CNBC's Squawk Box asked Ross about (federal employees have been forced into food lines and homeless shelters) on Thursday, and Ross affirmed he was aware it was happening. But "I don't really quite understand why" these federal workers are out on the streets, Ross responded. "Borrowing from a bank or federal credit union" is "federally guaranteed," Ross said, so "there's no real reason why they shouldn't be able to get a loan against" the 30 days of pay they're missing, he finished.
Ahem.
Back to Kathryn Krawczyk:
Ross neglected to mention that taking out loans means paying interest. That's not exactly manageable for families living paycheck to paycheck, even if they are given back pay when the shutdown ends, as CNBC brought up after Ross' comments. As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a slew of other critics pointed out, Ross is a billionaire...
This is kind of that tone-deaf thing you get from guys who have never had to sweat out living paycheck to paycheck in their lives. Except it STILL comes across as heartless toward hundreds of thousands of our own people, many of whom are forced to keep working without pay.
The Washington Post notes the Department of Commerce's own Credit Union charges 9 PERCENT on loans. That's not cheap.
And it's not 30 days of pay they're missing right now, it's 34. And it keeps going because the Republicans in Congress refuse to pass a clean budget resolution to get past trump's hissy fit for a Goddamned Wall.
And speaking of trump, when you think nobody can top Ross' tone-deaf dismissal of the peasantry, along comes the Shitgibbon to offer "Hold my beer" (via Chris Priovolos at SFGate):
"Perhaps he should have said it differently. Local people know who they are when they go for groceries and everything else, and I think what Wilbur was probably trying to say is that they will work along," the president said. He added that Ross has "done a great job."Essentially trump is saying grocery stores will carry credit for people they know are regular customers.
Huuurrrrmmm.
GROCERY STORES DO NOT RUN ON PERSONAL CREDIT. You either bring in cash, debit card, credit card, or EBT. IT'S CALLED CAPITALISM YOU IDIOT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE ON IT.
so we got trump, arguably representing the standard bearer of global capitalism, telling our businesses to start behaving like communists. Look, I got my arguments against greed in general, and I believe Capitalism can work under regulation and towards an eye on honest behavior. This... this is just flippant disregard on the part of leaders who don't care about economic policies they just want it all.
I swear to God, the only way this day can get worse is if Marie Antoinette returns from the grave at the Davos 2019 Forum and gets in front of a camera to say "I heard Publix cake was very good nowadays."
But this is where we are at, America. Your Republican political leadership does NOT give a rat's ass about the suffering of the very people they are supposed to rely on to work for them. trump never cared for the "little people" for God's sake. The rest of the GOP hasn't concerned themselves with the well-being of ANYONE making under $200,000 a year since 1980.
That the Republicans as a group are this tone-deaf, and that they are this willing to continue the suffering of OUR nation's workforce, is a warning that they will never govern to OUR needs.
How many more red flags do you need to see this???
1 comment:
In reality, if you're a working poor person, there are certain neighborhood businesses you can build a relationship with that will allow you to run a pre-payday tab that may or may not keep you and your cat fed until payday, if you can make meals from what they stock. (Hi, Fred, remember me?)
You know who you absolutely can not do any such thing with?
The gas station. The fare machine on the bus or train. PG&E.
What's ridiculous about this is that even the mom-and-pop corner store isn't gonna float you a tab if they don't know you well enough to know you'll be back around to pay it. They're kind, but not stupid.
And we're talking government workers who are presumably paid well enough to do their grocery shopping at a larger, more convenient, better stocked, and healthier business, exempting them from the need to have cultivated such a relationship.
In other words, there's no reason they should have to live like poor people.
Successfully living on a poor person's resources is a skill that you can't just assume a government worker will have, nor pick up quickly or easily.
My dad was a government worker, for the US Forest Service for thirty years. He had some amazing skills where keeping himself and his folks fed in the thin times were concerned, but they mostly involved the use of his trusty model 94 Winchester, and most pointedly did not involve charity or sketchy credit.
-Doug in Oakland
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