Back in the \u201cbefore times\u201d when we went out to dinner at restaurants, my wife and I always had discussions about how much to tip the servers. I was pretty much a twenty-percent guy unless something extraordinary happened. It seemed fair, and easy to figure: move the decimal and double the amount. No calculators needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My wife worked in the food service industry at one point in her life. So she\u2019d lobby for a bigger tip almost every time, and occasionally throw in extra no matter what I considered fair. It was never worth too much discussion. We both realized that people worked hard so we could enjoy our meal, and more tip was better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when I coached I often had my athletes out to dinner. I made sure to discuss with them what an appropriate tip would be. After the meal, I\u2019d glance around the table. If I saw that the server was shorted, I made sure to make up for my skimpy tipping charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there were those rare times when things were awful. The service, food, or the server: what should we do about the tip in that kind of situation? If you didn\u2019t leave a tip at all, then there was always the question, \u201cdid the customer forget?\u201d Some folks solve that problem by leaving the most insulting tip of all: one penny. That way, the server knew the service was intolerable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not how I would do it. The manager and I would have already had a discussion before I reached the \u201cpenny tip\u201d stage \u2013 waiting until the end is far too passive\/aggressive. Sitting through an entire meal frustrated and angry without complaint was not my style. And as I got older, I got more than willing to voice my criticisms. I guess I\u2019ve become that guy (I think it was my Dad).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The COVID pandemic created one of the worst economic crises in American history. In spite of what the President continues to say, there are still over 11 million Americans who have not gone back to work. And the number suffering is even greater, as restaurants try to survive at 50% occupancy, and millions have \u201cleft\u201d the workforce and stopped looking for employment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Congressional reaction to the pandemic in April was reasonable. Money was put into the industries that were obviously damaged: transportation, entertainment, and education to name a few. Unemployment, usually half of what employment paid at best, was supplemented by a $600\/week stipend. And most Americans got a $1200 \u201ctax refund\u201d that wasn\u2019t going to impact 2020 taxes. It was all the right things to mitigate the damages done by a nation slowed to a crawl by pandemic control efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in May, it became clear that \u201cthe economy\u201d was the only way that Republicans could win the November election. The United States \u201chad\u201d to recover, and the only way was to force states to \u201cre-open\u201d, despite the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. So Republican Governors opened their states, and Democratic Governors and Mayors were faced with Federal pressure to open, \u201cor else\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting folks to go back to work in a pandemic required them to face financial pressure. If they didn\u2019t have other alternatives, any protective relief packages, then most would find a way to make money, COVID or no. So the United States Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, decided that there was no need for additional COVID relief. They adjourned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic House of Representatives passed a massive COVID relief package. The original plan was over $3 Trillion in spending. That included more PPP (payroll protection plan), extended unemployment supplements, massive aid to public education institutions for COVID protection and testing and another \u201ctax rebate\u201d. The Democratic plan was to spend enough to keep stimulating the economy, while making it safer for the \u201cessential workers\u201d, the ones working because they had to, pandemic or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McConnell found that at least twenty Republican Senators refused to negotiate any COVID relief at all. That left him needing Senate Democrats to get any kind of relief passed. Instead of negotiating with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the House passed package already on his desk, McConnell refused to even discuss the issue. He passed the negotiating over to the White House. Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Speaker Pelosi were left to find some solution, while McConnell reserved the right to \u201cveto\u201d any agreement they reached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summer dragged on, with no COVID-relief in sight. Pelosi, in order to further the process, passed a slimmed down $2.4 Trillion package. But the Senate still failed to take any action. When the Senate returned in September, McConnell\u2019s sole focus was getting the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg\u2019s Supreme Court seat filled. That process has moved along at an extremely fast pace, with Judge Amy Coney Barrett likely to be approved by a narrow margin next week. But as far as COVID-relief is concerned, the Senate remained silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday, two weeks before the election, Senator McConnell put a $500 Billion package on the Senate floor for consideration. He\u2019s forced a vote \u201cfor the record\u201d. Republicans can vote for this \u201cskinny bill\u201d and go home to close their campaigns. They can claim that \u201cthey wanted relief\u201d. Democrats, knowing that it\u2019s not enough, will have to choose. Either vote down the \u201cskinny bill\u201d and face charges of not caring about \u201ccommon people\u201d, or vote for a bill that simply isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leader McConnell and the Senate Republicans are offering a \u201cpenny tip\u201d. They are making sure we know that they considered COVID-relief, but really aren\u2019t interested in doing much about it. McConnell knows that $500 billion isn\u2019t enough, and not likely to pass the House of Representatives anyway. It\u2019s just another insult to the people who are really serving this country \u2013 going out in a pandemic world to do their job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Democrats and Speaker Pelosi are responding to McConnell\u2019s offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep the penny.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"