【Article/Observer Network Columnist Zhong Xueping】
In 2020, Westerners go out to buy things two days before Christmas. Walk out of the store and see a homeless beggar greeting every passerby in a friendly manner. Give him some money and say sorry to him, only this cash. When you turn around and walk away, you feel the discomfort of the "almsgiving" behavior as usual.
Let the "alms" bring good feelings to themselves, often the rich are willing to enjoy. The title "charity" does not affect oneself by wearing gold and silver, and it also has a good reputation as a bodhisattva.
For example, all kinds of foundations set up to avoid taxes look at themselves and throw money at themselves.
For example, the U.S. Congress, dubbed the Millionaires' Club (many of which are multimillionaires), takes the people's taxes and saves the so-called large and infallible capital groups again and again. Even at the end of 2020, when the epidemic was raging, in the name of "rescuing" the people, all kinds of private goods honoring the richer than them were stuffed into various bills.
U.S. Congress – The Millionaires Club of America
With nearly 20 million infections, nearly 350,000 deaths, and the pandemic leading the world's crown from beginning to end, the "new normal" is the "new normal", and the rich club finally passed a 5,593-page, $900 billion relief act a few days before Christmas.
As soon as the bill passed, Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, excitedly called it a "christmas miracle."
According to mainstream media reports, bills that are nearly two feet thick, most lawmakers receive the text less than a day before the vote, it is impossible to know the full contents of it, but must vote at the allotted time. As a result, most of the members of the rich club voted in favor. This pre-Christmas handout by politicians is presumably what Susan Collins' "Christmas miracle" refers to.
Otherwise, for whom would the bill be a "miracle"?
Judging from the reaction of the people, for the people in urgent need of help, it seems that most of them do not feel that the following three items in the bill that are directly related to their lives have anything to do with "miracles".
First, $600, a one-time grant. Paid to adults with an annual salary of less than $75,000. Then the amount of money decreases until the annual salary is capped at 99,000. A family of four, if each child can get $600 per person, a total of $2400. However, for many, many families who have no savings, or even live in debt, this one-time subsidy, to pay all kinds of arrears, is probably very little left.
Second, extend unemployment benefits. $350 a week, until March 2021. This time, a new provision has been added: an unemployment certificate needs to be submitted. Of course, the money is taxed, because the relief metal is for "personal income." (No wonder in the United States, people say that there are only two things that can be avoided in life: death and paying taxes.) However, look at Trump, the tax evader, with him as president, no matter how blatant and corrupt, the "democratic" system can only watch him enjoy this power casually. But then again, this old man, with his attempt to escape the "power of the flood" like gravity, has also helped to puncture various myths from the opposite side. ）
Third, extend the moratorium of eviction until the end of January 2021, after which the Biden administration will dispose of it at its discretion. At the same time, there are 20 billion as compensation to landlords, so that landlords do not impose "eviction orders" ("evicts", a chilling word and reality) on existing tenants. Many tenants cannot afford to pay their rent after they lose their jobs. Although the March moratorium decree allowed them to temporarily suspend the payment of rent, the rent did not go away, and as long as they continued to live, they accumulated more and more. The $20 billion is intended to allow landlords with tenants who are in arrears to apply to the federal government for subsidies. On the face of it, this assistance can help both the tenant and the landlord. However, if the suspension of eviction order is not extended, the landlords who receive compensation can "legally" issue an "eviction order" to tenants who continue to be unable to pay rent.
The brilliance of the elite is not experienced by ordinary people
These specific provisions, on the Internet and on social media, are full of ridicule, reflecting the great dissatisfaction of the people. The $900 billion amount of money, like snowflakes floating in the air, looks beautiful, but it does not fall into the pockets of the people.
The problem of the disparity between rich and poor in the United States has a long history and has long been an old story. The outbreak has only made the problem more exposed.
Professor Richard Wolfe, one of the few Marxist economists in the American economics community, gave the following data in his personal webcast a few days ago:
According to a survey by the United States Census Bureau in mid-to-late November, 33 percent of U.S. households have difficulty maintaining their daily expenses; 33 percent have one or more people who are unemployed, or work fewer hours or have fewer wages; 33 percent say they are likely to be evicted by their landlords in the next 60 days; and 12 percent don't have enough food.
In addition, the number of real unemployed people in the United States is much higher than the statistics of the Department of Labor. In 2020, more than 60 million people, or 40 percent of the workforce, filed for unemployment benefits.
At the same time, the stock market soared, but only 10 percent of the 80 percent of the stocks in the U.S. stock market were held by the population. The wealth of these people will increase in 2020.
In The city of San Antonio, 6,000 families lined up all night to receive relief food, and private cars lined up in a matrix scene. Image source: Associated Press
Professor Wolfe pointed out that this is the typical feature of American-style capitalism: giving the most help to those who don't need help, giving the least help to those who need it the most.
Indeed, for the vast majority of people in urgent need of help, this "rescue plan" that took the rich club 7 to 8 months to come up with is basically a handout that cannot save a lifetime, and most of them will not give to the people who need to "save for a while".
The real "miracle" may be why all this exists so "normally" and seems to continue to exist.
Is it really because "what exists is reasonable"?
A recent lecture, a domestic law professor repeated this sentence without any doubt. So, if he were to be allowed to experience the days of these desperately needed Americans, he would not feel depressed; either existential or reasonable? What is depression? Moreover, there will be people giving alms anyway.
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