{"id":3469,"date":"2020-12-22T20:32:30","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T20:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=142425"},"modified":"2020-12-22T20:32:30","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T20:32:30","slug":"no-more-caving-to-austerity-warns-sanders-after-biden-lauds-paltry-covid-19-relief-deal-as-model-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/22\/no-more-caving-to-austerity-warns-sanders-after-biden-lauds-paltry-covid-19-relief-deal-as-model-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"‘No More Caving’ to Austerity Warns Sanders After Biden Lauds Paltry Covid-19 Relief Deal as ‘Model’ Legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reflecting on the roughly $900 billion coronavirus relief package that he called “pathetic<\/a>” for its obscene giveaways to the wealthy and meager assistance for the working class, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday warned of devastating consequences for the United States if Democrats continue capitulating to the GOP’s efforts to impose austerity in the midst of an ongoing public health emergency and massive economic crisis.<\/p>\n

“The fundamental political question of our time is: are we going to allow Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party, and corporate America to return us to austerity politics, or are we going to build a dynamic economy that works for everyone?”
\u2014Sen. Sanders<\/p>\n

The democratic socialist from Vermont acknowledged in an email to supporters that the Covid-19 relief bill provides a non-retroactive $300-per-week federal boost to unemployment insurance and extends those benefits through March. The legislation also allocates funding for schools, child care, broadband, food and housing aid, vaccine distribution, and\u2014thanks to the efforts of progressive lawmakers and organizations\u2014includes a $600 direct payment to many Americans.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, and reiterating what economists have stressed for weeks, Sanders said that “given the enormous economic desperation that so many working families are now experiencing, it is nowhere near enough as to what is needed.”<\/p>\n

In light of President-elect Biden’s Sunday night statement <\/a>applauding the bipartisan agreement as “a model for the challenging work ahead for our nation,” Sanders expressed fear that “by reaching this agreement, we are setting a bad precedent and setting the stage for a return to austerity politics now that Joe Biden is set to take office.”<\/p>\n

Sanders summarized pandemic-related legislative efforts since May:<\/p>\n

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The House passed a $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which was a very serious effort to address the enormous health and economic crises facing our country. Two months later, the House passed another version of that bill for $2.2 trillion.<\/p>\n

That same month, Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a $1.1 trillion piece of legislation that included a $1,200 direct payment for every working class American.<\/p>\n

Months later, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, negotiating on behalf of President Donald Trump, proposed a Covid relief plan with Speaker Pelosi for $1.8 trillion that also included a $1,200 direct payment.<\/p>\n

And yet, after months of bipartisan negotiations by the so-called Gang of 8, we ended up with a bill of just $908 billion that includes $560 billion in unused money from the previously passed CARES Act\u2014a worse deal than was previously proposed by Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

So we went from $3.4 trillion, to $2.2 trillion, to $1.8 trillion from Trump and $1.1 trillion from Mitch McConnell to just $348 billion in new money\u2014roughly 10% of what Democrats thought was originally needed and half of what Trump and McConnell offered in direct payments.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“This is not good negotiating,” the senator said. “This is a collapse.”<\/p>\n

Once Biden’s victory in the presidential election became clear, Sanders added, “we started to hear a lot of talk from my Senate colleagues in the Republican Party about their old friend the deficit<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Direct payments of $1,200 to every working-class American and $500 for their children, fiscal aid for state and local governments, and stronger unemployment benefits all became things “we couldn’t afford… <\/span>because of the deficit<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The irony, Sanders pointed out, is that “this is the same Republican Party so concerned about the deficit” that it does things like:<\/p>\n