We Need Income, Not One-Off Checks

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There’s no harm in sending $1,200 checks to everyone. This kind of flat, one-time payment is a favorite of Republicans, so it’s no surprise they’ve defaulted to it yet again.

But it also doesn’t do much good. We need to get through our heads that the coronavirus outbreak won’t be over in April. Or May. Probably not by June, either. We have months to go.

This means people need income, not one-time checks. And this income needs to fully replace their old income—or come pretty close to it.

This is what Congress should be working on, and they should be doing it in crisis mode, right along with building more temporary hospital capacity. So why aren’t they? Why are they instead fussing over dumb little checks and bailouts for the cruise industry? It’s insane.

INCOME AND HOSPITAL CAPACITY. That’s what we need. And it needs to start yesterday. Then Congress can go back to squabbling over other stuff.

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No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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