I guess I am taking the question too literally.

If you had asked me in January, I would have said that I was better off for the reasons Ben gave.

But, today, I am worse off because the global pandemic has drastically altered my life.

Because cruelty is on the menu...

Native American health center asked for COVID-19 supplies. It got body bags instead.

Yeah, it was a mistake alright...

Trump never wanted to be President. He just wanted the power that comes with being the President.

I am better than where I was 4 years ago at this moment. But we are entering a huge recession and likely a depression. So not sure where I will be in 3 months.

When the markets completely crash, I think people will be singing a different tune.

I hope you're right; I think you're wrong.

I agree with this sentiment on a lot more issues than most on this board do, but the thing is doesn't really fit with the facts in this case IMO. People were leaving before the government got in the way, which is why the airline industry, restaurants, etc. were taking a massive sales hit even before the shutdown orders. Where I used to work at Applebees, their projections (for one of the busiest locations in the Midwest) on when things return to pre-pandemic 'normal' is years, if ever. I do think activities will be closer to normal soon in some businesses, but it seems to me just a plain fact that the pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a major impact on consumer behavior regardless of what government does.

Most people around me, regardless of age, are now wearing masks and it's a conservative area. I'm sure what you describe is accurate to where you live, but a particular state or even region can't revive the economy on its own even if they all behave as you describe. It needs to be a not just nationwide, but worldwide recovery for that to happen.

Ipsos poll says 77% of laid off workers think that they will get their jobs back.

So, right now, people are still thinking of the economic impacts of COVID as unlikely to affect them, personally, long or medium term.

They might be right. If we do get ahead of the virus and get the V-shaped recovery, then the President's high numbers right now make sense. Everyone gets their jobs back, and we look back at these 3 months as some weird bad dream we had. And the President goes into the November election during a booming recovery.

But, if people start to think that their jobs won't come back--and they start to think that before November, then things could go South for Trump in a hurry.

The unfortunate fact is and we are seeing it with our corporate clients already business will try to make back some of the financial losses by cutting operations (payroll). My ex- wife worked at a hair salon and she was furloughed, but she was lucky to get a full time job at Amazon doing deliveries. She does not expect the salon to hire her back, since she was low on seniority there. I think people are going to be sadly mistaken that their jobs will come back and if so pay will probably be cut.

Unemployment numbers this week 3.2 million more ugh. Now is 33.4 million unemployed that is crazy.

I keep going back to the CBO projection of almost 10% unemployment at the end of next year.

Quote from a random person on twitter, but it sums up my feelings to some degree.

It's like you ask you kid to clean his room before he goes out to play, and it would take him 10 minutes, and he'd be done. But instead, he spends hours trying to sneak out, trying to hide the mess under the bed, trying to trick his little brother into picking stuff up for him. He's so into avoiding work that he makes his life way way harder than it has to be.

We were rallying around the flag, and just doing the job well would have put us on a much better position both economically and from a public health perspective. Other countries are starting to open up at the same time we are, but with much better public health structures in place.

But I wonder if it just ever occurred to him to do a good job.

The CDC put together a 17-page guide for re-opening and the WH shelved it because it was too complicated.

We're just going to Leroy Jenkins this.

This is the way he has operated his whole life. Being President is not going to change that.

This is the point where he'd declare bankruptcy and move on to finding the next group of investors.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/polit...ion/index.html

Won't someone please think of the corrupt officials?

Yeh we clearly need to tighten up corruption laws, make their more of federal crime or heavier penalties at the state level

Add it to Citizens United as "Laws that will need a different Supreme Court if you want it passed and upheld" Maybe when they finish gutting abortion rights, the remnants of the ACA and voting rights, Democrats will treat the courts with the importance Republicans have used for years.

You realize this was a unanimous decision, right?

The case wasn't about whether the officials were corrupt or not, but whether their actions fit the criminal code for which they were convicted.

The movie The Goonies is a statement of where our country is going under Trump. And Trump is the HS kid that isnt a goonie.

Well I guess trump won't try to pardon Flynn after all. Barr did all the work for him.

I wonder how many times the DoJ has dropped a case after the defendant pleaded guilty.

Considering my twitter follows, my social media timeline is LIT with Flynn/Barr takes.

