And The Gaslighting Goes On With Tom Cotton...

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   Valeantposted 4 years ago

   
   Tom Cotton and some others in the GOP seem to have an issue with prisoners getting stimulus.  They appear to want to blame Democrats for this now.  Weird then that they were able to receive checks from both stimulus packages approved under Trump...
   
   https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/und … 24141.html
   https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-sl … mp-1574665
   
   Not to mention that the issue was decided in the Federal courts that he seems to be willing to ignore...
   
   https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/20 … ctober-15/
   
   This is, quite literally, why I detest the GOP.  They only care about fomenting hate, even when the truth is inconvenient.

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      Sharlee01posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Last March, the Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that included $1,200 direct payments for individuals in an effort to boost the economy as the pandemic took hold. Prisoners also received the checks as the CARES Act  DID  NOT  INCLUDE language barring prisoners from receiving the payments."  The Republicans were duped by lack of language. Bad on them.
      
      The Internal Revenue Service attempted to retroactively prevent incarcerated people from receiving the checks, but the effort was shot down after a federal judge ruled in favor of prisoners in a class-action lawsuit.
      
      The Consolidated Appropriations Act, the second relief bill passed in late December, provided $600 direct payments to individuals, which also went to prisoners. Republican Cotton did vote for both bills. However, Cruz and Cassidy were among the six Republicans who voted against the second one.
      
      Hopefully, Republicans do not send this pork-stuffed Democratic bail-out bill to the President's desk.

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         Valeantposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Here's a list of a few big ticket items in the bill:
         $410 billion in individual payments (21.6%)
         $350 billion for the 50 states (18%)
         $246 billion for unemployment programs (13%)
         $128 billion for schools to get open (6.7%)
         $86 billion for pension guarantees (4.5%)
         $75 billion for vaccines (4%)
         $50 billion to FEMA (2.6%)
         $39.6 billion to Higher Education (2%)
         $26 billion for restaurants (1.4%)
         $15 billion for airlines (0.7%)
         $7.2 billion for the small business paycheck protection program (0.4%)
         
         I'm sorry, but that's over 1.4 trillion of the 1.9 trillion. Which of that does not help Americans?

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            Sharlee01posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            I am totally against giving prisoners stimulus checks. We can agree at this point to disagree on that subject.  In regard to the Stimulus bills pork. There is lots of pork added to the bill that does not belong in a COVID relief bill. Here are just a few examples.  As I said I hope the current bill fails.
            
            Lot's of pork hanging on this bill. That could be addressed down the line. No need to add all this to the COVID stimulus bill.
            
            $470 million for libraries, museums, arts and humanities agencies.
            
            $30 billion to transit agencies to help them with operational expenses.
            
            $1.5 million earmarked for the Seaway International Bridge, which connects New York to Canada.  (Removed)
            
            $50 million for “family planning” – going to non-profits, i.e. Planned Parenthood, or public entities, including for “services for adolescents[.]”
            
            $852 million for AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps Vista, and the National Senior Service Corps – the Corporation for National and Community Service – civic volunteer agencies. This includes $9 million for the AmeriCorp inspector general to conduct oversight and audits of the largess. AmeriCorps received a $1.1 billion FY2020 appropriation.
            
            People of goodwill can debate each of these goals, but are the above truly emergency spending or funding related to Covid-19?

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               Valeantposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               What the Democrats have learned from the GOP during Obama's term is that they will aim to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct.  We even see it with this bill where 76% approve nationally including 60% of their OWN constituents.  Not a single member voted for it - not one.  That defies reality when you consider how much support it has from their own constituents. 
               
               That's clearly just playing politics.  And you want to be mad at the other side for playing politics in response to that obstructionist take on governance.
               
               If Democrats need something funded, best to do it all at once because it will likely be much harder to get later on due to the failure of the GOP to want to hand even the smallest win to someone other than themselves.
               
               And let's do the math, what you have listed is $1.4 billion of a $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus, or less than a hundredth of one percentage.  Meanwhile, I think I've shown that there are benefits to the majority of the package - well over 66% of what I looked into.  I see the good there, while you're outraged at .0007% of the package.

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                  Sharlee01posted 4 years agoin reply to this

                  I see the best part of the bill is directed at COVID relief.  And IMO bipartisan gridlock has a permanent place in Congress.  Nothing new about it and both parties add pork to bills. I just expected more of Government at this time of crisis. The Government is spending trillions to bail out those that need help during this pandemic. I had hoped they would be respectful and spend it all on COVID relief. Step up and do things a bit differently, respectfully.   The debt is necessary, but to what extent?
                  
                  I expected too much.

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      GA Andersonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think prisoners should get the stimulus checks, their families, if they have them, yes, but the prisoners, no.
      
      However, I blame the politicians, not either president.  Congress screwed up and the Courts told them so.
      
      To your point, you are right. It's another case of the 'free Obamaphones', (which were really 'freeBushphones'). The Republicans have found another stick to beat the donkey with, hoping no one notices it was the elephant that gave them the stick.
      
      GA

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