they'd tell Manchin that if he wanted campaign funding he'd do what hes told on this bill. Same for Sinema and the other conservatives. Instead we had Delaware's Senators vote against reincluding the minimum wage in the bill. Delaware, the state that the president is from, if Joe Biden wanted to he could easily whip those votes himself. This entire bill has done nothing but show that Democrats never intended to do the things they promised. They've weaseled out of it as hard as they can. 2,000 dollar checks immediately became 1,400 dollar checks like two months later, oh, and knocking down unemployment benefits from 400 to 300, not to mention restricting who gets the checks denying help to another 17 million people. They did this for what? Republicans didn't vote for it. They did it because Manchin and the conservative fuckballs asked and Democrats are letting them run the show.

I say they're letting them because as I've stated before they have myriad ways to threaten them to vote in line, but they're choosing not to. The only reason Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema aka Marie Antoinette have so much power in this congress is because Democrats are using them to play their usual "whoops we cant we're powerless" games and its transparent bullshit.

Voters aren't to blame. Voters don't have a choice in any of this. Its the politicians who are beholden to nobody but their donors to blame, blaming the people in this country who are suffering at the hands of callous politicians is blaming the victims of American politics.

Defending Joe Manchin and Sinema and Biden and the Democrats in moments like these is bullshit, they need to be called out for their constant feigned weakness. They had the chance to fulfill campaign promises and actively decided not to, that is not something to accept.

Where incumbency success rates in this country are 90+%. Unseating Joe Manchin or any famous incumbent isnt a battle of ideas, its a battle of money and fame, because the person who votes for Joe Manchin is just going to keep voting for him because his name is familiar on the ballot and they dont have the time or energy to pursue information on a slew of candidates during a primary.

Blaming voters is asinine and utterly and COMPLETELY useless. Americans didn't suddenly get lazy and bored with caring about politics, its because politicians and the state of the US has become so mediocre and unrepresentative of them that they see no point. Its like blaming the wife who gets beat on a weekly basis for not leaving, "you could just leave the house when hes at work, why are you subjecting yourself to being beaten?" Why would you believe change can happen when the commonly accepted theory for electoralism is fucking Game Theory bullshit that dictates only two parties can matter and neither of the two parties that matter have any real interest in helping you?

On March 07 2021 06:18 mierin wrote:
My, how the goalposts move.

When Trump + republicans had presidency and senate: Those Republicans are in charge, we can't implement any change!

When Dems have the presidency + a split senate which the VP can overturn: (write a one page essay about political nuance and why even though Democrats are technically in charge, no changes can be implemented).

I've been done with this for a long time, and I definitely saw it coming. I'm not even convinced the majority of Democrats even want the $15 minimum wage-- I would happily vote for a 200% tax increase to help the poor just to make myself look good because I know it'd never pass. "Vote blue no matter who", possibly the cult-iest saying I've ever heard, sure is working wonders.

I wish for once I could vote FOR someone instead of AGAINST someone else.