Category Archives: Coronavirus and Bankruptcy

#TrickleUPBailOut

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By Ryan C. Wood

As I sit here pondering my future and the shutdown of San Mateo County, California because of 80 total known coronavirus infections I have some thoughts about how the inevitable bailout should look like. I am sure there are more criteria then what is listed below that are a good idea. The point is no more handouts to multi-billion corporations with the false expectation that the money somehow trickles down to lowest person on the ladder. Do not tease us with a mere $1,000 one-time payment and then give corporations $770 billion or more. Give us the people ALL of the money and let us spend it in support of the economy.

Keep the $1,000 payment proposed for people given that will only pay for my clients’ phone bill, cable bill and maybe there will be some left over for a car payment.  Instead give actual people, you know, the humans living in the United States the money being proposed to be given to corporations.  We all have freedom of choice in a free market right?  Us working people are supposed to choose how to spend our money creating winners and losers in the free market, right?  Trickle down is a joke. CEO takes millions along with upper management then whatever is left goes to page wages that are not even good? 

Do you want to drink water from melted snow thousands of feet high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains or drink water that is left over from trickling down thousands of miles picking up every single harmful thing possible?    

Clearly we need a #TrickleUPBailOut based upon the following criteria: 

  1. #TrickleUpBailout – MONEY TO THE PEOPLE

What I am saying is that hard working tax paying Americans should get the bailout money period.  Then those hard working tax paying Americans can choose what to do with that money.  Keep the proposed $1,000 given I know the amount proposed to be given to corporations spread out over those humans that need it will be far more money. How those in need who receive the billions spend the money in our free market will determine the winners and losers. Not the government choosing which corporations to prop up on the tax payer dime regarding the free market.   There will be winners and loser.  Let our free market and freedom of choice be how we move forward after the coronavirus catastrophe.  That is how it is supposed to work.  Not the other way around.  Please do not give billions of tax payer dollars to a handful of corporations under the guise of too big to fail yet again.  The government is not supposed to create winners and losers.  We have a free market right?  Tax paying hard working voters are supposed to make these decisions right?  Give the bailout money to real people that have hearts, breathe and live, vote, pay taxes and need help given the coronavirus catastrophe.  Do you not trust us to exercise our rights and freedom of choice?   

2. #TrickleUPBailOut – ALL PEOPLE GET THE BAILOUT FUNDS IF THEY QUALIFY

All people that meet the following criteria get the bailout funds regardless of legal status, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ever convicted of a crime or any other way to treat a human different from another human.  Let us start a new normal from the ashes of the coronavirus catastrophe that truly is equal to humans that qualify just because they are simply a human that live and works in the United States.  Disease and natural disasters that hurt humans do not care about any of these things.  Disease and natural disasters do not discriminate; only humans do.   

The application for #TrickleUPBailOut funds will not include a single question about legal status, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ever been convicted of a crime type questions period.

You live here in the United States.  You lived it you get it.         

3. #TrickleUPBailOut – NO BAILOUT FOR TRUST FUND BABIES

Sorry, but it must be said.  Good for you, not hating, but trust fund babies should not get a dime of tax payer money as a result of the coronavirus catastrophe.  Your good already given someone else in your life was able and nice enough to take care of you and provide for your every financial need.  If you are a trust fund baby that has to work to get by in life then that is different of course.      

4. #TrickleUpBailOut – NO BAILOUT MONEY FOR CERTAIN HIGH INCOME EARNERS

I am not going to say a number but we can all agree that someone who has a gross income of $300,000 a year or more does not need any bailout money, period.  I will let other people elected to make such decisions and set a number.  The point is if you make that much money you do not need a bailout.  Bailout money should be reserved for those in need of it most.  There are exceptions of course.  If you lose your job and all income then ……..

5. #TrickleUPBailOut – IF YOU LOSE YOUR JOBE YOU QUALIFY

If you lose your job during the coronavirus catastrophe you automatically qualify, period.  No questions asked.  Lose job = #TrickleUPBailOut money. 

I am sure there are plenty of other criteria that make sense to make sure all bailout tax payer dollars actually go to benefit tax payers that actually need it; period.  These five things are probably just a good start.  The point is why trust some CEO getting paid $30 million a year to decide what to do with tax payer bailout money?  As a bankruptcy attorney I am already fielding calls and the coronavirus has already caused bankruptcy filings.   I am sure there will be more to come, but giving bailout money directly to humans in need may reduce the number of future bankruptcy cases.  Even if bailout funds do not prevent bankruptcy filings who cares?  Taxing paying hard working people are the ones that deserve every penny of any bailout money from the government.      

