Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on Record Number of Americans Filing for Unemployment

[RandySF]

The economic damage from the worst public health crisis our country has faced in generations is both rising and deepening at an alarming rate. It is putting working families and the American middle class through unimaginable financial pain — and they need to be made whole as fast as possible. My heart goes out to the millions of Americans who filed for unemployment claims this week, and the millions more who worry what next week holds for them.

Donald Trump is not responsible for the coronavirus, but he is responsible for failing to prepare our nation: for the months during which he continually neglected dire warnings from experts and downplayed the threat to us, and for the erratic and unacceptably slow federal response that has tragically lagged behind other countries. Now we have more coronavirus cases than anywhere in the world, and that is dealing body-blows to our economy and to the welfare and well-being of millions upon millions of Americans.

Just last week, Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary referred to these kinds of job losses as “not relevant” — but try telling that to any one of the millions of Americans who are now out of work because of this crisis.

The economic devastation that families all across this country are experiencing by no fault of their own means. We have to take extraordinary steps to protect them. We need to get unemployment checks to the workers filing claims, so they are made financially whole. No blame games or finger-points — the President has to take responsibility for helping the states make that happen. We still need to keep as many workers on payroll as possible, and as many small businesses in business. And we need to get the direct cash relief into Americans’ bank accounts without delay. The bills are piling up.

And we have to guarantee that Americans without health care coverage can get it. The President must change course and allow open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, as even Republican governors have called on him to do. He should also drop his support for a lawsuit that would undo the ACA, because it would cost almost 20 million Americans their care — the last thing we should pursue during a public health emergency.



https://medium.com/@JoeBiden/statement-from-vice-president-joe-biden-on-record-number-of-americans-filing-for-unemployment-ec9e50223e7e

[Demsrule86]

1. I wish Joe was in charge.Trump is too stupid to save us from the worst of this and he surrounds

himself with 'you are doing a heck of a job Brownie' types...most are as stupid as he is.

[rzemanfl]

2. We could start by having the phones answered at the unemployment office!!!!!

Failing that, people should be able to get advances from the feds.

[BidenBacker]

3. Happy Days are Here Again!

My father was born in 1930 and God willing will live to see his 90th birthday in August. Pop was born during the First Great Republican Depression and I hope he doesn't die during the second one.

What Is a Depression?

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/depression.asp

A depression is a severe and prolonged downturn in economic activity. In economics, a depression is commonly defined as an extreme recession that lasts three or more years or leads to a decline in real gross domestic product (GDP) of at least 10 percent.

Goldman sees unprecedented stop in economic activity, with 2nd quarter GDP contracting 24%

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/goldman-sees-an-unprecedented-stop-of-economic-activity-with-2nd-quarter-gdp-contracting-by-24percent.html

Goldman Sachs economists forecast a historically sharp and swift recession, with second-quarter GDP sinking a stunning 24% after a 6% decline in the first quarter.

This magnitude of GDP contraction is unprecedented in our history. Even after the stock market crashed in 1929 it took many months and even years for the economy to slowly unwind and reach its worst point circa 1933. Back then was like a slow degenerative disease...what we are experiencing today is more like a sudden heart attack or stroke.

This has never ever happened before so nobody is quite sure what to do about it...least of all our current crop of clueless "leaders". But at least we have some great old songs from the 1930s to fall back on...

Just remember to stay 6' apart in the bread and soup lines, folks.