I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.
But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)
Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.
Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.
And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
