March 22, 2020

By Stephen Scott Crockett

The need for coronavirus impact federal relief money is severe and immediate. Our nation is certainly facing unemployment rates in coming weeks of 20 percent or higher. We will see business failures by the hundreds of thousands or higher within a few months.

The impact of lost income will not go away for years or decades. The slower and smaller the federal government income replacement actions are the greater the devastation we will face.

Just like the lack of a quick and intelligence response to the COVID 19 coronavirus by the federal government allowed it to become an epidemic in America, the same incompetence by the Trump Administration could allowed it to destroy the finances and lifestyles of tens of millions of American families for generations.

Income replacement has to be quick, multifaceted, large and sustained until the coronavirus is contained. These efforts must be undertaken at the same time as the medical and healthcare crises are unfolding in communities all over the nation.

Sloth and incompetence at the top of the federal government will damage our nation and impact the vast majority of American families.

We can get money quickly to those already receiving monthly checks from the federal government like Social Security and veteran benefit recipients. It can easily be done within weeks. This will help immediate consumer purchasing and preserve jobs.

We can have the federal government access state databases for those receiving unemployment, food assistance, TANF and Medicaid benefits which are largely federal funded.  Those individuals should receive additional direct financial support. It could be done in weeks. Those payments will kick in right behind the stimulus payments sent to Social Security and veteran benefit recipients. These people really need additional money quickly and our economy needs the additional money introduced quickly.

Additional stimulus payments can be sent out to all taxpayers. It will not happen as quickly as Trump has been claiming but payments should start as soon as possible and continue as long as needed.

Business loans loan guarantees and grants to preserve jobs will take a little longer but have an even larger long-term impact.

Only the federal government creates the money supply. States and local governments cannot meet these needs. Only the federal government could have prepared for the epidemic in advance. Only the federal government could have introduced mass testing programs when first warned about the COVID 19 coronavirus back in January.

It is up to us to demand the Trump Administration and Congress keep the earlier coronavirus response incompetence from creating the worse economic crisis in generation from growing out of control.

If we delay or under-respond millions of families will become homeless. Hundreds of thousands or more businesses will fail. Poverty and suffering will explode. The damage will be impacting us for generations.

Stephen Scott Crockett is a small business owner, writer, political activist and former host of Democratic Talk Radio. He lives in Fayetteville, Tennessee

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