COVID – 19 Coronavirus Economic Consequences Are Worse Than Medical Consequences

By Ryan C. Wood

Hopefully factually information about the leading causes of death will provide some light and sanity regarding the response to the Coronavirus. In the United States the most dangerous things to you during the Coronavirus hype and hysteria to your health and life are your own eating, exercise habits and then just living life.  Forgive me if I argue the current reaction to COVID-19 is disingenuous. I am also not advocating doing nothing about the Coronavirus. The fact is if 500 people die worldwide each day from the Coronavirus that is still nothing compared to what are the leading causes of death. It is about priorities and the greater good.  If the world and world governments actually cared about your health declarations of emergency should have been issued long ago for the list of leading causes of death that already exist.  Instead billions of dollars are made and the world profits from things that are the leading causes of your death.   Heart disease, then cancer and then accidental death kill about 119,000 people in the United States each month (CDC).  These are the top three things you need to be concerned about yesterday, today and tomorrow. What is the point of quarantine, travel restrictions and hysteria when much more serious and widespread causes of death exist?

How many economic casualties resulting from the Coronavirus hype and hysteria will I as a bankruptcy attorney have to treat by filing bankruptcy for them?

Diarrhea, the 5th worldwide leading cause of death will kill more people worldwide then the Coronavirus ever will.  Google it and read for yourself.  The Center for Disease Control provides 2,195 children, just children, die each day worldwide due to diarrhea.  EACH DAY!!!     

Worldwide preterm birth complications are the 8th leading cause of death. 

I understand much is not known about the Coronavirus. What I have no doubt about is there will be far too many bankruptcy filings due to the Coronavirus hype and hysteria.  The truth is they were probably financially at the teetering point already and then this happened.  Hype and hysteria they had no control over will devastate their financial life.  The same thing is ironically true for those that the Coronavirus is medically harmful to.  The truth is they were probably medically at the teetering point already and then the Coronavirus happened and it killed them.  Their immune system was already compromised.  I hope that I do not have an uptick in business given the hype and hysteria about the Coronavirus.  Nothing at this point leads me to believe there will NOT be far more serious economic devastation than medical devastation resulting from COVID-19.    

Top Ten Causes of Death in the United States

  1. Heart disease: 647,457 a year or 53,955 a month
  2. Cancer: 599,108 or 49,926 a month
  3. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 169,936 or 14,161 a month
  4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 160,201 or 13,351 a month
  5. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 146,383 or 12,198 a month
  6. Alzheimer’s disease: 121,404 or 10,117 a month
  7. Diabetes: 83,564 or 6,694 a month
  8. Influenza and pneumonia: 55,672 or 4,639 a month
  9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,633
  10. Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173

Heart Disease – Leading Cause of Death in the United States

Guess what?  You are your own worst enemy.  Not the Coronavirus or anything you can catch from another human being.  The Center for Disease Control provides the leading causes of heart disease are: diabetes, overweight and obesity, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol.  There should be a declared national emergency about the pandemic of food abuse given the number of people dying.  The food killing 54,000 people in the United States a month that leads to heart disease should be quarantined until people eat healthier food.  Imagine that.  That would be tax dollars well spent to ensure more people in the United States live each year.  People should be quarantined and forced to exercise.  Obviously the government and people are very concerned about your medical wellbeing, right? 

What are the leading causes of diabetes?  Eating habits and lack of exercise; just sayin.

Cancer

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.  The leading causes of cancer are smoking/tobacco, diet and physical activity, sun and other types of radiation and viruses and other infections.  49,926 people in the United States die each month and there is no state of emergency declared.  When will a state of emergency be declared? 

Accidental Death                            

This is the third leading cause of death in the United States.  Wrong place at the wrong time and POW you are dead.  Please think about how you are driving to hoard that toilet paper or other items at the store.  So hey, yeah, do not go to work because of the hype and hysteria but continue to drive like a maniac contributing to the 14,166 accidental deaths in the United States a month.  Or take every crazy precaution possible then get crushed to death by a falling rock in Yosemite National Park.  That is 427 people every day dying.     

Did you known the Center for Disease Control estimates there are 38,000 new HIV/AIDS infection each year in the United States?  That is 3,167 a month.  Why is there no state of emergency?  Why was there no state of emergency declared years ago about HIV/AIDS?

So part of the issue here is how the limited resources we have are used.  Why is the world so concerned about the Coronavirus when millions of people suffer from known leading causes of death each year without such fanfare?  This is nothing new but for some reason a new virus is stealing the headlines.  Is this the new normal?  Who cares about the actual and devastating leading causes of deaths and instead declare states of emergency, initiate quarantines for any new virus?