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Some Ask a Taboo Question: Is America Overreacting to Coronavirus?

Cuervohola said:
... PL 101-194

"Revises the method for computing annual cost-of-living increases for certain executive, legislative, and judicial positions by using the most recent percentage change in the Employment Cost Index."

It doesn't matter if they choose not to take the raise, it was passed that they get the raise annually.
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Not exactly sure how the "Employment Cost Index" works, but a quick review strongly suggests that it's a better measure of how much it costs to maintain a particular life-style than the official "Cost of Living Adjustment" (COLA).

In case you wondered, the official COLA does not measure "Inflation" in the conventional (old-fashioned) sense. But you'd be hard put to get an official number that states the actual different between COLA and real-world inflation (I tried, FWIW) ... but it is clearly significant. (If you use Quicken or another decent checkbook program, just compare your monthly expenditures for "ordinary" stuff -- like food -- to those five or ten year ago).

FYI, the government COLA calculation has this wonderful "out" called "substitution." From Investopedia (but you can find it in many place):
... a cost of living indicator would factor in changes in consumer buying that stem from economic conditions, adjustments in spending, and habits that people make, such as using alternative products when a product becomes prohibitively expensive. [my emphasis]
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As most of you probably know, the calculation is based on what they define as a "basket" of typical consumer goods -- food (mostly), cleaning products, over-the-counter meds, etc. But just to be totally clear, "alternative products" includes "a lesser cut of meat" or even "ground beef" in place of, say, filet mignon or even (God forbid) round steak. They do not attempt to define an alternative when you can't even afford ground beef any more. My point: COLA does not define the amount of money you need to maintain a reasonably level standard of living. It probably does indeed reflect how people actually run their lives, but the measure is fundamentally dishonest, because it forces us to degrade our way of life ... or spend more money (adjusted for true inflation).
 
G-7 Meeting Ended in Disagreement Over Coronavirus Name - U.S. wanted a statement referring to virus as the ‘Wuhan virus.’ Other nations did not agree. Meeting was held virtually.
 
Cuervohola said:
PlayerRep said:
Cuervohola said:
PlayerRep said:
No member in Congress can give themselves a raise with these funds.
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The funds go into their slush. They get raises every year automatically.
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Nope, not true.

"Since 2010 Congress has annually voted not to accept the increase, keeping it at the same nominal amount since 2009. The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1992, prohibits any law affecting compensation from taking effect until after the next election."

Salaries of members of the United States Congress - Wikipedia
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No, you're wrong.

PL 101-194

"Revises the method for computing annual cost-of-living increases for certain executive, legislative, and judicial positions by using the most recent percentage change in the Employment Cost Index."

It doesn't matter if they choose not to take the raise, it was passed that they get the raise annually.
Click to expand...

The PL you cite is this: PL 101-194 H.R.3660 - Ethics Reform Act of 1989 11/30/1989. It's ethic reform and ghas nothing to do with COLA.

"The salary for a representative has been set at $174,000 per year since 2009. An increase for inflation is automatically set to kick in every year, but lawmakers have nixed it for the past decade, largely due to the optics of giving themselves a pay raise while the country was recovering from a recession."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/16/politics/congress-pay-raise/index.html

"The current base salary for all rank-and-file members of the U.S. House and Senate is $174,000 per year, plus benefits.1 Salaries have not been increased since 2009."

https://www.thoughtco.com/salaries-and-benefits-of-congress-members-3322282

"It has been 10 years since members of Congress have gotten even a cost-of-living increase, and the leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, had privately negotiated a deal with Representatives Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader, and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, to allow pay on Capitol Hill to rise with inflation — without the usual political attacks that follow.

But for Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns, the threat of attack served to underscore a decades-old reality about congressional pay raises: The political optics were just not worth it.

“I just think it’s the wrong move for Congress to talk about the cost-of-living adjustment when there are all these glaring problems that have yet to be fixed and are waiting for congressional action,” said Representative Ben McAdams, a freshman Democrat who won his Utah seat by 694 votes.

As a result, a vast spending bill for the fiscal year that begins in October will reach the House floor on Wednesday without the section that covers Congress as lawmakers negotiate whether to maintain the frozen pay rate of $174,000 a year for rank-and-file members.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/us/politics/congress-pay-raise.html
 
"Probably "hundreds of thousands of people" have already had Covid-19, didn't know they had it, and recovered. Should be tested for antibodies so they could go back to work and keep the economy going."
 
"The state also reported its first hospitalization from the coronavirus, though noted in a disclaimer on its reporting website that could include hospitalizations when the test was performed after the patient was admitted to the hospital. An official did not immediately respond to a question about if the person was still hospitalized or where they live."
 
