Let Them Eat Cake
In probably one of the most shocking examples of absolute tone deafness (since Donald Trump last opened his yap), billionaire and bottom fisherman Wilbur Ross put on full display the problem within the current infestation of the White House – complete and abject lack of understanding or empathy towards American workers, especially those who happen to be on the federal payroll.
Today, in a jaw dropping moment, Ross, who’s made his money Hoovering up distressed companies and firing people for profit, remarked on CNBC that he didn’t understand why federal employees who’ve been furloughed are going to food banks and homeless shelters. He said they should just be able to go get a loan since it is “essentially a government guaranteed loan”. To add insult to injury, Ross dismissed the crisis, saying that “it’s only 800,000 people who only make up .3% of GDP.” He completely ignores the multiplier effect of those people having no money to spend and the huge risks they’re taking in everything from air transportation to food safety. What an ass. Here it is, but you’ll have to hold your nose to listen.
A candidate for the Great Shortening
1Two varieties surround the ***king moron, morons devoid of a scrap of humanity and ***king morons. Most are equal parts of each type of moron. While parents exert a great deal of influence on development of a child, the schools that foster these monsters should be shuttered before producing more of them. That Betsy DeVile has her hands in education is a scary thought. With all the evil destructive in the Dotard45 maladministration, recovering from this mess will make the recovery from Duyba and Cheney seem simple in comparison.
2I held my nose while I was running for the toilet in order to throw up. I would write what I think of him, but it would have to all be deleted for violating the decency rules.
3Put Wilbur on a Coast Guard icebreaker with some of the unpaid .3%. ….’and Willy was his name-o, and Willy was his name.’
4“who only make up .3% of our economy.”
And thus completely exposes his utter ignorance of the role of government.
How much do police and firefighters add to our economy in dollar amounts? How about NASA, NOAA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard? These are the people that insure the rest of us can make contributions to our economy *no matter what*.
Why is a moron like this fool in our government if he is so ignorant…
5Gov’t contract workers are not being paid, support businesses for workers (i.e., sandwich shops) are losing customers, and so on. The Coasties currently deployed annoy go to the bank and take out a loan.
Let’s take a short section of an existing wall and line these mo-fo’s up against it. They got no heart and no soul.
6@ Mike #1,
I think I have caught your drift. It’s just a matter of time.When people have had enough suffering, hunger and have lost everything, they will react just as they have throughout history.
7Natural-born J.A.C.K.W.A.G.O.N.
8The same morning at her regular Thursday presser, Nancy Pelosi called out the so-called Commerce Secretary:
“Is this the ‘let them eat cake’ kind of attitude, or ‘call your father for money?'”
Bad move, Wilbur. With the House under Democratic control and you being in need of investigation about your money laundering schemes, not smart to Provoke Speaker Pelosi.
9And the narcissist-in-chief’s economic adviser says says furloughed workers are better off cuz they’re getting extra vacation. Lara Trump says federal workers are going through a little pain. Oh I’m sure she understands their suffering. The Donald says he can relate to workers going without pay. Really?? Probably because in business he often did not pay for work performed.
10That’s the Trump (dillusional) World
And who will be paying the interest and fees on these loans should a furloughed employee qualify for one? What if furloughed employees don’t get back wages? I can totally see Individual 1 denying them back pay.
11It’s not just 800,000 employees. It is they and their families which means times the size of the average family which is just over 3.1 which equals 2.48 million directly affected by Trump’s idiocy.
So… more people borrowing money, which means that borrowed money spent, plus the wages spent if they are eventually paid which means a boon for the economy which proves once again Trump is an economics genius. So there.
12Daniel, and it’s not just the federal workers but federal contractors too- who aren’t eligible for back pay.
13Be assured that a walk through the ocean of Wilbur Ross’s soul, would scarcely get your feet wet. He is truly an exemplar of the let them #eatcake Administration.
If you had any questions about whether or not “the cruelty is the point, this should clear that up for you. Bannon said, “I want to bring everything crashing down and destroy all of today’s establishment.” Sounds like it’s working.
14Talk about adding insult to injury. Now he wants people in the hole to pay interest on borrowed money. What dip shit.
15How about the government paying interest on the money they are withholding from federal workers, and time and a half for those who are deemed essential and have to show up regardless? And triple time for the secret service who have to guard you know who? And old Wilbert can pay for it out of his own pocket because this is such a small part of the economy!
