Donald Trump has certainly pulled a lot of startling stunts out of his hat since this coronavirus pandemic kicked off several weeks ago. But perhaps the most eyeball-bulging of them all was his blatant reluctance to implement the Defense Production Act — a law hailing from 1950 that allows the federal government to direct companies to meet the dire needs of the country, which would be medical equipment at present time.
While the law was primarily geared towards war, it certainly applies during a pandemic, as well and medical staff, hospitals, and local governments have been literally begging Trump to invoke the act and allow for emergency production to begin for weeks now as they quickly run out of life-saving equipment such as ventilators, gloves, and masks resulting in lost lives and infected medical personal.
Yet Donald still seemed less than inclined to make it happen. And now it seems as though the New York Times has discovered why.
In a bombshell new report, the Times writes, “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the heads of major corporations have lobbied the administration against using the act. They say the move could prove counterproductive, imposing red tape on companies precisely when they need flexibility to deal with closed borders and shuttered factories.” Evidently, Trump, Lawrence Kudlow, and Jared Kushner all bought the corporations’ sob stories.
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Of course, when you think about it, it’s not all that surprising. Not surprising at all, really. These are people that peddled tax cuts to the 1 percent and tout firm support for trickle-down economics despite the fact that they simply don’t work. These are some of the same people who’d rather give corporations bailouts than to provide disaster relief to the American people, some of whom are literally starving as a result of a pandemic that’s all but Donald Trump’s fault, to begin with.
It’s certainly not surprising that he’s far more inclined to further line the pockets of those who line his than to implement an action that would most assuredly save thousands of lives.
That’s simply how he is.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
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