US: $2000 a month petition sails past milestone of 3 million signatures

[Resurgence]

Now past 3 million signatures, another goal has been set at 4.5 million signatures.




Petition creator Stephanie Bonin wrote:

My name is Stephanie, and I am one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis. With businesses and schools closing across the country to control the spread of this virus, many people have already lost their jobs. Others are being forced to stay home.

This is catastrophic for working families like mine.

I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis. Otherwise, laid-off workers, furloughed workers, the self-employed, and workers dealing with reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table.

My husband and I own a restaurant in Denver and these past two weeks have been a blur. Our restaurant community is wrestling with seeing everything we all have worked so hard for irrevocably changed. Our hearts were breaking as we watched our staff divide the ingredients in our kitchen to bring to their homes: a dismal token for employees who worked tirelessly every day. Our talented and cherished team, some of whom have been with us since we opened our doors 15 years ago, are now without an income. Like our team, my family has lost all of the income from our restaurant, and business owners and the self-employed can't claim unemployment. This is the story of America right now.

For our team and other Americans who can claim unemployment, even the maximum payments will not be enough for most people to continue paying their bills – and avoid slipping into poverty. The facts are, even successful small businesses can’t go months with their doors closed.

But supplying Americans with monthly support until they can get back on their feet can save our communities from financial ruin.

We need immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water. Congress needs to make sure that we won’t be left financially ruined for doing our part to keep the country healthy.

*UPDATE: Our country is still deeply struggling. The recovery hasn’t reached many Americans – the true unemployment rate for low-wage workers is estimated at over 20% and many people face large debts from last year for things like utilities, rent and child care. These are all reasons that checks need to be targeted to people who are still struggling and that Congress needs to learn from this past year. It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it. Moving forward Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met. No more waiting around for our government to send the help we need. Sign to join our movement to get recurring checks to the people.

The petition address:

https://www.change.org/p/give-2000-month...le-covid19

[maskaw]

https://usdebtclock.org/

[Resurgence]

https://usdebtclock.org/

While you reflect on US fiscal responsibility, consider this:


The Pentagon spent $14 trillion after 9/11. Up to half of it went to for-profit defense contractors.

Published: September 13, 2021



The US military has spent $14 trillion since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, with nearly $7 trillion of that total going to for-profit defense contractors, according to a new study from Brown University's Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs.

The American government massively ramped up defense spending following the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings to support the "Global War on Terror" — including the invasion of Afghanistan —started by former President George W. Bush. The Brown University study found that the Pentagon's budget grew more than 10% in the first year after 9/11 occurred.

Another recent report from Brown University's Costs of War Project found that the pricetag for the global war on terror stands at over $8 trillion. The report attributes $2.3 trillion to the Afghanistan and Pakistan war zone, $2.1 trillion to the Iraq and Syria war zone, and $355 billion to other war zones. The war on terror has claimed up to 929,000 lives, including over 7,000 US service members and at least 387,072 civilians, the report said.

"What have we truly accomplished in 20 years of post 9/11 wars, and at what price?" Dr. Stephanie Savell, co-director of the Costs of War Project, said in a statement on the new report. "Twenty years from now, we'll still be reckoning with the high societal costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars – long after US forces are gone."



https://www.businessinsider.com/us-spent...911-2021-9