Our national priorities should be “for the people”.
First, the kind of coronavirus/social distancing control measures enacted by Maryland and California governors and other state and local leaders to flatten the curve so our health care systems are not completely swamped resulting in more people dying than would otherwise.
Second, income support via direct payments to individuals for the duration of this crisis to protect people - who can then conduct what little commerce is still possible.
But “No” to some of the proposed corporate bailouts.
No to the airlines: they have benefited from $millions in tax breaks. And what did they do with those breaks? The biggest U.S. airlines spent 96% of free cash flow last decade on buying back their own shares. American Airlines Group Inc. used 80% of its free cash flow on buybacks. (Bloomberg)
No to the cruise lines: they register their vessels in other countries to dodge taxes. In 2018, Miami-based Carnival Corporation, with $18 billion in revenue, paid almost no US taxes. Cruise ships are also sheltered from US labor and work-safety laws (minimum wages, workers’ rights, etc.) and exploit cheap labor in the unregulated global labor market. (The Seattle Stranger)
No to the pharmaceuticals: the coronavirus spending bill passed by the Senate March 5th directs $3 billion into pharmaceutical research and development of vaccines (WaPo), but the coronavirus spending bills prevent the federal government from recouping any of it from future Pharma profits generated by those same vaccines.
No bailouts for these corporations. Corporations are NOT people.