Thursday, October 15, 2020

One Step Closer to Agreeing on Relief

     As the debate in Congress continues over additional coronavirus relief, both sides just got one step closer to a compromise. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has told Democrats that the administration is willing to agree to terms on a national testing strategy, just part of the whole relief bill. Although it is still uncertain whether Senate Republicans will come to terms with many of the Democrats demands, this is a small step in the right direction. With jobless claims continuing to rise, Americans across the country are in desperate need of assistance. Small businesses are swamped with expenses, and not enough income to keep them afloat. It will be interesting to see whether Trump and the Republicans really wait until after the election to get relief, or if negotiations will be done before. Additionally, now that the Republicans have conceded on a smaller part of the bill, will the Democrats do the same? Now is not the time to begrudgingly plant oneself on one side of the aisle. Politicians need to come together and do what is needed most in such a desperate time.

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-agrees-to-national-coronavirus-testing-strategy-11602767703

6 comments:

Joe Connor said...

Jack, I very much agree with the statement you made on the last sentence of your post. Regardless of the upcoming election, politicians from both political parties need to forget about their own agenda and realize that American citizens need more help. Quite frankly, both political parties claims that they are the best thing for the people is ridiculous if they refuse to provide what is needed because they can't agree with each other. If anything, I would say that the U.S government's handling and borderline childish attitude towards agreeing on another stimulus package has created more uncertainty and distrust amongst the American population. Furthermore, something to think about is that we may not of even had to be in need of another stimulus package if the U.S government had handle the virus better. This is there own doing, and it is time to set aside individual agendas and take care of those who are in dire need of help.

Nicole Peak said...

Very well said Jack! At the end of the day politicians are supposed to be representing and making decisions on behalf of the citizens. Both sides are too focused on what they each want that they are letting so much precious time slip away that just as the FED as warned can come back to hurt us even more. I hope that this compromise will lead into a final decision soon, but it’s hard to believe it will occur before the election.

Haris Ali said...

I agree with Jack, the politicians from both sides of the isle need to put their political agendas aside and work together for the benefit of the people. However, it is highly unlikely that this would happen. Both sides are fighting to win the election which is now less than three weeks away and so they might just wait until they have know who's running the country for next four years.

Marya Gakosso said...

I strongly agree with all of you. This made me think about the question a middle schooler asked during the vice presidential debate, she said: "If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along?". This country is very divided and with this election even more. But I think that when it comes to issues that affect people's livelihood, health, and welfare, politicians should be able to put their differences aside and do what is good for the people. At the end of the day, they were elected to represent the people and serve them best so if doing so through finding a consensus on this economic relief bill is the solution, it needs to be done.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you on this point. I feel like rather than working for people and their needs, they are trying their best to achieve their own personal goals, where the people are suffering the most. As a superpower nation, this is putting a very bad image of the US in the entire world. People who would look up to the US, now think differently. This is the time both the parties come together and come up with new policies and solutions for the people and the economy. This will not only benefit the people and the Country, I think it will help their parties as well.

niharika bangur said...

I completely agree with you. Both sides have been at each other's necks from the very beginning. In a situation where the countries economy and the people are getting affected, both parties should resolve such problems for the betterment of the country. Elections are closeby; therefore, people are now just waiting for the results so that once the President is elected, the action is taken faster.