If this goes on for a longer term, millions of people without income is simply not an option. The problem is any long-term relief program will be budget busting. There needs to be revenue offsets or the dollar will become strained and we risk a currency crash and hyperinflation. That’s all we need on top of, as the Fed has recently warned, possible 32% unemployment.
I know wealth taxes have been politically unpopular. Bernie Sanders was pushed to fringe status because he proposed a wealth tax (even though Elizabeth Warren proposed the same thing.)
But these are extraordinary times. Is it time for our wealthiest citizens to step up to the plate to divert economic chaos? Here is one of the more interesting proposals I have seen.
Since America does not like wealth taxes, it could be clear that this one is temporary to support long-term, enhanced unemployment benefits.
From the article:
When someone like Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel predicts on MSNBC, as he did this week, that "the crisis is not going to go away in a few weeks or after the 30-day plan comes to an end," and that "a lock-down must go on for the next 18 months or more," something is badly off-kilter.
Eighteen months or more of lock-down? What are people who work for a living supposed to do?
People at "non-essential" jobs do not work for fun, or to fill their days. They go to work because they need to earn a paycheck to buy food and necessities. To eat. To live.
The Occupy Corona National Survival Plan: Full Jobless Benefits for Duration of Lockdown, Paid by Temporary Wealth Tax
.The main points of the proposed program:
- Long-Term Jobless Benefits at 100% Paycheck - First, slam the brakes on long-term economic uncertainty and anxiety. If Dr. Emanuel says this lock-down must go on for 18 months, then workers must know that their unemployment benefits, at 100% of paycheck or close to it, will go on for the duration of the national emergency, until the day it is lifted. The $2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, signed by President Trump in March 2020, uses a different formula, adding $600 per week to normal unemployment benefits paid by the states' average weekly unemployment check to $985. This exceeds the median weekly earnings of $936 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
- Essential Workers Can Enroll in Medicare - Offer workers who are deemed "essential services" workers the immediate opportunity to enroll in Medicare, regardless of their age. These are sanitation workers, grocery chain workers, food processing plant, hardware store, etc. whom the government has already ascertained are essential to keeping society running. They have earned this. They cannot get sick and then get thrown under the bus.
- Keep the Food Banks Open - Establish a $100 million dollar fund and staff to keep US food banks stocked and running, for anyone who meets the qualifications. These would be:
-People whose regular food pantry or meal program has closed until further notice.
-People who have lost their job or part of their income and cannot afford groceries at this time.
-People who are homebound due to illness, disability, or quarantine and do not have support that can bring you food.
-People who are at high risk for COVID-19 and do not have access to a regular food source.
People who would like to donate to food banks on their own can refer to the New York Times' Neediest Cases Fund.
- Ramp Up Victory Gardens - In order to further strengthen the nation's level of food security, use the pulpit of government to encourage new Victory Gardens, which were an important part of the World Wars I and II war efforts. The government encouraged gardens planted at private residences and public parks, in order to reduce pressure on the public food supply. President Woodrow Wilson said "Food will win the war." To start a local match-making thread to match owners of property willing to let someone grow food on it with people who want a garden, but have no space for it, use a neighborhood posting service like NextDoor.com.
- Pay for with Temporary Tax on Extreme Wealth - These budget-busting initiatives without revenue offsets would endanger the US dollar and threaten the economy with yet another nightmare: the collapse of the currency and runaway hyperinflation. The solution is to impose a temporary tax on extreme wealth. It has been estimated that a 2 percent tax on individuals with more than $50 million in assets and 3 percent on those with more than $1 billion would raise somewhat under $300 billion dollars per year. This would easily cover the cost of a full year's 100% paycheck unemployment benefits.
I hope these ideas gain traction. It is obvious that we cannot let people starve without income for as long as it is decided a lock-down is needed. FDR saw the need for immediate, bold action to pull the country out of the Great Depression. Now by all accounts, this could be worse.
#OccupyCoronaPlan