WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday the government should take an equity stake in some companies that need bailouts because of devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. economy.
Such a move could be an extraordinary reach by government into the private sector. He said he’d specifically target companies that did stock buybacks, rather than investing in infrastructure.
Something every critic of his tax policies said would happen, and something every member of his economics team denied would happen.
Larry Kudlow, the Financial Advisor to the Tsars, did say there’s never been a better time to buy. They’d be fools to ignore his infallible advice, not that they aren’t fools already mind you.
He said he’d specifically target companies that did stock buybacks, rather than investing in infrastructure. Trump also said he’d back restrictions on executive bonuses and future buybacks from companies receiving federal support.
Another Trump adulation session blindly covered by the media, with little accurate COVID-19 updates. I had to turn the radio off.
Chloroquine (“or hydroxychloroquine, as some people say” -President Dufus) is an old 1930s anti-malarial drug used in some anti-viral applications. It has a good safety profile, with some contraindications. In very small preliminary 30 to 100 patient French and Chinese studies (not blinded or randomized), it appeared to significantly reduce COVID-19 severity and hospitalization.
Hydroxychloroquine is reported to be more potent than chloroquine.
“That’s where the FDA has been so great,” Dufus said. “They’ve gone through the approval process, it’s been approved. They took it down from many, many months to immediate, so we’re going to be able to make that drug available by prescription.”
False. The FDA had to correct Dufus. Not approved. Under study, although some physicians in China, Italy, and France are reporting positive results.
Pelosi needs to hold firm on NOT bailing out industries that have funded Trump. Casinos and cruise ship industries need to get the middle finger. Perhaps Winn and Alderson can ask for the hundreds of millions they gave Trump back…
And other industries that did not plan, and rewarded insiders and investors (e.g. every airline except Alaska and Delta) should only get a bail out if they agree to give up a percentage ownership that is equal to the amount of free cash flow % they spent over the last 10 years on executive bonuses AND buy backs. E.g. Again using United, well they spend over 80% of free cash flow on buy backs, so they need to give the US treasury warrants for 80% (and more for their executive bonuses) of the company.
On a serious note, I really wish that the media, etc would quit calling this “socialism” what it is is authoritarian-fascist clientism. Businesses rip off people, and then having supported the “leader” are rewarded with favors.
Putin is NOT a socialist or a communist, he is an authoritarian-fascist. So is Xi in his relationship with China, Inc.
Basically the only places that are actually “socialist” are North Korea, Cuba, and to some extent (with some big state owned companies, China)