Category Archives: Stimulus
Pelosi’s Threat Comes and Goe
Nancy Pelosi’s threat of a Tuesday deadline to accept her stimulus terms has come and gone. They’re still negotiating.
I liked my original sketch better with Pelosi holding a gun to her head. But editors might not run it. So, if a cartoon falls in the forest and nobody sees it… what good is it?
I thought it was pretty funny when Cleavon Little did it in Blazing Saddles. (Trigger word warning for humor impaired)
Blue State Pre-existing Condition
Blue states have a pre-existing condition that makes them more vulnerable to the Corona virus lockdown. And Nancy Pelosi has a plan for that. But Mitch McConnell pronounced her $3 trillion bailout cure dead on arrival. Instead, he prescribed bankruptcy.
But the U.S. Constitution might pronounce that idea is dead on arrival too.
The plan could be raised from dead though. Bloomberg Businessweek says red states need bailouts too.
Dismal Science of Ending the Shutdown
It’s a dismal science for the governors of Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina as they re-open their states for business. And public health officials aren’t excited about the prospect. Here’s Dr. Fauci:
“We are scientists, physicians, public health officials. We’re not economists,” he said on CNN’s “New Day.” “We’re sensitive to the idea that the economy could suffer, but it was patently obvious looking at the data, that at the end of the day if we try to push back prematurely, not only would we lose lives, but it probably would even hurt the economy.”
Kevin Liptack, CNN
Dismal Science
So, how much is a life worth? Economists have a plan for that:
Economists use the Value of Statistical Life. It measures the value placed on changes that increase likelihood of death, not the value on a human life to avoid death. “It’s used in court cases when assigning damages,” Camerer said. I could make a highway a little safer at a very high cost. This is one reason economics is called the dismal science.
Quentin Fottrell, MarketWatch
Race Against Time, Virus vs. Savings
It’s a race against time. Can the virus be spent before your savings?
701,000 American jobs were lost in March and the unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 4.4% in one month according to the WSJ.
Meanwhile, The Guardian says about 35 companies are working on a vaccine and Moderna is about to begin human testing. And “many many‘ groups are working on immunity-giving antibody tests that provide results in minutes.
Two Trillion Dollar Stimulus Brings Back Bull, For Now
The Senate passed a two trillion dollar stimulus bill Wednesday night. And the Dow lurched forward 6.4% on Thursday. And that followed an 11% bump from the day before. But the 401k party was over by Friday and it was still down over 20% for the year.
