[hueving]

>It's ridiculous that Google has to

It doesn't have to. This is a choice Google is making on how it wants to conduct charity.

>The federal government should be providing interest-free working capital and guaranteeing the sale of every glove and mask

Sale at what price? It has to be bounded or else it sounds ripe for fraud (people are monsters).

> anyone can produce.

So is the loan for anyone that wants it? Or just for companies that have proven they can make gloves and masks? If the former, what stops people from just using the loan to fund salaries while making a ritual display of making masks for a few months and then declaring bankruptcy after collecting salaries during that time?

[blackguardx]

I think you are misunderstanding the parent's point. The basic gist is that any glove, mask, and ventilator manufacturer should at the very least get immediate working capital loans/grants from the government to expand production.

Guaranteeing the sale means that the manufacturer will assume no risk for overproduction. The price would be whatever the prevailing market price was before the crisis or maybe with a slight premium.

In essence, the government should remove all business risk for manufacturers of needed equipment.

[kortilla]

What makes you think this is not already the case?

[AaronFriel]

The government can, in an emergency like this, set prices. They could set prices at the previous price for bulk PPE and order companies to fulfill it and if they refuse, eminent domain them and sell them to someone who will.

As much as this will annoy civil libertarians, the powers of the state are vast and in emergencies should be used to protect people when justifiable and without harming people. The takings clause will ensure that whatever companies are affected will be monetarily compensated and they have recourse through our courts.

[throwaway_USD]

>This is a choice Google is making on how it wants to conduct charity.

Maybe they should choose not to maximize tax avoidance instead.