"The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically widened the economic gap between average people and the wealthy elite, with billionaires raking in trillions of dollars in mere months. Without the competition from small businesses, large multinational companies have been allowed to gobble up business, expanding both their wealth and their influence, while extreme poverty has risen for the first time in two decades."

Interesting quote from an article I read. I remember a few months back the WHO backtracking their stand on lockdowns saying they had caused extreme poverty for the first time in a couple of decades in many cities, states and countries around the world. While they didn't mean it in the same way as in the above quote (they were concerned about the medical effects such as malnutrition in children) the message is still the same. The divide between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' has widened exponentially. 

I know we (and millions of others) had to rely on our Amazon membership a lot more for many months because we couldn't find what we needed here, even when stores opened back up. Some manufacturers were shut down so stuff wasn't being made and warehouses were shut so product wasn't being moved. Or, in the case of people buying up and hoarding Clorox wipes, bleach, TP and paper towels, demand far exceeded supply. It's just in the last few months companies have somewhat caught up and already those items are again disappearing, at least where I live they are. 

Of course this made Amazon a buttload of money because people didn't have a choice whether it be due to lack of goods or lack of services. And now Jeff Bezos is projected to become the worlds first trillionare. In fact, billionares saw their net worth rise by half a trillion dollars during the pandemic, while 40 million Americans filed for unemployment. And those are the ones who qualified. 'Under the table' employees, contractors, etc., weren't so lucky. 

Link to a recent Business Insider article here says this: (we can thank Obama for this, though I know he's not the first POTUS to do this.....)

This isn't the first time billionaires have seen gains while a large portion of Americans were feeling losses. When the housing bubble burst in 2007, home prices fell 21% and roughly 3.1 million homes were foreclosed on in the United States. The stock market plummeted by over 50%. And by the end of 2009, 8.8 million Americans had lost their jobs. And the effects lingered. From 2009 to 2012, the incomes of the bottom 99% grew by only 0.4%, but the income of the top 1% grew by a staggering 31.4% in the same time span. And it all ties back to two things.


First, the government disproportionately gave more aid to banks and corporations. In 2008, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act was signed into law, creating a $700 billion program to purchase devalued assets from banks. This was called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Later, President Obama would direct $75 billion in funds from TARP to help reduce interest payments for homeowners. That means homeowners received around 10% of the direct relief that banks and corporations did.

And this leads to reason No. 2. When the stock market bounced back, the unequal bailouts meant that the wealthy still had money on hand to invest and thus profit, while the middle and lower classes did not. In 2008, the Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates to near zero. They would remain that low for nearly a decade. This paved the way for a historic bull market on Wall Street that began in 2009 and lasted until March 2020, when the pandemic hit.

In that time, the S&P 500 gained 462%. That means that a $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 at the low point of the financial crisis could have returned roughly $4,620, while someone who could afford a $1 million investment could have pulled in over $4.6 million.

The Small Business Administration made $349 billion available to small businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program. But like in 2008, $243 million of that was snapped up by large, publicly traded corporations, some of which were valued at over $100 million (emphasis my own). Even hedge funds submitted claims to try to tap into what they saw as free money.

On March 16, 2020, just five days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the Dow suffered the worst single-day points drop in its history. But by June 4, seven of the world's richest people had seen their fortunes increase by over 50%. Part of what made this possible was a stock-market rebound fueled both by the Paycheck Protection Program and actions by the Fed. Again, the Fed lowered short-term interest rates for banks to near 0%, and as before, they have promised to hold those rates low until the economy is on track..... Read the article. It's pretty interesting.

Fortunately we were not impacted by job loss because my husband is an essential employee, but many people I know, and small businesses I used to frequent, have suffered greatly. Some of the businesses will not come back from this. Some only survived by the skin of their teeth because they defied the lockdown order before they reached their point of no return and reopened. To say this virus has fundamentally impacted this country, and the world, on an individual financial level is an understatement. It's definitely made the rich richer and the rest of us are left holding the bag with no increase in income (those who still have a job) yet the price of goods is going up. Beef rose by $2/lb since March where I live. Though we may not have been impacted the same way as others, we are literally paying for it now and I don't see it getting any better.  

My goal has never been to help a guy become a trillionare, but we had no choice thanks to the government, and that should make everyone pay attention. The government can give and they can take away. More often than not the elite few gets the better end of that deal. 

---

People don't care about this. The main goal was removing Trump at all costs. The people the left complain about the most are the ones who benefited the most.

The goal here is for the government to show you how quickly they can crush you and that you better get on board with living with a bigger government you better get used to relying on, or they will crush you again.