160.3%—that’s not so bad. Of course if the 0.3% keeps airplanes from falling from the sky (TSA + air traffic control), and our coastal waters secure (Coast Guard), and our country relatively free of horrific crimes (FBI), then Wilbur might consider consider another occupation other than being the administration’s official horse’s a** (apologies to Mr Ed)…
17So, if government workers take out loans to live on during the shutdown (Do banks give loans to people with no income?), but the shutdown doesn’t end before the loan payments start. how are they supposed to pay back the loans? These entitled, wealthy jackasses have no idea how ordinary people live.
18Let’s not forget – these same guys marketed themselves as protecting the average Joe against the “elites.” Save these clips for 2020 and beyond.
19I heard Wilbur on the radio and almost had to pull the car over.
20They can just get a short term loan against their back pay. What is the interest rate on a short term loan these days, Wilbur? His speech was so slow, I thought he might have died mid sentence. And I would not have been sorry if he had. The absolute lack of common decency and respect for ordinary citizens is rampant throughout this administration. I sincerely hope there is a literal Hell, but I want to watch some of them suffer here on earth first.
We’re all being held hostage to a government shutdown because Donnie can’t get funding for his wall that was supposed to be as he promised paid for by Mexico. Meanwhile his maladministration is the epicenter of the swamp he promised to drain. Bannon, Zinke, Ross, DeVos; all of them are some of the swampiest kleptocrats on the planet. Won’t argue that his base supporters aren’t dog dump st00pid, but dayum how do they manage to walk and talk with all their beyond life support brain damage? “Binders full of women” and that “47%” comment sunk Romney. How is it that Donnie is still afloat?
https://tenor.com/view/stitch-frustration-gif-4802586
https://tenor.com/view/smh-really-shaking-my-head-gif-9549996
21One more thing, the US steel industry is only a slightly larger slice of GDP, 0.6%, and Wilbur Ross was willing to plunge the world into a trade war for their sake. These people….
22The manner in which Wilbur Ross flippantly tosses aside the “only… .3%” makes me wonder what he says about the 99% behind closed doors.
Given his circle of colleagues and associates he probably says it in front of open doors without repercussion.
23I am not a financial whiz, but i still think Ross is a bag of flaming dog shit on a lot of people’s doorsteps. MY prediction is that when (maybe) people get their justly earned money (and insurance, etc) back, they will pay off all those debts in arrears and then park most of the remainder in the bank (or in a mattress). Of course savings will help the banking barons, but not be as helpful as putting it into the economy. Maybe a lot of people will look into setting up an emergency fund, and forego the giant TV, the new car, etc. Basically, this would continue to slow the overall economy by not contributing to business. I am probably stupid about money but that’s what I would do.
24Just wait. Food stamp EBT cards are unfunded and millions won’t be able to feed their families. I fully expect violence, probably first against HHS workers then in the streets. .
25Linda Phipps #24,
I haven’t bought anything in a retail store for years, unless absolutely necessary. Most things I buy come from thrift stores. I keep my funds in a CU, and have never bought a new car. I think it’s awfully hard for working people to save enough for anything. When I look around where I live, the malls have more and more empty stores. And saying that it’s because of the internet, doesn’t take into account our dodgy economy. The car lots are packed to the gills here and I wonder who can afford a new car. The Goodwill stores have full parking lots. If people don’t have adequate living salaries, they’re not going to eat out, buy new cars or retail clothing. YES, Wilbur is a flaming bag of dog shit.
26How many members of this regime own pawn or payday loan businesses? I wonder.
27So,,, I’m all for Congress, Senate and the ENTIRE EXECUTIVE staff immediately not getting paid or having any other perks (sorry no 401K no HEALTH COVERAGE) or having services outside of their workplace. So basically No One gets to travel. No going home. Includes you Orange One and Mommy Dearest and all your freeloading family members. Your spouses can’t travel either. BTW no stipends, no government car and no protection (sorry no one is being paid). You don’t have catered meetings – everyone can order their own damn take out. You want a pad and pen use YOUR OWN PERSONAL CREDIT CARD at Staples.
28Someone needs to check Wilbur’s pulse. He’s only in charge of our country’s commerce. Look at his video again because he looks like a puppet where his wooden head doesn’t move, just his lower jaw. Imagine him in important negotiations about our country’s commerce. Is this a bad dream or what?
29Sadly, many of the people who are furloughed vote republican and will continue to do so.
That is unless someone sits them do and explain that republicans do not care about them, in spite of all of the racist dog whistles they spout about minorities and others who don’t look like them.
Many of them voted for Trump because they hated the black guy who tried to do good for the country.
