Never missing an opportunity to show their true colors, the sociopathic Trump regime is considering a quick fix, multi- billion dollar bailout of the fossil fuel industry. At the same time it wants to cut infectious disease response funding and have a payroll tax cut that would take money from Social Security and Medicare (and wouldn't help a faltering economy spooked by the coronavirus pandemic and Trump's incompetence, unless Democrats have the final say as to how it's targeted and deployed):
The White House is strongly considering pushing federal assistance for oil and natural gas producers hit by plummeting oil prices amid the coronavirus outbreak, as industry officials close to the administration clamor for help, according to four people familiar with internal deliberations. [snip]
Trump and advisers have been taking calls since Monday from concerned energy sector allies, who have voiced concern and at times exasperation not only about oil prices, but also privately warning against the administration supporting any sweeping paid sick leave policy, according to a major GOP donor and a White House official familiar with the discussions. These people spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss private conversations. (our emphasis)Among the piggies clamoring for a bailout is oil tycoon and Republican mega- donor (and aptly named) Harold "Oink" Hamm, who lost several billion dollars when the market tanked on Monday, and would like to see oil prices stay high, thank you. The disingenuous case for a bailout Oink and other fossil fuel industry mega donors (and global climate change enablers) have been making is best summarized by Wonkette, which notes that Oink is pleading only on behalf of the little people and certainly...
... Not out of abject greed and a desire to socialize the risks while privatizing the profits, of course, perish the thought! But because "this could jeopardize those jobs and the economies in producing states and communities across America, from Pennsylvania to California and Texas to North Dakota." You bet! [snip]
Let's be clear, however, that Hamm was just fine when those governments were colluding to prop up the price of oil — lest we forget the "C" in OPEC stands for cartel. But now those countries have decided to pump their own oil and sell it for whatever the market will bear, and THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND, MAN!You can tell Oink and his fellow Republican oil and gas oligarchs are sincerely looking out for the interests of the little people because, as noted above, they oppose "any sweeping paid sick leave policy" for those same little people during a coronavirus pandemic! Profits before people!
There is, fortunately, opposition in Congress to Trump's fossil fuel industry bailout, which would protect the Oinks but not the workers. Kind of like "socialism for me, not for thee!"
BONUS: This captures it, too --
“We want to protect our shipping industry, our cruise ships ... we want to protect our airlines” — it’s remarkable how transparent Trump is about the fact he views a pandemic that’s killing people mainly as an economic problem pic.twitter.com/d3gTae3Lle— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 10, 2020
