Comics, 5-13-20: USA Economy

White House, Fed Rolling Out Plans To Save US Economy
3-17-20, IBTimes -- Recently the Fed slashed the benchmark borrowing rate to zero and ramped up purchases of Treasury debt and repeatedly made massive cash infusions into financial markets.  Steven T. Mnuchin, 77th United States Sec of the Treasury said the plan will allow companies and individuals to defer tax payments to the government without penalty. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the chamber "will not adjourn until we have passed significant and bold new steps -->

<-- above and beyond what the House has passed." The White House package would be in addition to the $100 billion House measure directed at paid sick leave and expanded unemployment benefits already moving through Congress. The total would surpass the $700 billion emergency program known as TARP to save the banking system during the 2008 global financial crisis. McConnell and Republican leaders last week dismissed the Democrat package in the House as an inflated wish list of items. Since then, the damage has accelerated, with businesses forced to close and whole states under lockdown. 

​Fed could spend next decade trying to rebuild economy
5-12-20, Politico --The Federal Reserve has poured trillions of dollars into the financial system over a matter of weeks.

It is expected that soon more will be done in an effort to confront the long-lasting economic wounds that will be left in the wake of the Covid virus shutdown. Returning the U.S. to robust growth after the lockdown is lifted will mean dealing with mass unemployment, permanently shuttered companies and a buildup of mountains of debt for both households and businesses.       

A wave of bankruptcies, surging taxes, and Americans 
5-11-20, MarketWatch -- Nurses & retail workers are suing their bosses for allegedly subjecting them to unsafe conditions during the coronavirus scare. College students are demanding tuition money refunds; consumers want concert ticket, vendors, gyms & airlines all want refunds. Businesses allege insurance companies are trying to sidestep their coverage obligations & some people say they’re being deprived of Fed stimulus checks. And that’s only the beginning; according to a database run by Hunton Andrews Kurth, an international law firm at least 917 federal & state lawsuits have been filed in relation to the virus & shutdown.

'Obamagate' Investigations - Newsmax here 
5-11-20, Newsmax -- Recently Pres Trump dropped another reference to "Obamagate" and to potential criminal prosecutions tied to the failed Russia investigation, including Obama. The Justice Dept is conducting an investigation of the investigators. Pres Trump was asked about his recent tweets that were response to Obama's 5/11/20 claims [see Natl Review] the Trump DOJ was violating the rule of law. The President called it in a tweet: "the biggest political crime in American history, by far!"ABC News reported a related event Acting Dir of Natl Intel Richard Grenell has declassified a list of Obama administration officials involved in the illegal "unmasking" of Gen. Mike Flynn's conversations with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. It has been alleged that - in Obama's final days in office - he told former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates of the intercept of Flynn's conversations during a private Oval Office meeting.