{"id":11759,"date":"2021-03-10T01:30:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T09:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11759"},"modified":"2021-03-21T21:03:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T04:03:39","slug":"message-of-the-day-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11759","title":{"rendered":"Message of the Day: Disease, Economic Opportunity, Hunger, Human rights, Personal Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Congress Clears $1.9 Trillion Aid Bill<\/em>, The New York Times, March 11, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today, The American Rescue Plan for Covid relief and its economic and social devastation, further revealing and increasing decades of inequality and economic brutality, passed Congress and will be signed by President Biden into law. It may be the beginning of rescuing America from a precipice of threat to democracy and decades of inequality and insecurity.<\/p>\n

May be.<\/p>\n

A beginning.<\/p>\n

But the historic nature of taking a new fork in the road back to the future is unquestionable.<\/p>\n

No legislation like this has been passed since the Great Society heyday of the mid-1960’s in LBJ’s expansion of FDR’s New Deal. The ongoing movement during that time for increasing equality and security for all, underpinning the most prosperous and secure society of the great majority of people in history, with the remnants of classism, racism and sexism in striking distance of being overcome.<\/p>\n

We’ve covered these issues and what changed and what needs to change, not just back, but forward, multidimensionally, for decades.<\/p>\n

A further commentary on the past year and in our ongoing commentary on civilization is coming.<\/p>\n

For now, we note that the moment of the end of 2020 and a new meaning and course established in 2021 may be at the pivot. Even after the near miss of democracy’s murder on January 6. Even after the second impeachment trial\u00a0for the only time in history<\/em> of the same president, and the only time in history seven members of the party of the impeached president voted to convict (after the first time in history that even one voted to convict in the last impeachment.) Even after the moment virtually all the Republicans in the Senate had had it for five minutes after they and their families were threatened with being killed (and others were killed) and had an impeachment and trial happened in 48 hours a conviction would likely have occurred. Even after the whiplash of return to the cult leader dynamic with cowering politician devotees. Even with a majority of one as a tie-breaker in the Congress for the Democrats. Biden and the Democrats, despite some significant differences, saw the moment, stayed unified and passed the most consequential change in American policy and society for decades.<\/p>\n

The Covid relief bill was passed on the eve of the first anniversary of the day the pandemic was officially declared by the World Health Organization, March 11, 2020.<\/p>\n

A measure of time and space ago immeasurable.<\/p>\n

So we start with the basics today. The two front-page articles that will appear tomorrow March 11 in the New York Times, “Congress Clears $1.9 Trillion Aid Bill, Sending It to Biden”<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0“With Relief Plan, Biden Takes on a New Role: Crusader for the Poor”<\/a>,\u00a0and the bold prediction, “Joe Biden Is a Transformational President”<\/a>,\u00a0although well-thought out for some time, by the widely known and respected moderate and opinion writer at the Times, David Brooks.<\/p>\n

As Robert Frost read at John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961:<\/p>\n

“But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be back to all this.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the historic news of the day:<\/p>\n

“Congress Clears $1.9 Trillion Aid Bill, Sending It to Biden”<\/a><\/p>\n

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By <\/span>Emily Cochrane, The New York Times, March 10, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

The sweeping legislation had no support from Republican lawmakers, who called it bloated and unaffordable. It will deliver emergency aid and broader assistance to low- and middle-income Americans.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is the most consequential legislation that many of us will ever be a party to,\u201d Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said after the bill\u2019s passage.<\/span>Credit…<\/span>Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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WASHINGTON \u2014 Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to President Biden\u2019s sweeping, nearly $1.9 trillion stimulus package<\/a>, as Democrats acted over unified Republican opposition to push through an emergency pandemic aid plan that carries out a vast expansion of the country\u2019s social safety net.<\/p>\n

By a vote of 220 to 211, the House sent the measure to Mr. Biden for his signature, cementing one of the largest injections of federal aid since the Great Depression. It would provide another round of direct payments for Americans, an extension of federal jobless benefits and billions of dollars to distribute coronavirus vaccines and provide relief for schools, states, tribal governments and small businesses struggling during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation \u2014 the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going \u2014 a fighting chance,\u201d Mr. Biden said in a statement. He said he looked forward to signing what he called a \u201chistoric piece of legislation\u201d on Friday at the White House.<\/p>\n

The vote capped off a swift push by Mr. Biden and Democrats, newly in control of both chambers of Congress and the White House, to address the toll of the coronavirus pandemic and begin putting in place their broader economic agenda. The bill is estimated to slash poverty by a third this year and potentially cut child poverty in half<\/a>, with expansions of tax credits, food aid and rental and mortgage assistance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n