COVID-19 Update

The straight line projection, based on today's Growth Rate puts the total of Dead Americans at 377,738 by Election Day.

As many as 650,000 dead by year's end - again, if today's growth rate (1.0094) remains steady, and current "efforts" to stem the tide go on as they are.

Top 20 States

Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate as the aid packages for workin' stiffs expired (don't get me started on that shit). 

I guess we could say we should take a moment's pause and see what's going on, what with the fact that Americans are still hurting while Wall Street and the rent-seeking assholes in the carpeted offices make out like bandits, so, "Gee - maybe they feel kinda bad about it and they just wanna think about trying to make it up to us..."

 

Yeah. OK. Settle down.

Anyway, to no ones' surprise, WaPo has a piece about one aspect of this cluster fuck in a burning dumpster on a merry-go-round:

Covid-19 relief programs are riddled with suspected fraud. What’s going on here?

The Trump administration’s standard operating procedure for running the covid-19 disaster relief effort must be: “Put the money on the stump and run like crazy.” It’s hard to draw other conclusions following the release of the Small Business Administration inspector general’s report on potential fraud in the government’s emergency loan and grant program.

Let’s put it this way. If something akin to this purportedly fraud-riddled program had materialized on President Barack Obama’s watch, Republicans in Congress would be calling it a high crime and misdemeanor.

Yes, it’s just that bad.

Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware kicked off his investigation after getting complaints regarding more than 5,000 instances of suspected fraud from financial institutions receiving SBA economic injury loan deposits. After a preliminary review, the IG found “strong indicators of widespread potential fraud.”

With more than $200 billion left in the SBA’s lending kitty, Ware decided to blow the whistle and publicly call for the SBA to take action immediately “to reduce fraud risk and prevent further losses.”

Taxpayers ought to thank goodness for the government’s watchdogs. The loans were approved and disbursed by the SBA under authority provided in the emergency Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (Cares Act), passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in March. The substantial money freed up was intended to serve as a lifeline for small-business owners and their workers across the country reeling in an economy getting pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic.