Covid-19

[Tracker]

Just now, The Unknown Poster said:

We dont really know that.  Lets not forget the Liberals tried to grab a bit of power using the pandemic as a cover and were rightly knocked about for it.  We'll see what we think when our economy is toast and they raise taxes.  They also came out with some new rules to get the emergency money and they're not as broad as they originally made it seem.

The powers that the liberals asked for initially appeared to be draconian, but there may have been a concern that if the pandemic was so severe that additional measures were needed, the infections may have ravaged the members of parliament to the extent where the quorum necessary to authorize such may not have been possible.

[The Unknown Poster]

So am I reading this right, the co-called universal benefit is only going to be for people who made ZERO dollars?  Thats not what it was sold as.  JT the savior of all Canadians did not pitch it that way.  I hope Im wrong.

And all those Americans complaining that their stimulus cheque was smaller than Canada's can rest easy now knowing at least they all qualify for it.

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Unknown Poster

[pigseye]

10 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I won't apologize for voting for the UCP. It's not like the NDP were doing a great job, either. I am very disappointed in Kenney. He talked tough as Opposition Leader. He talked tough during the election campaign. After he got elected he became a lamb dealing with the federal government.  I think voters have noticed that but it's hardly as important as it was 6 months ago.  Since 2015 we have had 2 successive provincial governments governed by political ideology. Both the NDP & UCP have sucked. The healthcare & education cuts are nothing anyone wants but Kenney did it anyway.  That isn't good government. It's damned political ideology.

If you don't have any economy you can't pay for public services, like it or not Alberta's economy is tied to the oil industry, economy, jobs, pipelines, wasn't that the slogan. Call it ideology but what else is there in Alberta to build the economy around? 

[Tiny759]

7 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said:

So am I reading this right, the co-called universal benefit is only going to be for people who made ZERO dollars?  Thats not what it was sold as.  JT the savior of all Canadians did not pitch it that way.  I hope Im wrong.

And all those Americans complaining that their stimulus cheque was smaller than Canada's can rest easy now knowing at least they all qualify for it.

Zero money as in you have been laid off or zero money as in you can’t find a job? Or would both apply

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, Tiny759 said:

Zero money as in you have been laid off or zero money as in you can’t find a job? Or would both apply

The way I understand it is, you have to go 14 days with ZERO income.  So if you're a restaurant worker, for example, who was full time but is now 2 days per week, you lost a ton of income but dont qualify.   If you go 14 days with no income and you do qualify but you get offered a shift or some gig for, say, $200, you'd have to decline it or you wouldnt qualify for the next benefit installment.

So the usual Liberal bait & switch.  JT gets to play the great man and then the bean counters put up road blocks.  Just give it to everyone and be done.

[Tracker]

Just now, pigseye said:

If you don't have any economy you can't pay for public services, like it or not Alberta's economy is tied to the oil industry, economy, jobs, pipelines, wasn't that the slogan. Call it ideology but what else is there in Alberta to build the economy around? 

There is a saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The PCs squandered the oil revenue for decades and now there is no easy way out of this economic mess that the provincial government has found itself in. The 1.5 billion dollars that will be given away will have to be borrowed and eventually paid for, but since hiking taxes in Alberta is political suicide, who is going to say that out loud. Kenney has done the equivalent of buying a (1.5 billion dollar) lottery ticket and is praying that winning will allow him to pay the mortgage. Gonna be tough times ahead in Alberta.

[pigseye]

This is about the best explanation you will get,

Likely, people hoping to access the Emergency Support Benefit will have to apply for EI first, be denied and then move to this secondary system, which will also likely aim for a 55% replacement rate up to the EI weekly maximum benefit of $573.  They may also forgo a replacement rate approach and shoot for a full-time or part-time flat rate approach, as happened during the 2003 SARS program for health care workers. This change also needs to pass a House of Commons vote and so won’t come into effect until April.

[pigseye]

This part should have been before my foirst post,

An Emergency Care Benefit was announced that will pay a $450 flat rate per week for 14 weeks (prior income doesn’t matter). You’ll have to apply for the EI or EI sickness benefit first, but if that’s denied you’ll get this one instead. The benefit is for anyone who is ill, who is self-isolating, who is in quarantine, who is caring for someone who is ill or who had to take off time due to school closures. You’ll be able to apply in April. If that seems a little late, it’s because this package of measures has to pass a vote in the House of Commons first.

[pigseye]

And to summarize,

All told, even with these new measures, workers can expect to see 55% of their income after three or four weeks without pay. That is going to create a very desperate situation for many workers in this country.

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, pigseye said:

This part should have been before my foirst post,

An Emergency Care Benefit was announced that will pay a $450 flat rate per week for 14 weeks (prior income doesn’t matter). You’ll have to apply for the EI or EI sickness benefit first, but if that’s denied you’ll get this one instead. The benefit is for anyone who is ill, who is self-isolating, who is in quarantine, who is caring for someone who is ill or who had to take off time due to school closures. You’ll be able to apply in April. If that seems a little late, it’s because this package of measures has to pass a vote in the House of Commons first.

JT presented it as a benefit for people who dont qualify for EI.  Gig workers.  Self employed.  Contract workers.  If you're a contract worker who went from $4000 a month to $500 a month, you dont qualify for support.  Thats BS.  And its NOT what JT said it was.  

