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Saturday, April 18, 2020

Coronavirus: Bankrupting Pennsylvania

This 1999 movie Fight Club movie scene tells the future: "Do not fuck with us..."


Remember Fight Club?



Tyler Durden: "God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

You probably don't - you have an education, you don't clean sewers or fix broken equipment.  You went to school to be better than the rest...

---- Fast Cut: ----

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is bankrupt (https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/lawmaker-pa-might-have-to-borrow-5-billion-to-stay-afloat-in-coronavirus-crisis/article_62167b0a-75e1-11ea-87dd-cbe49b0418d4.html):

"Despite billions of dollars for states in the federal stimulus package approved by Congress last month, and another stimulus measure potentially in the works, Republican state Rep. Frank Ryan said the state must do more to prepare for the economy and the state’s financial situation to worsen.   

State tax revenues are spiraling downward as record numbers of workers are laid off and businesses shuttered. It’s gotten so bad that Gov. Tom Wolf told 9,000 state workers their paychecks will be withheld by the end of next week.

The need to balance the budget may prompt the state to borrow more as it faces a revenue deficit that could range from $3 billion to $6 billion, depending on the duration of the downturn, said Ryan, of Lebanon County. That’s between 8 percent and 16 percent of the state budget.

...

House Appropriations Chairman Stan Saylor, a York County Republican, in a letter to GOP lawmakers this week said states are “facing the potential for some of the largest revenue drops in modern history.” 

He said the state may face a recession.

...

If the virus continues unabated for months, off-the-charts unemployment rates will deplete state revenues and Pennsylvania state government will face the prospect of cutting programs and potentially massive layoffs."

On April 13th the "northeast governors" of the bank-corupt states got together to form a working group on Covid19.

(Secret: They are all in debt up to their eyeballs and need federal bailouts to make them even pretend to be solvent...)

Coincidently (use the Secret knowledge above) the death tolls jumped the next day (to sample just a few participants, red line on 4/13):


Must be just a coincidence right?

Sure it is...

Just like letting everyone go to Walmart, Home Depot, and the rest is okay - they can socialize there - but not anywhere else...?

Hmmm...

How did Pennsylvania get into this situation?


I guess the buck stops with old Tom Wolf (shown here not wearing his mask, but you should must).

Looks like the PA Unemployment fund is in danger too... 

(see: https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/can-pa-handle-the-crush-of-unemployed-underinsured-and-impoverished-in-covid-19-crisis/article_4d5bdf34-6ed9-11ea-a679-93f88796270c.html having just recovered from the last crisis).

But you feel good.  He's a pot guy and we got our pot...  and billions in debt.

New Jersey will probably end up in the same boat too (see https://www.njspotlight.com/2020/03/nj-can-tap-2-4b-pool-for-jobless-benefits-if-covid-19-sparks-recession/) - the article linked was written about a month ago.  They have proportionally less money and fewer people than PA.

Trillions more will flow out from the Federal Government.

From where, the check printing machines, of course.  During the 2008 downturn I distinctly recall (and may have even blogged about it) the fact that there was no process to stop printing government checks.

(NJ, BTW - Looking for COBOL programmers to shore up their state-of-the-art data processing center - psst: Don't tell them your phone has more computer horse power):



Clearly the Fed merely waves its magic wand, buys up the new USA debt, and boom, the bank accounts have money (just mount another 9-track spinning tape...)

So if there's, let's say, $200 trillion floating around, and you borrow $2 trillion more, everyone's dollar just diminished in value by 1%. 

This has been going on since 1972 so its little wonder a 1972 dollar buys about ten times more.

And what about all the part time workers?

They are just shoved off into no man's land.  No safety net, no job, no job prospects, nothing.

They can't work.

They also can't spend money, thus generating sales taxes for the state.

So the states, with their lock downs, have crushed probably one part timer for every new unemployment claim.

Here's a sample (from https://www.phillyvoice.com/pennsylvania-new-jersey-unemployment-claims-benefits-coronavirus-covid-19/):


Probably two million in PA out of work, not generating sales taxes, gas taxes, etc. etc. to fill the coffers.

So while you sit safely in your Covid-blocked house, wearing your comfy Covid19 mask, luxuriating in your rolls of toilet paper, remember: you are special.  You didn't have to fire or layoff your employees on a moments notice.  You didn't have to destroy their future, their life, their family.  You didn't have to give them food and drink because they had none.  You don't have to give them hope. 

No, you were safe and happy...

Or are you?

Or are you just afraid?

Afraid the real people see you and what you've done.

To the people.

To the state.

To the country.

But you're safe...

---- Fast Cut: ----

This 1999 movie Fight Club movie scene tells the future. 

"Do not fuck with us..."



Million upon millions of unemployed:

"No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives.

...

And we're very, very pissed off."

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