Trump And Republicans Embrace Socialism

Don, Mnuchin told Republicans today that unemployment could hit 20% and I think that was a conservative estimate. The New York Times got a leaked copy of the Federal Government's "top secret" plan/brief on COVID-19 and it said they expected the crisis to last as long as 18 months with several waves of outbreaks.  I am not sure there is much to do other than give people stuff because at this point they won't have any way to survive otherwise. Yes, by the time it is all said and done, a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's may cost you $100 when they reopen.  

Oh yes, one could guess that Old Don would bite.  Of course, he predicted that the Obama stimulus bill would lead to "Zimbabwe-like" inflation, "20-80% inflation," "'70s like inflation," "dollar collapse," "stock market collapse," "government bankruptcy" . . . and then we had ten years of economic and job growth with inflation averaging under 2% a year.  Now he predicts "massive inflation."  Let's just say, Old Don's predictive abilities are dubious.

Mark opines: "Yes, by the time it is all said and done, a Quarter Pounder at McDonald's may cost you $100 when they reopen."

DonDiego won't pay that much ! ! ! 

Don, why would replacing people's lost wages with much smaller amounts lead to "massive inflation"? You give someone who was laid off $1,000, that's certainly going to help, but is that even close to what most people make?

The fact of the matter is that people not having money due to being laid off leads to massive DEflation, which the free money would be designed to prevent. Deflation means that merchants cannot sell goods and services because people don't have enough money, so they would be forced to reduce prices--which would gradually eliminate profits--which would ultimately result in bankrupt businesses. People postpone all but essential purchases, reasoning that prices will be lower later.

DonDiego might be interested in doing research about deflation in 1929, which turned a recession into the Great Depression, or in several instances in the late 19th century, which reduced large sectors of the US to essentially a barter economy.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, deflation is a much worse situation than inflation.

Whats funny is that with all the massive deficits the economy is actually more in danger of deflation than inflation.   Seems illogical until you look behind the curtain.

Most of the money in our country is not in active ciculation but rather hoarded at the top by a small percentage of our population that just sits on it.    Warren Buffet's billions dont transact in the economy on a daily basis.

We probably wont get much inflation until you have some kind of legislation that removes those lopsided amounts of money from the 4%.  Or until they donate it when they croak.   

I'd be happy if they just paid the same tax rate that I do.

And due to the economic multiplier effect, money that sits idle is MUCH less useful than money that is circulating.

That, by the way, is the logic behind Yang's and others' idea of "just give people money." While the very thought twists conservatives' panties, in the end, that money produces much more economic benefit than just its face value. Conservatives should actually like it--billionaires get richer when people have more money to spend.

The trouble, as you know, is that that simple concept gets lost amid all the usual bleating about whether people "deserve" government benefits or not (and I'm always amazed at how conservatives are so ready to jump into the role of moral decision-maker). We've also heard that conservative bleating about raising the minimum wage. You give them darkies and Messkins MONEY, pretty soon they'll git uppity and wanna VOTE and shit.

If the feds & local govts are shutting down businesses, it becomes the responsibility of those govts to help the people negatively affected by those decisions. 

I agree 100%.   But the actions of shutting down businesses and providing an income to their employees are not attributes of free-market capitalism.   They are very much Socialist in nature.

And thats not a bad thing.  it just a hypocritical thing for the people who like to pretend Socialism is evil even as they  engage in it.  

And its also not surprising.    Make no mistake, the upcoming election cycle will be riddled with Republican scare-mongering about Socialism.    The president will do it.  Republicans in Congress will do it.   And so will Tom.

Amazing how you "principled" conservatives can rationalize "socialism" when a Republican does it.  

Just like Trump has just recently grown a pseudo-conscience after Baby Trump whispered in his ear that if he continued to ignore/lie about the coronavirus crisis, that might hurt his reelection chances.

I AM both shocked and amused that so many Republicans are supporting a government giveaway, after spending roughly the last hundred years screaming when poor people get money to buy bread or receive health care. Once again, I'm sure that they're acting out of political motivation than any sense of compassion or social responsibility. I might do some research and see if the Republican senators up for reelection in 2020 are the most ardent supporters of coronavirus relief packages.