I’m sick AF. Is it Coronavirus? Who knows? There are too few tests. I was told to assume I have it, stay home & rest. And unless I think I’m dying, don’t come in.
I’m really trying to rest. But the disgraceful “Stimulus” Bill requires some words. 1/31
I’m really trying to rest. But the disgraceful “Stimulus” Bill requires some words. 1/31
First, it’s not a $2 trillion spending bill. It’s only about $1.6 trillion. The $2T number includes a multiplier-effect.
That’s like if you get $100 & spend it on groceries, part of that $100 goes to the salary of the employee at the store, then they spend it, etc. 2/31
That’s like if you get $100 & spend it on groceries, part of that $100 goes to the salary of the employee at the store, then they spend it, etc. 2/31
There’re good reasons to believe the multiplier effect will be much less than estimated, especially without requirements for businesses receiving their handouts to keep their employees on payroll rather than firing their employees & hoarding their billions. 3/31
Another reason why the multiplier effect is overestimated is that without a freeze on rent, mortgage & debt, much of the “stimulus” will be spent on rent & debt service. Those payments will have almost no multiplier effect. 4/31
The third reason the multiplier effect is overestimated is that we’re in Panic Mode (see Panic Rule #3). People who don’t need the cash it will prefer liquidity.
On the other hand, the vulnerable *need* a bail-out & will actually spend it. 5/31
On the other hand, the vulnerable *need* a bail-out & will actually spend it. 5/31
Multiplier-effect aside, of the $1.6 trillion, only about $500 billion can be considered a Main St. Bailout!
Only about $250 billion in means-tested one-time checks of a measly $1,200 ($2,400 if married).
And $250 billion in increased unemployment padding. 6/31
Only about $250 billion in means-tested one-time checks of a measly $1,200 ($2,400 if married).
And $250 billion in increased unemployment padding. 6/31
Millions of the most vulnerable, with low-wages & low-hours, won’t qualify for unemployment. And the one-time $1,200 check is FAR too small & likely to arrive far too late for most.
The rest of the bill & the *trillions* already handed out are for corporations & the 1% only 7/31
The rest of the bill & the *trillions* already handed out are for corporations & the 1% only 7/31
To understand the gravity of the current situation, it’s important to understand that most Americans were already in crisis-mode BEFORE the pandemic & impending economic fallout. 8/31
In this thread, I explain why without a ~$4.5T (~20% of GDP) Main St. lifeline, we will experience an economic fallout more like the Great Depression then the 2008 recession: 9/31
To prevent unthinkable economic suffering, we *need* a bottom-up bail-out program that allows people to spend on their vital necessities. We need something closer to Sanders' $2,000 a month plan then the crumbs were getting in this “Stimulus” bill. 10/31
People are losing their jobs at a faster rate today than after the market crash of 1929.
Unemployment is estimated to peak higher than the worst months of the Great Depression.
Estimated GPD contraction is on par with the Great Depression. 11/31
Unemployment is estimated to peak higher than the worst months of the Great Depression.
Estimated GPD contraction is on par with the Great Depression. 11/31
The situation is dire. But there ARE solutions. We CAN avoid Great Depression 2.
But without a quick *bottom-up* Main St. bail-out of ~$4.5 trillion (~20% of GDP) into the hands of the most vulnerable we will be facing Great Depression 2. 12/31
But without a quick *bottom-up* Main St. bail-out of ~$4.5 trillion (~20% of GDP) into the hands of the most vulnerable we will be facing Great Depression 2. 12/31
Beyond the quantifiable economics of the desperate financial situation of most Americans (described in the above threads), our current vulnerability runs much, much deeper. 13/31
Capitalist atomization has broken much of our natural bonds of kinship, community & culture. Layers of safety nets have been tattered. And most of the bonds that remain, like social media, are commodified & distort our natural tendencies. 14/31
*Prior* to the pandemic & impending economic fallout, we were already in the *peak* of a mental health crisis.
‘Deaths of despair,’ including suicide, drug & alcohol abuse were already at historical highs. 15/31
‘Deaths of despair,’ including suicide, drug & alcohol abuse were already at historical highs. 15/31
*Prior* to the pandemic & impending economic fallout, we were already experiencing the highest rates of suicides in decades.
