It’s Christmas week, so I’m going to keep my blog relatively short. You’ve got places to go; people to see; things to do. Oops, COVID. Forget about all that. We are supposed to hunker down; stay at home; be alone.
Okay, my advice. Use your common sense. Yes, social distance. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Get the vaccine when it’s available to you. Be safe. Be smart. But let’s still try to enjoy Christmas – the birth of Our Lord.
Well, Congress finally got its act together. Another much-anticipated COVID relief bill, which Nancy Pelosi had been holding up for months now because she didn’t want President Trump to get any credit he might use in his reelection effort, has finally passed. I voted FOR it. Here are the highlights.
The cost is approximately $900 billion – obviously a lot of money. The Dems originally pushed for $3.3 trillion package, so this one is less than a third of that.
It gives America’s hardest hit small businesses a chance at a second round of PPP loans. More money for COVID testing, and for making the vaccine available to essentially every American. Money for reopening schools as safely as possible. Money for child care, and for substance abuse, which has been on the rise as more people are hunkered down at home. Money for transit, highways, buses and airports. $300 per week federal unemployment payments, on top of what the states already do. $600 stimulus checks per adult and child dependent. There’s more, but these are the key provisions.
I said I’d keep this week’s blog short, so I’ll stop there. And conclude with – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Next week I’ll give you my predictions for the upcoming year.