30I know this is far above Ross’ pay grade [and head] but people in the Senate are beginning to catch on.
The harm that is being done to the federal workers [not to mention the contractors who, unlike the Feds, won’t get reimbursed their back pay] is going to reverberate in their lives for far longer than the next two years.
There may be ‘only’ 800,000 Feds but the contractors number in the millions.
iow, when election time comes around, they’re still going to be trying to catch up. If they’ve managed to hang onto their homes, they’ll be paying late payment fees. Ditto for car payments, utility payments, overdraft fees,
And that doesn’t take into account those who lose their homes, cars, etc.
Come November, 2020, they’ll still be digging out of the hole Donald Trump dug them into and the Senate didn’t pull them out of.
Oops.
31Anybody bother to ask mnuchin or any of the demented ones crew of theives what they did in past in the private sector when a client missed a morgage payment or other scheduled payment.
32Why not have the billionaires and millionaires on doddering dons cabinet committ their wealth to interest free loans for Gov. workers while the shutdown is in progress.
After all like Wilbur Ross has stated that they are a;; good credit “risks” so they will get their mony back
And we all now this crew of frauds would never try to make a profit off of the misery they created.
Gotta ask what the over /under is that demented donnie is stupid enough to start another war and destabilize another region while in the midst of a government (partial) shutdown?
33The present news echos through my memory to exchanges between Noriega and perjurer poppa just before the – technically- fiasco of an invasion. politically indefensible.
I have always felt that there is a certain percentage of the population that only responds to displays of strength.
Strength is defined by the ability to enforce ones will upon another.
Not my definition, but not talking about me.
They responded to babbling drumpf because of his bravado.
Reason and sanity make no impression on these…what?…questionable?…Oh Eric Hoffer-True Believers.
Now Speaker Pelosi and Congress woman Jayapul and her caucus of iconoclastic fresh-people have punctured that illusion of strength and have revealed deep endemic rot in the conservative movement.
The “strength” fans can not support a loser. Not only that but they will start to respond to the voices such as AOC, Elizabeth Warren and the new unashamed voices from the progressive wing.
But like the scorpion of fable they can not be trusted. Their allegiance could switch with one video, verbal stumble.
But what do I know….
34DetroitSam:
35It’d be interesting to know what percentage of the affected workers voted for the Golgothan, and how many still would.
IMHO, the majority of people who did, get their worldview from conservative “media”, and social media, so the ACTUAL fake news.
I only bring it up because I can’t imagine anyone devouring that kinda repugnant propaganda, without realizing that the douchebags putting it out want voters to think that the affected workers are lazy moochers who don’t deserve any consideration from REAL hardworking Americans.
Talk about folks voting against their own self interest.
To anybody who didn’t read it, I highly recommend checking out Sandridge’s comment @15 on the post Giuliani and Tapes.
It applies to this thread as well.
Big time.
It’s an excerpt from Mein Kampf about the most effective ways to control the populace through propaganda.
36Another insight into the chaos our Dictator has created is to damage the reputation of this country, not just abroad, but here as well. Fewer well qualified people will look to federal employment when the factor in the job insecurity. One person I discuss these things with, a federal employee, has pointed out that some of the back pay from other shut downs has yet to be reimbursed. Now our diplomats in Venezuela, who I understand are also not being paid, have been ordered out. Unless they have plane fare, are they to join the caravan working its way through Central America? I probably need a fact check on some of this.
37PS – why do people in the media even think for a second that Lara Trump is interview-worthy?
38Linda Phipps @37
39Thanks for that. One more aspect of the Weaselheaded f**knuggetts’ agenda of destroying the hard-fought legacy our previous public servants secured for us.
The main person that benefits from this goatf**k is Vlad the Donnie Impaler. Democray proved ineffective, inefficient. That’s the narrative. Authoritarians the world over are pushing, citing Trump as the shining example.
I’ve been somewhat bemused by this whole “banks and credit unions will provide loans” narrative. In the first place, it’s not nearly that easy or cut and dried. Withheld wages aren’t the best collateral. But more basically, in the GOP fantasy world of unfettered capitalism, why is the PRIVATE SECTOR expected to step in and cover the government’s shortcomings??
Ain’t that Socialism, or Communism, or some danged thing? Also, Donnie’s sunny confidence that the guys down at the corner grocery will let moneyless families run a tab is beyond delusional.
Any contact anyone in this benighted administration has with reality is purely accidental. They have elevated ignorance and blithe indifference to truly criminal levels. And they should be prosecuted.
40