More Americans are dying of suicide EVERY year, then in the ENTIRE Vietnam War. 16/31
More Americans are dying of suicide EVERY year, then in the ENTIRE Vietnam War. 16/31
Financial anxiety, rampant alienation from our political, economic & societal institutions, loneliness from meaningful connections.
Ours is a society unguarded from the worst of capitalism. We were already at our limit of stress & anxiety.
See @APA’s Stress in America. 17/31
Ours is a society unguarded from the worst of capitalism. We were already at our limit of stress & anxiety.
See @APA’s Stress in America. 17/31
What better symbolism of the current state of mental health in American than the US’s exploding multi-billion-dollar self-help industry: the largest in the entire world.
Everyone knows everything is broken, but all the given answers seem wrong. 18/31
Everyone knows everything is broken, but all the given answers seem wrong. 18/31
Ask yourself this:
What advice would this self-help industry offer a slave in a slave society? “Just be happy being the hardest-working slave”. 19/31
What advice would this self-help industry offer a slave in a slave society? “Just be happy being the hardest-working slave”. 19/31
Or would they give the slave the tools to identify their TRUE source of suffering & oppression: *the institution of slavery*.
Would they provide the tools to overthrow slavery & replace it with a truly liberated society that realizes everyone’s fulfillment & potential? 20/31
Would they provide the tools to overthrow slavery & replace it with a truly liberated society that realizes everyone’s fulfillment & potential? 20/31
Instead, like so much in America, pain, suffering, alienation & oppression are just covered up with a cheap veneer of fake ‘feel-good,’ not unlike our other societal ramifications: drug & alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide etc. 21/31
Literally anything & everything to cover up the one fucking truth we are never allowed:
We are not broken; our society is. Our societal institutions are breaking us. 22/31
We are not broken; our society is. Our societal institutions are breaking us. 22/31
It took beatings to the head to get people to understand that somehow Capitalism, a zero-sum-game that rewards callousness & heartlessness while punishing empathy & compassion, is somehow a good system.
And it has taken non-stop propaganda to make sure we never forget it. 23/31
And it has taken non-stop propaganda to make sure we never forget it. 23/31
For a moment, set aside the fake self-help books and everything else we use to cover up the true causes of our pain & suffering: capitalism, authoritarianism, sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism etc. 24/31
All the propaganda & bludgeons in the world could never beat it out of you. The solution was there within you all along: empathy, solidarity, fairness, compassion. It’s in your DNA. Literally.
It’s in your blood & nothing can ever take it away. 25/31
It’s in your blood & nothing can ever take it away. 25/31
Capitalist false revisioning of evolutionary history aside, humans are a highly social species.
Empathy was the evolutionary glue that held us together, compelling us to look out for & take care of one another.
Empathy was our first hope for survival. It may be our last. 26/31
Empathy was the evolutionary glue that held us together, compelling us to look out for & take care of one another.
Empathy was our first hope for survival. It may be our last. 26/31
It seems more & more likely the political establishment will bail themselves out & leave the rest of us in the dust.
Now, more than ever, we must connect with our innate potentials of empathy & solidarity and rebuild community & mutual-aid safety nets. 27/31
Now, more than ever, we must connect with our innate potentials of empathy & solidarity and rebuild community & mutual-aid safety nets. 27/31
Stand in solidarity with your neighbors. Do not allow evictions or foreclosures.
Stand in solidarity with your co-workers. Organize & strike when necessary.
Stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable. Build mutual-aid networks. 28/31
Stand in solidarity with your co-workers. Organize & strike when necessary.
Stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable. Build mutual-aid networks. 28/31
Here are some mutual-aid networks. Add to this list. Share this list. (also please consider following my friend @apeirophobic) 29/31
Neighborhood apps like 'Nextdoor' might be a good way to reach out to your neighbors during the Stay-at-home order & beyond.
Support one another. Practice empathy, compassion & solidarity. Basically, everything capitalism tries to destroy, but we will never allow. 30/31
Support one another. Practice empathy, compassion & solidarity. Basically, everything capitalism tries to destroy, but we will never allow. 30/31
Like the Black Panthers’ free breakfast program, building community, mutual aid & solidarity is a great place to connect with others & start building new institutions that reflect our shared values in the shell of the crumbling old: 31/31
