How do we get rid of racism? Senator Chuck Schumer and his Senate Democrat buddies think throwing $350 billion at it will do the trick. Schumer announced today their plan to hinder “systemic racism” and combat “historic underinvestment” in communities of color. The Economic Justice Act “calls for 10 major investments over the next five years to help communities of color with childcare, health care, jobs programs, infrastructure improvements, and housing assistance,” reported Fox News.
In a statement, Senator Schumer said, “long before the pandemic, long before this recession, long before this year’s protests, structural inequalities have persisted in health care and housing, the economy and education.” How noble for the Senator to say when he has been an elected official since 1981, and only now feels appropriate to get on his high horse and help the communities despite knowing its existence “long before.”
Schumer has a great excuse for his neglect up until now: coronavirus. “COVID-19 has only magnified these injustices and we must confront them with lasting, meaningful solutions that tear down economic and social barriers, and reinvest in historically underserved communities” stated Schumer. Thank goodness COVID opened the Democrats’ eyes to the injustices of underserved communities. What a tragedy Schumer had no idea until…now.
“The Economic Justice Act is a needed step in a long journey to address systematic racism and historic underinvestment in communities of color” added Schumer. It is insulting to those very communities that in Schumer’s statement he admits to “historic underinvestment.” Perhaps this is just another smokescreen by the Democrats who also attempted a $3 trillion HEROES Act for pandemic relief. Democrats have a history of throwing out irrationally large and unsustainable numbers knowing passage is not feasible, then blame Republicans for its failure.
Republicans have, and always have had, the full intention of funding relief packages. As proof, $200 billion of unspent money from the CARES Act signed by Trump in March would be “reprogrammed” and support the proposed Economic Justice Act. “In the short term, the proposal calls for $50 billion in childcare programs, $40 billion for community health care efforts, $25 billion for job training and at-risk youth initiatives, $20 billion for capital and support for small businesses” reported Fox News.
Additionally, Fox News reported of the proposed Act, “The longer-term investment would mean $115 billion in infrastructure such as schools, housing, and broadband access; $40 billion in new homeowner down payment assistance; $30 billion in assistance for renters and low-income housing tax credits, $15 billion to encourage non-expansion states to expand Medicaid coverage and $15 billion for Medicaid to help pregnant moms through one year postpartum.”
