The US Senate finally reached a deal at 1:30 am on Wednesday morning on a massive $2 trillion economic stimulus plan to head off the economic damage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The package is the largest stimulus plan in US history. The New York Times explained that the bill, “touched virtually every aspect of American life, and amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars more than Congress provides for the entire United States federal budget for a single year, outside of social safety net programs.” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter, “This is not a moment of celebration, but one of necessity…To all Americans I say, ‘Help is on the way.’” A vote is now expected later on Wednesday. The legislation includes direct financial assistance to Americans starting at a $1,200 check to those making less than $75,000 a year and cutting off for those making above $99,000. Families with children would receive $500 per child. Also included in the package is $100 billion for hospitals as they deal with a massive wave of patients infected with Covid-19. Small businesses who keep employees on payroll will have access to loans from a $350 billion fund but airlines will have access to $25 billion in “grants.” State and local governments would have access to a $150 billion fund to make up for lost tax revenues. Senate Democrats, who had held up the negotiations angry about a lack over proper oversight for a $500 billion “slush fund” as they called it, ensured that no businesses linked to President Donald Trump, his family members, or Vice President Mike Pence would be eligible for assistance. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the bill as wholly inadequate. New York is the current epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US. In a press conference on Wednesday he said that the Senate bill funding for his state – the hardest hit during this crisis – is not nearly enough. Associated Press explained that New York City in particular is “[f]aced with an infection rate that is five times that of the rest of the country…Nearly 14,800 people in New York City have been diagnosed with coronavirus as of Tuesday, accounting for more than half the cases in the hardest-hit state in the nation.” The Trump administration has advised people traveling out of the state of New York should quarantine themselves for 2 weeks.

President Trump has held firm to his claim that he would like to see the US economy return to normal by Easter which is on April 12th. When asked by reporters what he based this deadline on, Trump simply said, “I thought it was a beautiful time. A beautiful timeline.” When asked to respond to Trump’s claim, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases diplomatically said, “You can look at a date but you’ve got to be very flexible and on a literally day-by-day and week-by-week basis. You need to evaluate the feasibility of what you’re trying to do.” Meanwhile,

FEATURING DEAN BAKER – The US Senate has spent days wrangling over the details of a massive $2 trillion stimulus package to shore up the economy as the nation grinds to a halt to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Democrats are blaming Republicans for wanting to reward corporations through a $500 billion “slush fund” as they have called it,  while Republicans have accused Democrats of delaying tactics while nervous American workers await help from the government. 

Less publicized has been the House version of a stimulus bill which includes bigger cash payouts to Americans, expanded paid sick leave requirements and even some sustainability conditions for the airline industry. 

Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which he also co-founded. He is the author of several books, including Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. His blog, “Beat the Press,” provides commentary on economic reporting. His analyses have appeared in many major publications, including the Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, the London Financial Times, and the New York Daily News. 

FEATURING JOHN HOCEVAR – A number of industries have taken advantage of the coronavirus crisis to give themselves a new lease on life. Some call this disaster capitalism, or just plain exploitation of our fears. The plastics industry is one such sector of the economy. 

Facing numerous state and local level plastic bag bans the big businesses that rely on byproducts of the climate-change causing petroleum industry are pushing back. Studies and op-eds claiming that a ban on plastic bags fuels the coronavirus are popping up all over the place.

John Hocevar, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaign Director.

A spokesperson for the World Health Organization has said that the United States could become the next epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. There are currently 46,500 confirmed cases with nearly 600 deaths – the third highest total globally after Italy and China. The WHO’s Margaret Harris told reporters, “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the U.S. So, it does have that potential.” She explained that over the past day alone the vast majority of new cases of infection – 85% – we either in the US or Europe. And more than 100 people died in the US on Monday alone. The New York Times, in recording the pace of deaths per country concluded that with 534 deaths in total in the US, the rate of deaths was doubling every 3 days. The states of Washington and New York have the highest death tolls so far. The state of California now has more than 2,000 confirmed cases of infection with a death toll of 43. In Los Angeles County where testing has accelerated, infections are being found in large numbers among young people – 42% of infections are in those aged 18 to 40. California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state anticipates needing 30,000 more hospital beds than it has.