There are people on here who support everything the government is doing.

---

"The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically widened the economic gap between average people and the wealthy elite, with billionaires raking in trillions of dollars in mere months. Without the competition from small businesses, large multinational companies have been allowed to gobble up business, expanding both their wealth and their influence, while extreme poverty has risen for the first time in two decades."

Interesting quote from an article I read. I remember a few months back the WHO backtracking their stand on lockdowns saying they had caused extreme poverty for the first time in a couple of decades in many cities, states and countries around the world. While they didn't mean it in the same way as in the above quote (they were concerned about the medical effects such as malnutrition in children) the message is still the same. The divide between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' has widened exponentially. 

I know we (and millions of others) had to rely on our Amazon membership a lot more for many months because we couldn't find what we needed here, even when stores opened back up. Some manufacturers were shut down so stuff wasn't being made and warehouses were shut so product wasn't being moved. Or, in the case of people buying up and hoarding Clorox wipes, bleach, TP and paper towels, demand far exceeded supply. It's just in the last few months companies have somewhat caught up and already those items are again disappearing, at least where I live they are. 

Of course this made Amazon a buttload of money because people didn't have a choice whether it be due to lack of goods or lack of services. And now Jeff Bezos is projected to become the worlds first trillionare. In fact, billionares saw their net worth rise by half a trillion dollars during the pandemic, while 40 million Americans filed for unemployment. And those are the ones who qualified. 'Under the table' employees, contractors, etc., weren't so lucky. 

Link to a recent Business Insider article here says this: (we can thank Obama for this, though I know he's not the first POTUS to do this.....)

This isn't the first time billionaires have seen gains while a large portion of Americans were feeling losses. When the housing bubble burst in 2007, home prices fell 21% and roughly 3.1 million homes were foreclosed on in the United States. The stock market plummeted by over 50%. And by the end of 2009, 8.8 million Americans had lost their jobs. And the effects lingered. From 2009 to 2012, the incomes of the bottom 99% grew by only 0.4%, but the income of the top 1% grew by a staggering 31.4% in the same time span. And it all ties back to two things.


First, the government disproportionately gave more aid to banks and corporations. In 2008, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act was signed into law, creating a $700 billion program to purchase devalued assets from banks. This was called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Later, President Obama would direct $75 billion in funds from TARP to help reduce interest payments for homeowners. That means homeowners received around 10% of the direct relief that banks and corporations did.

And this leads to reason No. 2. When the stock market bounced back, the unequal bailouts meant that the wealthy still had money on hand to invest and thus profit, while the middle and lower classes did not. In 2008, the Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates to near zero. They would remain that low for nearly a decade. This paved the way for a historic bull market on Wall Street that began in 2009 and lasted until March 2020, when the pandemic hit.

In that time, the S&P 500 gained 462%. That means that a $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 at the low point of the financial crisis could have returned roughly $4,620, while someone who could afford a $1 million investment could have pulled in over $4.6 million.

The Small Business Administration made $349 billion available to small businesses with the Paycheck Protection Program. But like in 2008, $243 million of that was snapped up by large, publicly traded corporations, some of which were valued at over $100 million (emphasis my own). Even hedge funds submitted claims to try to tap into what they saw as free money.

On March 16, 2020, just five days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the Dow suffered the worst single-day points drop in its history. But by June 4, seven of the world's richest people had seen their fortunes increase by over 50%. Part of what made this possible was a stock-market rebound fueled both by the Paycheck Protection Program and actions by the Fed. Again, the Fed lowered short-term interest rates for banks to near 0%, and as before, they have promised to hold those rates low until the economy is on track..... Read the article. It's pretty interesting.

Fortunately we were not impacted by job loss because my husband is an essential employee, but many people I know, and small businesses I used to frequent, have suffered greatly. Some of the businesses will not come back from this. Some only survived by the skin of their teeth because they defied the lockdown order before they reached their point of no return and reopened. To say this virus has fundamentally impacted this country, and the world, on an individual financial level is an understatement. It's definitely made the rich richer and the rest of us are left holding the bag with no increase in income (those who still have a job) yet the price of goods is going up. Beef rose by $2/lb since March where I live. Though we may not have been impacted the same way as others, we are literally paying for it now and I don't see it getting any better.  

My goal has never been to help a guy become a trillionare, but we had no choice thanks to the government, and that should make everyone pay attention. The government can give and they can take away. More often than not the elite few gets the better end of that deal. 

Great post, thanks.

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

The Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The dead did die in vain and God has forsaken us.

---

Great post by Americus.  

