[kortilla]

That’s not an idea for building, that’s just an idea for the government getting more money. The government clearly doesn’t actually need the money when it cares to do something (based on the stimulus bill and the last decades of deficits).

[covidacct]

From my original post:

Governments DID see this coming, both federal and state. California, at one time, was prepared for exactly this crisis. The 2008 financial crisis wiped out state budgets

[jtbayly]

BS. If they were prepared, where did everything go? CA had lower income so they burned all the PPE and shut down hospitals?

[blarglechien]

I don't know about California but the same kinda shit happened in France. In 2007 our health minister had a bad time because she orderer massive amount of tests, masks, and hydro-alcoolic solutions. It was during SRAS, and at the time for 'nothing'.

All those item were needed 3 weeks ago, but the stock were never fully replenish since. Most of those things are perishable.

WTF.

[nerfhammer]

They scrapped it in 2011

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-27/coronavi...

FWIW CA's tax system is pro-cyclical, because they do tax the richest 1%'s more, but the result is that 1%'s don't make any capital gains in recession years so state tax revenues get obliterated during recessions.

[battery_cowboy]

Storing shit and maintaining it costs money.

[kortilla]

Well they didn’t really see it coming if they sacrificed it over everything else.

[pazimzadeh]

The people should have a share of the proceeds if their tax dollars funded the work.

I don't think printing money is the answer, if I'm understanding you correctly.

[kortilla]

They do get a share already through taxation and it doesn’t matter. Money isn’t a good incentive for the government to care.

[pazimzadeh]

I don't follow. I'm talking about giving people shares or proceeds from projects that were funded with the people's wealth.

[kortilla]

What people? The government (of the people by the people for the people) already receives all of the tax revenue from successful companies. I don’t see a reason to double dip here.