Experts are now pointing out that major testing missteps in the early days of the virus’ spread has deeply set back the US’s approach to the pandemic. According to Associated Press, “In the critical month of February, as the virus began taking root in the U.S. population, CDC data shows government labs processed 352 COVID-19 tests — an average of only a dozen per day.” More specifically the setback was because of, “the early decision not to use the test adopted by the World Health Organization, flaws with the more complex test developed by the CDC, government guidelines restricting who could be tested and delays in engaging the private sector to ramp up testing capacity. Combined with messaging from the White House minimizing the disease, that fueled a lackluster response that missed chances to slow the spread of the virus.”

Meanwhile President Donald Trump appears to be moving in exactly the wrong direction at the wrong time, pushing for businesses to reopen sooner rather than later in a desperate bid to salvage the economy – which he sees as his ticket to reelection. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the trustworthy scientist that has become the face of the Trump administration’s response to the virus – did not appear at the White House Press briefings this week, further fueling fears that Trump is ignoring the advice of experts. In remarks to Fox News on Tuesday morning Trump appeared to justify any deaths that might result from the virus’ spread if businesses reopened. He angled toward pushing for a restart of the US economy as early as next week in direct opposition t...

FEATURING NOELLE HANRAHAN – Amid the calls for social distancing around the US and world, one population whose well-being seems to be falling at the bottom of the priority list is those who are in custody, in detention centers, prisons, and jails. On Monday in California, the first documented infection of a prisoner was announced. In New York City, jails have reported 38 infections. Mayor Bill DeBlasio has so far authorized the release of 4 dozen people from Rikers Island so far but many worry the pace is too slow. Black and brown Americans are disproportionately overrepresented in US prisons and jails. 

Noelle Hanrahan, Director of Prison Radio.

FEATURING BEN EHRENREICH – After Italy, Europe’s hardest hit nation from the coronavirus pandemic is Spain. More than 2,000 people have died from Covid-19 so far and more than 30,000 are infected. Healthcare workers are particularly hard hit with nearly 4,000 infected. Soldiers deployed to sanitize nursing homes this week made a grim discovery of several seniors who were abandoned and left to die in their beds. 

While the situations in Italy and Spain offer critical lessons for what is in store for the US, my next guest joining us from Barcelona says that while Spain has struggled, it is “vastly more prepared than the US.”

Read his article for The Nation ‘We’re Struggling With the Coronavirus in Spain — but We’re Vastly More Prepared Than the US,’ HERE.

Ben Ehrenreich, journalist and writer whose most recent book, The Way to the Spring, is based on his reporting from the West Bank. His next book, Desert Notebooks: A Road Map for the End of Time, will be published in July by Counterpoint Press. His latest article for The Nation is We’re Struggling With the Coronavirus in Spain—but We’re Vastly More Prepared Than the US.

The US Senate has restarted talks on Monday over a massive $2 trillion coronavirus-relief bill to shore up the economy. Talks broke down over the weekend after Senate Democrats balked at the disproportionate help in the Republican’s bill being offered to corporations over ordinary Americans and their households. In attempting to justify why much of the tax-payer funded financial help goes to the top sectors of society, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asserted, “This isn’t corporate welfare…This helps all American workers.” The Washington Post explained that as it stands the bill, “would direct $1,200 to most adults and $500 to most children. It would also create a $500 billion lending program for businesses, cities and states and another $350 billion to help small businesses meet payroll costs.” The Post also offered up more detail on Democratic opposition, saying the party’s, “concerns have focused on a $500 billion funding program for loans and loan guarantees Republicans want to create, which some Democrats are labeling a ‘slush fund’ because the Treasury Department would have broad discretion over who receives the money. There is little precedent for a program with a similar size and scope.” The current piece of legislation being debates is the third funding bill that Congress is tackling focused on the impact of the coronavirus.

Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has earned praise for offering an alternative proposal that would shore up the economy by focusing on people’s needs. Her proposed plan includes distributing debit cards loaded with $2,000 to every American that would be re-charged with $1000 a month every month until a year after the end of the crisis. She notes that her plan would be deficit neutral despite the huge anticipated price tag because it, “would be funded directly from the Treasury, using its legal authority to create money via coin seigniorage, which is a statutory delegation of Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.” Tlaib’s idea has received praise from a number of economists and business reporters. Meanwhile the Federal Reserve on Monday unveiled new, drastic measures to prevent the economy from teetering off a cliff. Fed chairman Jerome Powell announced 90 minutes before the start of trading on Monday that there would be no limit to purchases of Treasury and Mortgage backed securities this week. 