PlayerRep said:
"Probably "hundreds of thousands of people" have already had Covid-19, didn't know they had it, and recovered. Should be tested for antibodies so they could go back to work and keep the economy going."
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Rumblings from a few higher up hospital staffers suggest late October early November. Badbug going around had same symptoms as Covid 19
All tested negative for the flu .
Or it could've been the water & arsenic in Butte
 
Have a friend in Las Vegas just released from hospital. She came back positive but, it took about 6 days to get results (they actually did test and sent her home at first). She was already improving by the time she got results. Said it was the worse flu she has ever experienced, and her fever ran, off and on for 6 days. I’m not sure how much she was given, but they did treat her with that hydrochloroquine drug. Said she felt much better within 24 hours of taking it. She was hospitalized on day 6, released on day 11.

Also have a half sister in Massachusetts who did Not get a fever at first, but had respiratory distress. She describes it as an extreme asthma type attack. She is awaiting her results while being admitted.
 
taiwan, which thus far is not on lockdown, isn't screwing around. a guy got fined a million new taiwan $ for not adhering to self-quarantine. that's about u.s. $32,000.

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/03/26/2003733389
 
ordigger said:
Have a friend in Las Vegas just released from hospital. She came back positive but, it took about 6 days to get results (they actually did test and sent her home at first). She was already improving by the time she got results. Said it was the worse flu she has ever experienced, and her fever ran, off and on for 6 days. I’m not sure how much she was given, but they did treat her with that hydrochloroquine drug. Said she felt much better within 24 hours of taking it. She was hospitalized on day 6, released on day 11.

Also have a half sister in Massachusetts who did Not get a fever at first, but had respiratory distress. She describes it as an extreme asthma type attack. She is awaiting her results while being admitted.
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Guy I know went to the World of Concrete in Vegas. Got sick the day he got back.
29yrs old , Says what he had would've killed anyone high risk .
 
1. MT now up to 71 cases. Glacier and Lincoln counties in NW counties got their first cases. So did Hill. Gallatin leads with 24. MT has only 1 hospitalization, and it's not clear if that person is in the hospital for the virus or something else.

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/article_9aa7bbb7-6362-5030-93bd-85ad179fe914.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

2. A record 3.8 million unemployment claims filed last week.

"That's an increase of 3 million from the previous week.

Among the hardest hit sectors was the service industry, and particularly accommodation and food service. Nearly every state cited COVID-19 as the reason for the high number of claims.

Health care and social assistance, arts, entertainment and recreation, transportation and warehousing/manufacturing industries were also heavily impacted, the DOL said.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced thousands of businesses to close amid government-mandated stay-in-place orders."

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/coronavirus-economic-updates-3-2-million-people-filed-123425568--abc-news-topstories.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9yLnNlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20vX3lsdD1Bd3I5SDZrT3hYeGVBcllBeWgxWE55b0E7X3lsdT1YM29ETVRCeU5XVTRjR2gxQkdOdmJHOERaM0V4QkhCdmN3TXhCSFowYVdRREJITmxZd056WXctLS9SVj0yL1JFPTE1ODUyNjQwMTQvUk89MTAvUlU9aHR0cHMlM2ElMmYlMmZ3d3cueWFob28uY29tJTJmZ21hJTJmY29yb25hdmlydXMtZWNvbm9taWMtdXBkYXRlcy0zLTItbWlsbGlvbi1wZW9wbGUtZmlsZWQtMTIzNDI1NTY4LS1hYmMtbmV3cy10b3BzdG9yaWVzLmh0bWwvUks9Mi9SUz1EYjFLbmdzU0tsbTBCVTNrZF9uUTN2WXpPZ1kt&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKajfTIO3Z9FnFqJApA6tHMbeFaDEuwNMK9yEu3R3ZZYCUn86WBex5oSu_sLvesqjLIn-c25lv_q4kYDsb12upf-Uw-KyMGrBTBxTEHe1EulUG8WpO59_FMyeZgSWGML181fAFGpDqgzkqWISoQ1sEy56SSe8CeBpispr4LUIlOS

3. Fed Chair says US may be in a recession already.

4. Airlines slash snacks, drinks and middle seats

https://www.foxnews.com/travel/coronavirus-airlines-slash-snacks-drinks-middle-seats

5. This link shows today's flight cancellations in Missoula:

http://flymissoula.com
 
One interesting tidbit, if you overlay Montana's area over the northeastern U.S., Montana would cover an area containing roughly 45,000 covid cases.
 
