The Right Is Trying to Make the Kitchen-Table Economy Scream
Republicans would have a tough time convincing the country that reopening the economy is safe when it's actually extremely dangerous. But as bills pile up and fears of eviction grow, desperate Americans may come to see a premature reopening as the least bad option and head back to work — the outcome that the Right wanted all along.
An eviction team removes furniture at a home in Colorado. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
When the House passed the HEROES Act in mid-May, Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell called it “the legislative equivalent of stand-up comedy.”
What’s so funny? Sending Americans a new and bigger stimulus check, extending expanded unemployment benefits for another six months, rental assistance and mortgage relief, hazard pay for essential workers, student loan deferrals, and a moratorium on debt collections. Apparently that’s what.
By the time the Senate reaches a bipartisan consensus on the rest of the next coronavirus relief package — if it ever does — it’s unlikely to look much like the HEROES Act. It will probably contain another stimulus check, but the rest will be significantly watered down. Unfortunately, watering it down is incredibly dangerous.
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