Meanwhile President Donald Trump has continued to make the coronavirus crisis all about him. He railed on Twitter that in his scouring of media coverage of the pandemic, “and all I see is hatred of me at any cost.” On Friday Trump made headlines for having a meltdown after a reporter asked him what he would tell Americans who are scared. Trump is also fearful of the economic collapse that the coronavirus could trigger as reports point out that all economic gains made over the past several years have already been wiped out. The President appeared to suggest that a quarantine of only 15 days might be sufficient as he retweeted a suggestion that read, “15 days, then we keep the high risk groups protected as necessary and the rest of us go back to work.” He also tweeted in all caps,

FEATURING DR. SRIRAM SHAMASUNDER – The nation’s hospitals are bracing for the impact of the coronavirus as the pandemic spreads across the states and the numbers of infections and deaths rise. But a scramble for available tests, hospital beds, and even basic medical supplies has confounded healthcare providers in the world’s richest  nation. 

President Donald Trump has offered little to no assurance, instead spewing lies about testing and lashing out at reporters simply for asking questions. On Friday, he stunned the nation with an exchange that many characterized as a “meltdown.” 

We now turn to a physician who has a frontline view of the coronavirus crisis.

Dr. Sriram Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Medicine at UCSF, and co-founder and faculty director of the HEAL Initiative, a health workforce strengthening fellowship working in Navajo Nation and 7 countries around the world.

FEATURING JOSEPH VILLELA – A medical staff member at a privately-run immigrant detention center in New Jersey has tested positive for the Coronavirus. The center specializes in the detention and placement of immigrant children. Authorities have announced there have been no other cases so far. 

As the spread of the virus brings life across the US to a halt, the government’s immigration enforcement operations have not ceased. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) released a statement saying it would draw down operations and only focus on arresting criminals temporarily. But reports abound of arrests all over the country. Even though ICE has said it would not arrest immigrants near hospitals and that people should not avoid seeking care over fears of arrest, there is at least one known case of ICE agents posing as doctors to arrest a father of six. 

A coalition of immigrant rights groups has now called on federal and state governments to immediately take actions to protect immigrants during this pandemic.

Joseph Villela, Director of Policy and Advocacy at CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrants Right in LA.

As the spread of the highly infectious novel coronavirus strain spreads globally, the World Health Organization announced on Friday that there were 100,000 new infections worldwide in the last two weeks. The total number of cases now adds up to about a quarter of a million – of that number 10,000 have died. Italy reported a massive jump on Friday of 627 deaths in a 24-hour period. It is so far the hardest hit nation in terms of fatalities. Here in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday documented a total of 10,491 cases of infection. The number of deaths jumped in one day from 53 to 150. In California, the most populous state in the nation, Gov. Gavin Newsom estimated that more than half of the state’s residents – that’s 25.5 million people – could get infected unless drastic measures are not taken. 

On Thursday evening Newsom issued the strictest orders of any state in the nation. The order places, according to the LA Times, “the first mandatory restrictions placed on the lives of all 40 million residents in the state’s fight against the novel coronavirus.” Further, “The mandatory order allows Californians to continue to visit gas stations, pharmacies, grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, takeout and delivery restaurants, banks and laundromats. People can leave their homes to care for a relative or a friend or seek healthcare services.” Newsom on Thursday announced the order for Californians to “stay at home.” Near the end of his announcement he denounced anti-Asian racism that has risen as this disease has spread. Hours earlier, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti and other LA County leaders announced similar restrictions they dubbed “safer at home.” And in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tightened the already-severe restrictions in place with an executive order requiring all non-essential workers to stay at home. The New York Times explained that the state, “with only 6 percent of the country’s population, accounts for around half of the nationwide total of confirmed cases.”

On the federal level, President Donald Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that he will be using his authority under the Defense Production act to accelerate the medical supplies that are in short order as hospitals nationwide brace for an influx of coronavirus patients. Associated Press explained it like this: “In a Friday phone call with Trump, Schumer implored the president to invoke the Defense Production Act …Trump told the Democratic leader he would do it — and then could be heard yelling to someone in his office to do it now,