Thursday, March 26, 2020

Stingy, greedy, despicable

Fox News host Sean Hannity challenged Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the expansion of unemployment benefits in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package passed by the Senate, saying some people are "going to make more money unemployed" than by remaining in the workforce.

  The Hill
God forbid poor working stiffs should catch a break.
Hannity said he supported helping Americans impacted by the spreading coronavirus, but questioned whether the bill's provision expanding unemployment benefits by $600 was necessary.
Six. Hundred. Dollars.
"This idea that you're going to make more money unemployed, that angers my audience. That angers me too," said Hannity.
Who is Hannity's audience? Trump?
"Sean, you're right. It angers me, too," Mnuchin replied. "But the problem is the states have computer systems in unemployment that are 35 years old. And, unfortunately, we need to get the money out fast, we couldn't reprogram these things."

[...]

The bill provides four months of bolstered unemployment benefits, which are increased by $600, but the provision sparked an eleventh-hour fight, with four GOP senators pushing for changes. Their proposed amendment ultimately failed to pass the Senate.
The whole Trump cabal is greedy, calloused and despicable.
"So the simplest way was, and the fairest way was, $600 per person. In certain states that may be a little bit too much money," he continued. "In other states, it's less. It's not a perfect system. But the president's objective was to make sure we get money in people's hands. And as I said, waiting four months to reprogram systems, that doesn't do us any good."
I repeat: Six. Hundred. Dollars. They are begrudging people who keep this country running - many of whom actually ARE Hannity's audience - a measley six hundred dollars in the face of a pandemic that has put them out of work. You can't get much more despicable than that.
Data on Thursday showed weekly claims for unemployment insurance surged to a record 3.3 million between March 15 and 22.
Pitch your tents on Hannity and Mnuchin's lawns. Or any GOP Congressperson in your area.

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