Pirate's Cove

By now I’m sure you’ve read tons and tons on all the insanity put in the COVID relief bill (don’t forget, it was essentially two bills, a COVID relief one and one for funding stuff for Government) instead of simply taking care of the American people. And the next one could be harder

The next stimulus deal will be even harder to get

Congress passed three coronavirus stimulus bills in March, and started working on a fourth bill in April. That’s the bill Congress is finally poised to pass this week—eight months later.

One reason it took so long to pass the fourth, $900 billion relief package was the 2020 elections, with both Democrats and Republicans making absurd demands to show voters how committed they were to core party principles prior to Election Day. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who now hails the $900 billion bill as a historic success, insisted in the fall that a fourth bill must entail at least $2.2 trillion in spending. Less is more, apparently. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in the fall it would be fiscally imprudent to spend more than $500 billion, but he has now signed off on nearly twice as much.

Many economists say that, while welcome and necessary, the latest $900 billion package still isn’t nearly enough to power the economy back from the huge decline in output and jobs that have followed widespread business shutdowns. There’s little aid for states and cities reeling from tax revenue shortfalls that are forcing the layoffs of cops, firefighters, teachers and other public-payroll workers. A new $300 weekly payment to unemployed workers will expire in March, well before vaccines are likely to be widespread and the economy back to normal. The new bill will extend an eviction moratorium set to expire on Dec. 31 by just one month.

One reason it took so long is because politicians, mostly Democrats, wanted to add too much in the way of insane partisan measures, and McConnell and the White House were having none of it. Pelosi was putting poison pills in there in order to Blame Bush Trump. She wanted to play hardcore games rather than help the American people. Think that’s too crazy?

Nancy Pelosi: "I'm so proud" Democrats blocked coronavirus relief aid from reaching the American people
pic.twitter.com/aCKCnvFZaW

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 21, 2020

Pelosi and many other Democrats say they’ll pass more stimulus as needed in 2021. Don’t count on that. The first issue is the Senate, now controlled by Republicans who tolerate deficit spending when a Republican is in the White House but become fiscal hawks when a Democrat is president. McConnell and a core group of fellow conservatives simply hate aid packages for cities and states, which they view as “blue-state bailouts” that let Democratic states off the hook for poor management of their own budgets.

Yup, the states and cities who were the most hardcore with lockdowns (which didn’t work, based on the spread of COVID in Blue areas) destroyed their economies.

If Democrats win both Senate seats, they’ll control Congress by one vote. But a slim majority won’t let them pass whatever legislation they want. At least a couple conservative Democrats could block some spending, and the Senate can only bypass filibuster rules to pass one spending bill per year without a 60-vote supermajority. So Democrats would get one shot at an additional stimulus bill if they control both houses of Congress and can muster agreement from essentially all of their members. If it sounds easy, you try it.

Do Dems dump the filibuster rules? They should remember that they won’t control the Senate forever, and if they go hardcore, they’ll kiss it goodbye in 2022, along with, most likely, the House.

And people will remember the insanity of the current bill, where they get a whopping $600 and locked out of their businesses. Seriously, look at this thread.

Read: Surprise: Next COVID Deal Could Be Even Harder To Get »