 

[pigseye]

Just now, The Unknown Poster said:

JT presented it as a benefit for people who dont qualify for EI.  Gig workers.  Self employed.  Contract workers.  If you're a contract worker who went from $4000 a month to $500 a month, you dont qualify for support.  Thats BS.  And its NOT what JT said it was.  

 

Yes, if you are denied EI, then you qualify for this benefit. 

[The Unknown Poster]

2 minutes ago, pigseye said:

And to summarize,

All told, even with these new measures, workers can expect to see 55% of their income after three or four weeks without pay. That is going to create a very desperate situation for many workers in this country.

Its a bait & switch.  I want to see all those people praising JT and saying "oh its just like UBI, what a great idea, thank goodness we're not in the US where they only get $1200".  At least they get it.

 

[The Unknown Poster]

Just now, pigseye said:

Yes, if you are denied EI, then you qualify for this benefit. 

Those workers would not apply for EI.  They dont qualify.  They will apply for this benefit but if they have $20 of income in a 14 period, they dont qualify.  Its nonsense.  Provide a basic income or dont.  But dont pretend you are when you're not.

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, pigseye said:

Yes, if you are denied EI, then you qualify for this benefit. 

You dont qualify for THIS benefit if you still make an income in the month.  

[pigseye]

Just now, The Unknown Poster said:

You dont qualify for THIS benefit if you still make an income in the month.  

Welfare perhaps? 

[The Unknown Poster]

1 minute ago, pigseye said:

Welfare perhaps? 

figures

[The Unknown Poster]

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Unknown Poster

[iHeart]

UGH 24 NEW CASES 

[The Unknown Poster]

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by The Unknown Poster

[The Unknown Poster]

 

[Noeller]

no real surprises at all. This is going to continue throughout the month of April at the very least. It's going to continue to go up and community transmission will certainly become a bigger part of it. You can only do so much to prevent that...there will always be stupid people going out there and transmitting it to others. Just really really hope that it doesn't get to the point where it's overwhelming the health system...

[FrostyWinnipeg]

17 hours ago, Noeller said:

I actually think we're going to see a boom similar to post WW2. Everything will rebound pretty quickly. 

I think unemployment will be higher then normal. Look at troubled stores like JCPenney's in the USA. They are already in trouble and they have 90k employees.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, pigseye said:

If you don't have any economy you can't pay for public services, like it or not Alberta's economy is tied to the oil industry, economy, jobs, pipelines, wasn't that the slogan. Call it ideology but what else is there in Alberta to build the economy around? 

Alberta has a pretty diverse economy actually (well it did, but Kenney tried his best to go backwards) It's just that oil and gas was such a behemoth that it dwarfed everything else. 

[Tracker]

U.S. Intelligence Concludes China’s Coronavirus Numbers Are Fake: Report

U.S. intelligence has concluded that China has concealed the extent of their coronavirus outbreak, underreporting the number of cases and deaths caused by the virus. According to Bloomberg, the intelligence report—delivered to the White House last week—said China intentionally pushed out incomplete data and the total numbers coming from the country were fake. The outbreak began in China’s Hubei province late last year, and the country has reported about 82,000 cases and 3,300 deaths. The U.S., Italy, and Spain have all surpassed China’s known total number of cases, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker. The White House and the Chinese Embassy have not commented publicly on the matter. The coronavirus numbers of other nations—including Iran, Russia, Indonesia and North Korea—have also been seen as potentially undercounted.

No surprise there. The available evidence suggests fatalities in the millions.

[Tracker]

The Free Enterprise System Strikes Again

Wealthy real estate investor keeping Philadelphia hospital closed during pandemic stands to receive huge tax savings from coronavirus stimulus

In Philadelphia, the most hated man during the coronavirus pandemic might very well be Joel Freedman — the wealthy, Los Angeles-based real estate investor who has kept a large hospital closed even as cases in the city rise. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Philly Mayor Jim Kenney have been stressing that Philly will need all the hospital beds it can get in the weeks ahead, but Hahnemann Hospital remains closed because Freedman is asking much more for the property than the city can afford. And according to The Intercept’s Akela Lacy, a part of the coronavirus stimulus bill that has been passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump could offer Freedman a huge tax savings and make him even richer.

After purchasing Hahnemann in 2018, Freedman closed it down in September 2019 — a move that inspired angry protests in Philly, where the hospital (which opened in 1848) served a lot of low-income people. One of Freedman’s most vocal critics has been a non-Philadelphian: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has been stressing that Hahnemann (which had almost 500 beds) could treat a lot of coronavirus patients in the weeks ahead if it reopens and becomes a functioning hospital again. Freedman has offered to either sell or rent the building to the City of Philadelphia, but Kenney has maintained that he is asking too much — and possibly, Freedman plans to convert the property into luxury condos.

Lacy, in her April 1 article for The Intercept, explains why the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus could benefit Freedman: it “temporarily and retroactively lifts a cap on the property-related depreciation real estate investors are allowed to use to lessen their tax bill,” according to Lacy.

“Depreciation is a paper cost that real estate investors can use to factor in losses to offset other income and reduce what they pay in taxes,” Lacy notes. “In Freedman’s case, that means he can use recent ‘losses’ from the hospital as it depreciates to offset his overall taxable income and, as a result, what he owes in taxes.”

 

 

 

 

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