I would say, it's just better to be rich than to not be rich.  That's really the fundamental underpinning of free market capitalism.  Rich people have advantages that other people don't have.  That's why people want to be rich, and that's what drives people to work hard and save and invest, take risks, open businesses, create jobs, employ people, pay huge taxes, and support our collective standard of living.  It's what has given us everything we have today- nice houses, cell phones, computers, nice cars- all because someone wanted to get rich.    

As for the growing gap between the rich and the poor, I have no problem with it as long as the the poor have a rising standard of living in spite of that growing gap.  I think a lot of people on the left would just as soon everyone be poorer, as long as the gap between rich and poor is smaller.

As for the quote about extreme poverty, I don't think we have extreme poverty in the United States.  We have an extensive social safety net, actually mostly paid for by rich people.  The top 1% pay more taxes than the bottom 90%.

---

I know it has been pointed out before, but why is Walmart essential and Betty’s Boutique not?

Capitalism is not the problem, crony capitalism however is. The government is literally picking winners and losers based on who gives the career politicians the most kickbacks. Sadly most of us know this yet would rather send a McConnell or a Pelosi back for the 40th year than give a nod to the other party.

---

Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

I know it has been pointed out before, but why is Walmart essential and Betty’s Boutique not?

Capitalism is not the problem, crony capitalism however is.  The government is literally picking winners and losers based on who gives the career politicians the most kickbacks.  Sadly most of us know this yet would rather send a McConnell or a Pelosi back for the 40th year than give a nod to the other party.

Walmart was essential because they had groceries.
Back in March, some states were trying to put up caution tape around the sections inside Walmart that were not considered essential.

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

I know it has been pointed out before, but why is Walmart essential and Betty’s Boutique not?

Capitalism is not the problem, crony capitalism however is.  The government is literally picking winners and losers based on who gives the career politicians the most kickbacks.  Sadly most of us know this yet would rather send a McConnell or a Pelosi back for the 40th year than give a nod to the other party.

Walmart was essential because they had groceries.
Back in March, some states were trying to put up caution tape around the sections inside Walmart that were not considered essential.

You really do go to great lengths to miss a point don’t you.

---

Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

Walmart was essential because they had groceries.
Back in March, some states were trying to put up caution tape around the sections inside Walmart that were not considered essential.

You really do go to great lengths to miss a point don’t you.

Your point about crony capitalism is totally valid,I just think the particular example you gave isn't great.

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

You really do go to great lengths to miss a point don’t you.

Your point about crony capitalism is totally valid,I just think the particular example you gave isn't great.

So you do get the point, agree with the point but still could not restrain yourself from finding something to disagree with.  Got it.

---

Original Season Ticket Holder - Retired  1995 - 2020


At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.
 

Your point about crony capitalism is totally valid,I just think the particular example you gave isn't great.

So you do get the point, agree with the point but still could not restrain yourself from finding something to disagree with.  Got it.

You'll get over it.  I believe in you.

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Your point about crony capitalism is totally valid,I just think the particular example you gave isn't great.

So you do get the point, agree with the point but still could not restrain yourself from finding something to disagree with.  Got it.

You've encountered Captain Contrarian, Disciple of Disagreement.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Walmart was essential because they had groceries.
Back in March, some states were trying to put up caution tape around the sections inside Walmart that were not considered essential.

You really do go to great lengths to miss a point don’t you.

He has an exceptionally high level of commitment!



I'd love to hear his definition of "trying".
At least one state did mandate the closure of areas within Walmart, Cosco, Target, etc. carrying non-essential items.

---

When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

You really do go to great lengths to miss a point don’t you.

He has an exceptionally high level of commitment!



I'd love to hear his definition of "trying".
At least one state did mandate the closure of areas within Walmart, Cosco, Target, etc. carrying non-essential items.

1) no you wouldn't.
2) and that mandate didn't last very long.  It was impractical.  It counted more as an attempt or an experiment than a policy.  Hence the verb, "try".

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

People don't care about this. The main goal was removing Trump at all costs. The people the left complain about the most are the ones who benefited the most.

The goal here is for the government to show you how quickly they can crush you and that you better get on board with living with a bigger government you better get used to relying on, or they will crush you again.

There are people on here who support everything the government is doing.

It's much bigger than our government and the leftist liberals. This is a global issue. Governments in western countries are decimating their economies with these shutdowns. Small businesses are going under. Who benefits from this? The elite rich who pay lobbyists to pay off politicians. 

It's about control. In 2020 our government and MSM has shown it's power and ability to oppress the people. Too bad most aren't paying attention. People need to WAKE UP.

---

Great post by Americus.  

