Posted on 03/19/2020 4:18:22 AM PDT by Kaslin
I’m not a fan of government bailouts, but these are not normal times. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, there are going to be thousands of businesses that will never recover, and may even some industries. They all want, but don’t need bailouts. But some industries are too important to our national interests and security to let them die, at least within our own country. Protecting our sovereignty by protecting vital industries through government assistance in unprecedented times is not a bailout, it is smart policy.
Like I said, if the cruise ship industry goes under it will hurt a lot of people, and each of those cases will be a tragedy in and of themselves, but national security won’t be impacted and other companies will form to buy and operate those ships (they’re foreign flagged anyway, so let those countries help them). For every restaurant that goes under, another will eventually take its place. Little comfort to those impacted immediately, I know, but now is the time for priorities.
If Washington is going to act on those and other industries does happen, I’m not sure I’d have a huge problem with it, if only because their problems are not a result of market forces - bad food, bad service, etc. - it’s a result of a government imposed lockdown. They didn’t fail customers, customers were kept away.
Some industries, however, are also suffering and their demise would threaten our nationals security and economic recovery. The aerospace industry is one such, and along with prescription drugs, probably the best example.
The manufacture of prescription drugs is now universally accepted as something this country is going to have to find a way to do domestically. Maybe some of those liberal billionaires anxious to dump billions into efforts to defeat President Trump could redirect that money to this endeavor. A billion dollars in TV ads will never have the level of importance as restoring this country’s ability to make our own antibiotics.
While there is agreement on pharmaceuticals, airlines are suffering. Who wants to fly right now? It’s not because there has been a series of accidents, it’s because people are worried about their health. The story of a moron boarding a plane while waiting coronavirus test results, only to get a positive result when the plane landed, did more damage to air travel than anything since 9/11.
But air travel is crucial to our economy. Leisure and business travel are the lifeblood of our economy. We could survive one or two airlines going under, but not the industry. When things return to normal, mobility will be a huge part of the blood pumping through the economy’s veins. We can not let it die.
As distasteful as it sounds, the federal government is going to have to step in with money, loans, tax breaks, and every other weapon in its arsenal; perhaps temporarily, but maybe not. Time will tell.
Just as important to the economy as the ability to travel is the ability to design, create, and build our own aircraft. It’s more important, in fact, because it also involves national security.
Our aerospace industry makes commercial plane and military planes, as well as cargo planes to transport good from American companies across the country and around the world. If it goes under, we will be dependent on European countries for our planes, and that’s the best case scenario.
The worst case scenario is China, the country singlehandedly responsible for this pandemic thanks to its mishandling, secrecy, and flat-out lies, would likely be the big winner.
The Chinese government has been pouring money into the Commercial Aircraft Corporation in an attempt to overtake the US as the premier manufacturer in the world. When all things are equal, they’ve failed, and miserably. But all things are not equal now, thanks to their actions. The federal government needs to protect the country and the world not only from China becoming a major player in the world’s plane manufacturing business, but must act so the communists don’t benefit financially from their misdeeds.
Just as we need to incentivize companies to manufacture prescription drugs and their ingredients in the United States once again to free ourselves from dependence of China, we need to move to prevent replacing one problem with another. Imagine China being the foremost manufacturer of airplanes and parts. That would be a disaster.
Government picking winners and losers is never a good idea, but this is not that. These industries aren’t failing because of bad management, they’re teetering because of China’s failures. We can’t let our national or economic security depend on other countries, and we sure as hell shouldn’t allow China to benefit at all from their negligence (which is a generous way to put it). We need to manufacture our own medicine again, and we need to continue to be able to fly while manufacturing our own planes.
We need federally assisted/subsidized business interruption insurance first.
Every business has to have skin in the game.
Refuse to have coverage, no bailouts for losses not covered by insurance.
American taxpayers need protection, too.
If you even mention trying to bail out business and bring manufacturing back to America you will be labeled a “RACIST” and very quickly! The loons on the Left have NO bounds to their depravity.
>>”We need federally assisted/subsidized business interruption insurance first.”<<
As long as they are American companies and manufacture all their goods here.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Thirty years, everyone has been selling out America, to China.
Democrats. Republicans. Every single person.
Until Donald Trump. :)
Right businesses have insurance to fall back on, if you don’t, aw well
It will be a curious incentive...you only get government ‘help’ money, if you make the product in the country. I can see the management guys fumbling around and suddenly grasping that 90-percent of what they sell in the US....isn’t made there or in Mexico/Canada. If you wanted to destroy the Chinese-connection, you could achieve that in less than one year. Job-wise, virtually every single American (even kids around the age of 16) would be employed and working somewhere.
Insurance doesn’t kick in for war or national emergency.
There may be biz that are totally bleeped because their policies don’t pay out for force majeure.
That said, I have sympathy for biz that at least tried to protect themselves.
And, for once, I can see a roll for Fedzilla in providing a backstop to enable biz to get coverage that will cover an event like this.
But for biz who think they have a right to stick the taxpayers with their fiscal irresponsibility, I have 2 words: Screw you.
Insurance? For a disaster such as this? No, just tonight it was explained that insurance does NOT cover events such as a this. A natural disaster, YES; but not a pandemic. Assume this to be one of their infamous ‘clauses’ (ie “act of God”.)
But this is opening a pandoras box that future administrations with the stroke of a pen could change the rule to allow assistance to foreign companies, and those companies that have little to do with America. So, not sure how you would regulate this.
We need deregulation. It was over regulation that drove US businesses to the ChiComs in the first place.
Maybe if most of these companies like the airlines in particular hadn’t been buying back massive amounts of their stock to jack up the share value I might be more sympathetic.
It wasn’t just over-regulation.
It was bribery.
Who decides which is ‘important’?
Are we now to let gummint select who WINS and who LOSES?
There’s a word for this and it ends with ‘ism’.
shush...
This is the reality that is being ignored in the rush to destroy the world’s economy:
“99% OF THOSE WHO DIED FROM VIRUS HAD OTHER ILLNESS ITALY SAYS”
That and unionization, which drove manufacturing costs so high we couldn't compete against products that were produced with non-union labor.
I have a serious medical condition that would likely prove fatal if I got the virus, but I am less scared of the virus than I am of the economic devastation that will impact my children. I am taking reasonable precautions but am not hiding at home. I’m still working albeit with significant social limitations, buying food and trying to support some restaurant friends who are barely clinging on in the midst of this panic. If I die a few years earlier than my doctor predicts, c’est la vie. I have certainty this virus will die out. I am far less certain about the recovery of the economy.
As distasteful as it sounds, the federal government is going to have to step in with money, loans,
tax breaks, and every other weapon in its arsenal; perhaps temporarily, but maybe not.
"We will make the
trainsplanes run on time!"
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