But I wonder if literally one persuadable voter will change her mind or choose to vote or not vote based on Barr dismissing the case against Flynn.

I would put the over/under on 1.5 voters will be affected by this, and I'll take the under.

The weather in Detroit will have more of an impact on the election than Barr/Flynn.

My dog's name is Leroy Jenkins. That is all.

Obscenely optimistic IMO.

I'll co-sponsor this take.

It's all a con and the swamp is being drained and replaced with hydrochloric acid.

This is super true. My wife's employer has been only mildly effected from what she can tell and yet started cutting staff because their last 2 months weren't 'as profitable' as the investors would like. This is despite the company growing like a rocket the past 5+ years and raking in money hand over fist.

Mike Pence caught on hot mic delivering empty boxes of PPE for a PR stunt. pic.twitter.com/IduvGhiPwj

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) May 8, 2020

Everything's a con.

Most are essentially doing some version of this (making their own concept), though most probably at least take the recommendations/science into acount to some degree and, of course, are actually way further along towards the other side in the curve/wave/whatever.

Ha! When I saw Pence delivering that PPE yesterday I wondered if those boxes were empty. This administration can't do anything right.

Vice President Pence Delivers PPE to Woodbine Rehabilitation Center | C-SPAN.org

In his defense, it does look like that was a joke and they did deliver some legit boxes in minutes 7-9. The clip comes from about the 9 min mark and he says something about "them (the empties) being a lot easier".

The problem, of course, is that it's totally believable that they would deliver empty boxes to a nursing center that needed PPE. I mean, if the story came out and you had to believe which was true and which wasn't, it's a coin flip. Was he delivering empty boxes because they didn't have any but still wanted the good press? Was he delivering empty boxes to make a scene to try and own the libs after? Was he actually delivering, you know, actual supplies. Who knows?

It goes back to what albionmoonlight said: " But I wonder if it just ever occurred to him to do a good job." And some days you really wonder.

SI

Of course, I now fully expect Trump to get all frothy about this and how it's just another example of the liberal media trying to make him look bad. Never mind that's a late night "funny" man and, again, seems totally on brand for him to do.

SI

I saw a Trump 2020 ad running this morning in D/FW during the Today Show. It was all COVID defense, clips from the media praising Trump and the federal response. Even had Cuomo thanking the federal government.

I would love to see the polling that drove this; is Texas in play or is the administration’s response so bad that even his base needs to be sold on it. Either way it seems like bad news for them. Of course, they have raised a ton of money so maybe they’re just running spots everywhere.

I believe the last few polls show Biden within a point or two of Trump in Texas.

Here is Real Clear Politics:

RealClearPolitics - Election 2020 - Texas: Trump vs. Biden

Of the two polls that came out at the end of April, one showed Biden and Trump tied and the other showed Biden ahead +1 (though that was a Dem poll). So that's likely why the Trump ads.

Trump: Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of the sudden today she tested positive... This is why the whole concept of tests aren’t necessarily great pic.twitter.com/iM9Xo3jddU

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) May 8, 2020

The test will keep an asymptomatic person from infecting others. Seems like the test did what it was supposed to do.

Also feel free to back up your words. Stop testing at the White House if you don't think it works. Be a "warrior".

"...the brown acid that is circulating around us is not specifically too good."

Wife of Stephen Miller. You hate to see it.

So that is 3 people who work at the White House who tested positive in the last 2 days? And they still aren't wearing masks? That's... not a good idea.

Or is it.

That's the most idiodic thing ever. {almost, because this guy is the definition of idiot.}

Trump sending ventilators to Russia after pushing back on the governors:

Trump says he's giving ventilators to Russia's Putin for coronavirus response - Business Insider

He is positive also. Shame

https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...ovid-19-report

11 Secret Service agents tested positive for Covid 19. Yikes!


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Oh and now Ivanka's personal secretary has it. This is going to tear through the White House. Wear masks and stay away from each other, you morons!


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I certainly don't want anybody in the White House to die, and I can't celebrate the fact that knocking out any part of our key leadership positions would probably cost some actual lives....but I will also admit that OH MAN! would it be delicious to watch Trump, Pence or Kushner get personally & directly kicked in the dick by this virus.