Here we go again with another food fight over another false choice: It’s certainly obvious that mask-less people gathering in large numbers in indoor spaces like bars and restaurants are proven disease vectors. It’s also obvious that such folks are not simply exercising their “constitutional” right to risk their own health; they will go forth and infect others – including those who are particularly vulnerable. However, it’s also obvious that restaurant owners and their employees should not have to give up their entire livelihoods so that those of us lucky enough to work from home (or at least remain employed) can continue on, fat, dumb and happy. But for heaven’s sake, those are not our only two choices!
Why can’t we all see that we need to spread this pain out evenly? Why can’t Congress step up and continue to pay people’s salaries while they are out of work due to this pandemic? Why can’t congress step up and pay the rent, overhead and basic salaries for the owners of small businesses like Kriner’s Diner when we, quite reasonably, demand that they shut down.? Yes, I know that the debt required to pay for that will end up being a tax burden on all of us for many years, but at least we will all pay a fair share of the cost. That’s the idea of paying for things with a progressive income tax.
We have no other choice. There’s no “mom and dad” that America can call when somebody hit our collective “car” and totaled it. At the end of the day, nations are self-insured against major disasters. We can either build up a rainy-day fund ahead of time – or we must pay the piper after the fact. As humans, we don’t seem too fond of the former, so now we are stuck with the latter. So let’s quit whining (that means you, Senate Republicans) and cough it up. I’ll contribute my share to pay off the debt. But let’s stop fighting with each other long enough to demand that our leaders deal with this fairly. Have you written your senators yet?
Lou Nathanson
Anchorage
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