Stupid floats to the top of coronavirus flood

Once the deluge of water that brings on a flood stops, sludge floats to the top.

The floodwaters of the coronavirus are still rising in this country, but the sludge and corruption and outright stupidity that led to bad policy supported and enacted by our lawmakers is becoming apparent, even to the political neophyte.

The Democrats, who want us to see them as champions of the poor and working class, held-up a much-needed relief bill that would prop-up the economy and save the jobs of countless millions, not to mention provide outright cash payments to individuals and families who need them most.

In return for their vote, Democrats tried to include a liberal wish-list that includes: reducing student loan debt, a permanent expansion of Obamacare, imposing diversity requirements on employers and tightening emission standards on airlines and cruise ships – two of the most hard-hit industries.

To justify their "no" vote they were calling the bill a "corporate slush-fund." This was no slush-fund. These were loans. Corporations and businesses must pay back the loans once the crisis has passed. This is the height of hypocrisy when you consider that it's the Democrats who want to bailout the airlines by giving outright grants to those who would put a union representative on their boards. Please!

But the politics surrounding this critical piece of legislation is just part of the sludge that recently has floated to the top.

Faced with this crisis, the Trump administration is considering a plan to use the powers at his disposal during a pandemic to close the border to all who enter illegally, including those so-called asylum seekers who simply refuse to wait in line for a chance at a better life. Trump's simple solution: Don't detain. Immediately deport them to their home country or turn them back into Mexico (or in some cases Canada), the country from which they came.

Funny, now that everyone is concerned about catching this dreaded coronavirus, you don't hear many bleeding-heart liberals complaining. They are too worried about saving their own skin.

But the Trump administration is not immune from stupid. While millions are now out of work, his administration has done nothing to put caps on the H1-B visa, the loophole that lets corporations bring in thousands of foreign workers who take our software and other STEM jobs. Instead, earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to speed up the process.

Many college graduates are available and desperately seeking these jobs. They worked hard and invested time and money on their education, but they are unable to pay off their college loans. Why? Companies are able to import these foreign workers through the H1-B visa program for a fraction of the cost by offering a green card and a chance to become an American citizen.

Speaking of foreign workers, have you called an American company's help line recently? If you have, no doubt you ended up talking to someone in India or the Philippines at the expense of an American worker who used to have that job. Why is it no one in Congress or the administration has addressed this issue?

These are the very jobs that thousands of disabled Americans would be happy to do. Instead we would rather have them sit idly by and pay them to do nothing.

Another stupid idea is the school lunch and breakfast program. This is one of the most wasteful programs in the country. Even in the midst of this crisis, we are working overtime to get meals to, not only poor children, but many middle-class and wealthy ones as well. Poor families get food stamps for the purpose of feeding their children. Are we to believe that welfare families are so helpless they can't provide their kids with a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich with an apple or a bowl of cereal?

And stupid isn't limited to our government. Part of the sludge that has risen to the top is our individual inability to manage money. More than 80 percent of workers are living paycheck to paycheck, and that includes many high-earners as well. Less than 40% can handle an unexpected $1,000 expense, much less enough sustain themselves for three to six months in a time of crisis or job loss.

Before we accuse the government of being ill-prepared for a crisis, we need to look in the mirror. Hopefully, we will all come out of this a lot smarter.