Aid to airline changed a bit at the last moment:

"Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin indicated that the U.S. government would take stakes in airline carriers in exchange for billions in direct grants to the companies, part of a $2 trillion economic rescue package, according to people familiar with the matter.

He detailed his plans during last-minute negotiations when the aid to airlines emerged as a major sticking point. Republicans had rejected providing cash grants to airlines, and an earlier version of the legislation would have provided $50 billion in loans and loan guarantees to passenger airlines and $8 billion to cargo airlines—but no direct aid.

The version of the legislation that passed the Senate on Wednesday night would provide $25 billion in loans and guarantees to passenger airlines, with the remaining $25 billion in the form of direct grants, meeting the requests of the airlines. Airlines had wanted outright grants, last week proposing a $50 billion assistance package, with half of that paid in direct grants to provide the cash that many carriers need right away to avoid furloughs and pay cuts.

Legislation that cleared the Senate details the forms of investment that the Treasury secretary may make in connection with the grants, listing warrants, options, preferred stock, debt securities, notes or other financial instruments to “provide appropriate compensation” to the federal government for the provision of financial assistance."

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mnuchin-indicates-u-s-to-take-stakes-in-airlines-in-exchange-for-grants-11585229047?mod=hp_lead_pos2 paywall problem

[Recall that in 2008-09, under TARP, the US gave funds in the form of investments in many companies, and ended up get repaid more than what the US had invested, i.e. most was paid back, and the US investments made a profit when sold.]
 
Men are dying about twice as much as women, due to the virus. This varies by country.

"Smoking, drinking, general poor health: Researchers say these are some of the factors that could explain why more men seem to be dying from coronavirus than women.

In countries such as Italy, men represent nearly 60% of people who tested positive for the virus and more than 70% of those who have died,"

"But across the countries for which we have data – spanning nearly a quarter of the world’s population – we found that men were 50% more likely than women to die after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

While necessarily partial and incomplete, the results highlight what public health experts have been warning for some time, theorizing that it is not only biology but also gendered behaviors — the different ways in which men and women conduct their lives — which may play a significant role in the different mortality rate for respiratory diseases."

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/25/heres-why-the-coronavirus-may-be-killing-more-men-than-women-the-us-should-take-note/

[My son says the Virus is sexist.]
 
wbtfg said:
One interesting tidbit, if you overlay Montana's area over the northeastern U.S., Montana would cover an area containing roughly 45,000 covid cases.
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Interesting. The NYC area is a mess. And fleeing NYers have taken the virus elsewhere. From anecdotal evidence from my NYC lawyer daughter and my friends, a lot of NYers with vacation places left the City a few weeks ago. Note that the Florida Gov has asked them not to come to Florida.
 
PlayerRep said:
wbtfg said:
One interesting tidbit, if you overlay Montana's area over the northeastern U.S., Montana would cover an area containing roughly 45,000 covid cases.
Click to expand...

Interesting. The NYC area is a mess. And fleeing NYers have taken the virus elsewhere. From anecdotal evidence from my NYC lawyer daughter and my friends, a lot of NYers with vacation places left the City a few weeks ago. Note that the Florida Gov has asked them not to come to Florida.
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Yep....I have a family friend who retired to Florida. She said she's seeing an influx of teens whose parents live in the greater NY area shipping the kids down to florida to stay with grandparents to get out of the Covid epicenter.
 
Info on the checks/direct deposits coming:

"How large would the payments be?

Most adults would get $1,200, although some would get less. For every child age 16 or under, the payment would be an additional $500."

"Single adults with Social Security numbers who are United States residents and have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less would get the full amount. Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less would receive a total of $2,400. And someone filing as head of household would get the full payment if they earn $112,500 or less.

Above those income figures, the payment decreases until it stops altogether for single people earning $99,000 or married people earning $198,000."

"You can find your adjusted gross income on line 8b of the 2019 1040 federal tax return."

2019 income:

"2019. If you haven’t prepared a tax return yet, you can use your 2018 return. If you haven’t filed that yet, you can use a 2019 Social Security statement showing your income."

"Would I have to apply to receive a payment?

No. If the Internal Revenue Service already has your bank account information, it would transfer the money to you via direct deposit based on the recent income-tax figures it already has."

"When would they arrive?

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he expected most people to get their payments within three weeks."

"Would most people who are receiving Social Security retirement and disability payments each month also get a stimulus payment?

Yes.

Would eligible unemployed people get these stimulus payments? Veterans?

Yes and yes.

If my income tax refunds are currently being garnished because of a student loan default, would this payment be garnished as well?

No."

https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-stimulus-package-questions-answers.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage [The NY Times says you can get through their pay wall to get their coronavirus stuff.]
 
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