While a good portion of the U.S. is getting a $1,200 stimulus relief check, big airlines are getting bailed out with $25 billion in payroll grants amid the massive novel coronavirus outbreak. And the airlines that donated to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign are getting their greedy little hands on that cash first.
Delta, American, JetBlue, Southwest, and others said they reached deals with the Treasury Department on Tuesday, CNBC reports. TrumpBailouts.org is keeping track of ties to Trump, and the bailout money corporations are raking in, and the aforementioned airlines have donated hefty sums to the president’s bid for reelection.
American Airlines gave $264,366 to Trump’s reelection campaign, and it is getting $5.8 billion for a bailout. Southwest Airlines coughed up $125,655 for the president’s reelection effort, and it is set to receive $3.2 billion in bailout money. JetBlue gave $42,000 to help Trump get reelected, and it is set to receive just under $1 billion in bailout money.
TrumpBailouts explains the reason for their efforts in tracking down ties to Trump and the corporations he’s bailing out with our tax dollars.
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“TrumpBailouts.org was created by government watchdog Accountable.US Action to keep the public informed of the administration’s efforts to bail out billion-dollar corporations as the needs of newly unemployed American workers and struggling families continue to compound,” the site reads.
“For bailout applicants, there was no consideration for how many billions of dollars in quarterly profits they had recently posted. No limit on how many millions of dollars they pay their CEOs,” it continues. “No considerations for how many dividends they have paid out to shareholders or profits they wasted on stock buybacks to boost their share price, even in the middle of this crisis. No consideration for how much they benefited from the 2017 Trump tax cuts directed at the largest corporations.”
The bailout sounds very similar to the Republican tax giveaway to the wealthiest; the middle class and the most vulnerable Americans were left out while rich people were gifted with buckets of money. The thing is, though, that stimulus check we’re all getting is our money, not Trump’s. And the corporate bailout comes from our pockets, too. And somehow, Trump got something out of the deal. He always does.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
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