I would say, it's just better to be rich than to not be rich.  That's really the fundamental underpinning of free market capitalism.  Rich people have advantages that other people don't have.  That's why people want to be rich, and that's what drives people to work hard and save and invest, take risks, open businesses, create jobs, employ people, pay huge taxes, and support our collective standard of living.  It's what has given us everything we have today- nice houses, cell phones, computers, nice cars- all because someone wanted to get rich.    

As for the growing gap between the rich and the poor, I have no problem with it as long as the the poor have a rising standard of living in spite of that growing gap.  I think a lot of people on the left would just as soon everyone be poorer, as long as the gap between rich and poor is smaller.

As for the quote about extreme poverty, I don't think we have extreme poverty in the United States.  We have an extensive social safety net, actually mostly paid for by rich people.  The top 1% pay more taxes than the bottom 90%.

Were not talking about free market capitalism.  Were talking about asymmetric distortions caused by state intervention.

 Free market economies wouldn't have arbitrary lowdown, curfews, the DPA is text book fascism.

---

He has an exceptionally high level of commitment!



I'd love to hear his definition of "trying".
At least one state did mandate the closure of areas within Walmart, Cosco, Target, etc. carrying non-essential items.

1) no you wouldn't.
2) and that mandate didn't last very long.  It was impractical.  It counted more as an attempt or an experiment than a policy.  Hence the verb, "try".

1)  Yes, I really would.

2)  a.  In what states did it not last very long?
     b.  What made it "impractical"?
     c.  In what states did it last the entire time stores selling exclusively non-essential merchandise were closed?

---

When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

1) no you wouldn't.
2) and that mandate didn't last very long.  It was impractical.  It counted more as an attempt or an experiment than a policy.  Hence the verb, "try".

1)  Yes, I really would.

2)  a.  In what states did it not last very long?
     b.  What made it "impractical"?
     c.  In what states did it last the entire time stores selling exclusively non-essential merchandise were closed?

Interesting. To answer b, it's impractical to enforce that a privately owned and operated business put up barricades. Even if the business wants to cooperate with the governor's orders or the mayor's orders, obviously many customers will ignore the barricades and take what they want anyways.  Then we expect the cashier's to scold the customers for that, and not just scan the merch and take the money.  
I'm not sure about the answers to a and c.

---

My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

1)  Yes, I really would.

2)  a.  In what states did it not last very long?
     b.  What made it "impractical"?
     c.  In what states did it last the entire time stores selling exclusively non-essential merchandise were closed?

Interesting. To answer b, it's impractical to enforce that a privately owned and operated business put up barricades. Even if the business wants to cooperate with the governor's orders or the mayor's orders, obviously many customers will ignore the barricades and take what they want anyways.  Then we expect the cashier's to scold the customers for that, and not just scan the merch and take the money.  
I'm not sure about the answers to a and c.

Yesterday you said and I quote "...that mandate didn't last very long."  Today you admit "I'm not sure about the answers to a and c."  Does this help you understand why some here occasionally find your statements to be less than credible?  

Why is it impractical for Walmart to erect a barrier?  Ball parks have barriers forcing patrons to enter/exit in certain patterns.  Likewise movie theaters and airports.  You can't even leave an amusement park without going through the gift shop!  Haven't you ever seen a mall storefront boarded off during remodeling?  If it was maintained in some states while non-essential stores were closed (and it was), then obviously it wasn't an impractical task.  

Apparently you're unfamiliar with bar code technology in point of sale systems.  Deactivate or NA the merchandise code and the cashier can't do a thing.

---

When you get into the endzone, act like you've been there before.

Interesting. To answer b, it's impractical to enforce that a privately owned and operated business put up barricades. Even if the business wants to cooperate with the governor's orders or the mayor's orders, obviously many customers will ignore the barricades and take what they want anyways.  Then we expect the cashier's to scold the customers for that, and not just scan the merch and take the money.  
I'm not sure about the answers to a and c.

Yesterday you said and I quote "...that mandate didn't last very long."  Today you admit "I'm not sure about the answers to a and c."  Does this help you understand why some here occasionally find your statements to be less than credible?  

Why is it impractical for Walmart to erect a barrier?  Ball parks have barriers forcing patrons to enter/exit in certain patterns.  Likewise movie theaters and airports.  You can't even leave an amusement park without going through the gift shop!  Haven't you ever seen a mall storefront boarded off during remodeling?  If it was maintained in some states while non-essential stores were closed (and it was), then obviously it wasn't an impractical task.  

Apparently you're unfamiliar with bar code technology in point of sale systems.  Deactivate or NA the merchandise code and the cashier can't do a thing.

He's not old enough to have tried buying beer at a 7-11 at 2:02am.

---

“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato