COVID-19 - READ THE RULES BEFORE REPLYING

[Bombastinator]

19 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Apparently there's some businesses in the US that are telling employees that if they receive a welfare cheque from the government they're going to have the same amount deducted from their pay. I'm sorry but what kind of bullshit is that? How can that possibly be correct? Or even legal?

Correct or legal or can even be done won’t necessarily keep people from saying things or even trying them.  I saw an article recently about the administration attempting to limit the scope of the stimulus.  This could be part of it.  Correct or legal has been under a good deal of fire the last few years.  For one the oversight methodology for the money was deliberately broken by firing the the overseeing person.

[WkdPaul]

38 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Apparently there's some businesses in the US that are telling employees that if they receive a welfare cheque from the government they're going to have the same amount deducted from their pay. I'm sorry but what kind of bullshit is that? How can that possibly be correct? Or even legal?

As @Bombastinator said, it's probably due to the government poor response to the crisis. While I don't like him anymore (because he slowly turned to a ranting channel), you can check Louis's videos about the paycheck protection program, it gives an insight into what some business owners are going through ;

 

 

 

[RonnieOP]

52 minutes ago, wkdpaul said:

As @Bombastinator said, it's probably due to the government poor response to the crisis. While I don't like him anymore (because he slowly turned to a ranting channel), you can check Louis's videos about the paycheck protection program, it gives an insight into what some business owners are going through ;

 

 

 

I get being frustrated. But he cant honestly expect them to have everything iron out in such a short amount of time.

 

The bill is still fresh and theres going to be millions of businesses applying for it and the system is going to be clogged to all hell.

 

The reason alot of programs take a good bit isnt just because government idiots (although that doesnt help lol) but because we live in a world full of fucked up people. If they were just make these things automatic with little to no verification criminals would exploit it left and right. The funds would go in criminal pockets. Not businesses.

 

My biggest grip is on the local level. The federal government is passing bills to help us. But local leaders havent lifted a finger.

 

My small town has a 40 million budget for tourism. Its used only for advertising to tourists. Lawyers came up with some estimates that said if they took about 10 million of it that no business in the city would close.

 

City came back and said it was already being discussed already. Great news right? Nope. They were talking about taking 140k out of the 40 million to help local businesses. And that 140k would also go to city owned property and workers.

 

Im beyond pissed right now. My business should be fine. But 3 have already closed. With more on the way. And the city doesnt give a shit. They are still getting paid and all they say is "stay home". 

 

Sorry for the rant.

 

Edit: also agree about his channel becoming nothing but dumb rants. I unsubbed during the real estate period. 

[WkdPaul]

39 minutes ago, RonnieOP said:

I get being frustrated. But he cant honestly expect them to have everything iron out in such a short amount of time.

 

The bill is still fresh and theres going to be millions of businesses applying for it and the system is going to be clogged to all hell.

 

The reason alot of programs take a good bit isnt just because government idiots (although that doesnt help lol) but because we live in a world full of fucked up people. If they were just make these things automatic with little to no verification criminals would exploit it left and right. The funds would go in criminal pockets. Not businesses.

While I understand that, this is an emergency, and seems other countries (not just Canada) were able to roll similar programs quite rapidly. BTW, I'm not saying it's supposed to be a quick and easy thing to do, just saying it can be done if you have the right people handling it. And Canada wasn't a given, just lookup "Phoenix payroll crisis" or "Phoenix payroll backlog", and you'll see we are just as good when it comes time to fucking things up!

 

As for the frauds, no systems can avoid it, so IMO, you're better with a quick imperfect system that can deliver help rapidly (seems that's what we did since it doesn't ask for proof that you got laid off because of COVID), than a strong fraud proof system that arrives too late.

 

Quote

My biggest grip is on the local level. The federal government is passing bills to help us. But local leaders havent lifted a finger.

 

My small town has a 40 million budget for tourism. Its used only for advertising to tourists. Lawyers came up with some estimates that said if they took about 10 million of it that no business in the city would close.

 

City came back and said it was already being discussed already. Great news right? Nope. They were talking about taking 140k out of the 40 million to help local businesses. And that 140k would also go to city owned property and workers.

 

Im beyond pissed right now. My business should be fine. But 3 have already closed. With more on the way. And the city doesnt give a shit. They are still getting paid and all they say is "stay home". 

 

Sorry for the rant.

Yeah, it seems that's what greed does sadly!  If you check Rossmann clips I linked, the first one is about how Bank of America is adding rules on top of the Federal program to make sure they line their pockets. Not saying businesses should not make money, but screwing over people who need the money for a few % of profits shouldn't be the goal here.

All this isn't going to be free and the government job is to make sure everyone is taken care of, your local gov seems more interested in lining their pockets and that's horrible IMO. Looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better !

 

As you mentioned previously, keeping everyone at home isn't sustainable, especially when they're forcing business to keep employees on the payroll while there's no income. The Federal program Rossmann is talking about is supposed to help the people and business that needs it while making sure the pandemic doesn't get worse and overruns the healthcare system. Let's hope it goes smoother than what Rossmann experienced !! (seriously, check the second vid, he's PISSED, and for good reasons IMO).

[Andreas Lilja]

3 hours ago, wkdpaul said:

So, at least our emergency response benefits has been going much better than what people were expecting (I'm also surprised!)

 

https://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/so-easy-i-thought-it-was-fake-cras-cerb-system-gets-stellar-reviews-in-first-days-of-operation

 

 

For fellow Canadians, if you're getting EI already, you can also qualify for the CERB, here's the link ;

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html

 

 

Business, not just employees, can also receive support ;

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html#businesses

This is not well thought out. People getting way more than they used to (e.g. students), people getting rougly the same and discouraging work. Many companies are hiring. 

 

Also people who make slighly more than CERB and get to work nonetheless. 

[WkdPaul]

8 minutes ago, Andreas Lilja said:

This is not well thought out. People getting way more than they used to (e.g. students), people getting rougly the same and discouraging work. Many companies are hiring. 

 

Also people who make slighly more than CERB and get to work nonetheless. 

I never said this was perfect, but it's better than nothing really. As the name states it's an emergency program, it's money to make sure people can eat and keep a roof over their head, this isn't meant to replace the exact salary people are normally making, this isn't EI.

 

Also, the amount is gross, not net, if you're getting money from that program, it counts as gross income and you'll have to pay taxes on it at the end of the year. This doesn't seem to be common knowledge sadly so I'm guessing some people are going to have a surprise when doing their taxes next year.

[Guest]

A medical analysis of the masks (cotton and surgical ones) effectiveness to stop SARS-CoV-2:

 

https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2764367/effectiveness-surgical-cotton-masks-blocking-sars-cov-2-controlled-comparison

 

I'll jump directly to the conclusion:

Quote

This experiment did not include N95 masks and does not reflect the actual transmission of infection from patients with COVID-19 wearing different types of masks. We do not know whether masks shorten the travel distance of droplets during coughing. Further study is needed to recommend whether face masks decrease transmission of virus from asymptomatic individuals or those with suspected COVID-19 who are not coughing.

In conclusion, both surgical and cotton masks seem to be ineffective in preventing the dissemination of SARS–CoV-2 from the coughs of patients with COVID-19 to the environment and external mask surface.

 

So... It's either an N95 mask or a home made mask with a N95 filter.

 

Expected but still disheartening in a way..

 

[Windows9]

11 minutes ago, Cora_Lie said:

It's either an N95 mask or a home made mask with a N95 filter

Found this filter that filters 99.9 % of stuff instead of 95 like the N95. I think it was a youtube video

[RonnieOP]

1 hour ago, wkdpaul said:

While I understand that, this is an emergency, and seems other countries (not just Canada) were able to roll similar programs quite rapidly. BTW, I'm not saying it's supposed to be a quick and easy thing to do, just saying it can be done if you have the right people handling it. And Canada wasn't a given, just lookup "Phoenix payroll crisis" or "Phoenix payroll backlog", and you'll see we are just as good when it comes time to fucking things up!

 

As for the frauds, no systems can avoid it, so IMO, you're better with a quick imperfect system that can deliver help rapidly (seems that's what we did since it doesn't ask for proof that you got laid off because of COVID), than a strong fraud proof system that arrives too late.

 

 

Oh dont get me wrong. If they make these loans take 2+ minths to get ill be more then pissed. But the time between now and when the bill was passed i dont think is irrational.

 

The stuff with bank of america is bs. And iirc the feds even told them they cant do that but i may be wrong on that.

[Ergroilnin]

2 hours ago, Cora_Lie said:

 

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way saying, that wearing masks is going to completely stop the virus or anything but...

 

Purely logically speaking, sneezes, coughs etc. can make you spit out a big droplets, in a wide range. Sure, the virus and tiny droplets will pass through your everyday mask easily, but the physical barrier will still, again, logically, decrease just how far the droplets get from your mouth.

 

So it still helps in the big picture.

[SpikeSpiegel]

 

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, CalintzJerevinan said:

- video -

[PhantomJaguarr]

When you can’t find it, eat it.

 

 

[RonnieOP]

7 hours ago, wkdpaul said:

I never said this was perfect, but it's better than nothing really. As the name states it's an emergency program, it's money to make sure people can eat and keep a roof over their head, this isn't meant to replace the exact salary people are normally making, this isn't EI.

 

Also, the amount is gross, not net, if you're getting money from that program, it counts as gross income and you'll have to pay taxes on it at the end of the year. This doesn't seem to be common knowledge sadly so I'm guessing some people are going to have a surprise when doing their taxes next year.

Wait. the stimulus checks they are handing out up there are going to be taxed? Im not up there so I didnt pay too much attention to their program but thats pretty surprising to me.

[Falkentyne]

6 minutes ago, RonnieOP said:

Wait. the stimulus checks they are handing out up there are going to be taxed? Im not up there so I didnt pay too much attention to their program but thats pretty surprising to me.

Best to call H&R Block or Turbotax or one of those other companies to find out.

If you're low income however, it's not taxable. 

[RonnieOP]

1 hour ago, Falkentyne said:

Best to call H&R Block or Turbotax or one of those other companies to find out.

If you're low income however, it's not taxable. 

The stimulus check in the states isnt taxable at all. Of course if you earn to much you dont get one to begin with.

 

I was just surprised that they were going to ask people to declare it up there.

[mr moose]

1 hour ago, RonnieOP said:

The stimulus check in the states isnt taxable at all. Of course if you earn to much you dont get one to begin with.

 

I was just surprised that they were going to ask people to declare it up there.

 

Canada is a bit like Australia where it considers all forms of income taxable (with the exception of FTB in Australia and some pensions).  They do this because income varies a lot when you are casual or between jobs etc.  We have a taxable threshold and mostly these payments aren't enough to breach it so you won't actually pay taxes on them unless you get a job or have some other win fall on top.  They do that so you can get the benefits when you need them and if the issue is ongoing you don't pay tax on them.

[RonnieOP]

Just now, mr moose said:

 

Canada is a bit like Australia where it considers all forms of income taxable (with the exception of FTB in Australia and some pensions).  They do this because income varies a lot when you are casual or between jobs etc.  We have a taxable threshold and mostly these payments aren't enough to breach it so you won't actually pay taxes on them unless you get a job or have some other win fall on top.  They do that so you can get the benefits when you need them and if the issue is ongoing you don't pay tax on them.

Yeah I have no clue how taxes work elsewhere.

 

Here its basically if you make 99k or less you get the check and you dont have to put it on your taxes. Usually all forms of income here are taxed but thie check and iirc the 2008 check both didnt have to be claimed.

 

I actually just found out today that im actually going to get one. I thought i was disqualified but i was reading the terms wrong originally.

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, mr moose said:

 

Canada is a bit like Australia where it considers all forms of income taxable (with the exception of FTB in Australia and some pensions).  They do this because income varies a lot when you are casual or between jobs etc.  We have a taxable threshold and mostly these payments aren't enough to breach it so you won't actually pay taxes on them unless you get a job or have some other win fall on top.  They do that so you can get the benefits when you need them and if the issue is ongoing you don't pay tax on them.

There have always been some exceptions in the US.  The result is more often than not massive abuse.  One of the most famous ones is county sherrifs.  There was a law passed during the desperation of the Great Depression that said that money for housing prisoners is to be paid to the sherif and he then pays to house the prisoners.  This money is not taxable and there is NO oversight.  Most states abolished it, but a few didn’t.  They are easy to spot if you look at prison numbers.  In those states the sherif generally houses every inmate in the area and skims.  It’s so incredibly profitable that one some years ago ran into some sort of difficulty where he couldn’t use public funds directly to pay for his house, as they usually do, and bought a mansion with cash because it was more convenient.  That year he was the highest tax payer in the state because he had to expose and be taxed on the income he paid for the mansion with.  The only glimpse that the public ever gets of just how much money flows through that loop hole.  Sherrifs in these few remaining states are famous for running the most brutal and underfunded prisons in America.

[atxcyclist]

13 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

There have always been some exceptions in the US.  The result is more often than not massive abuse.  One of the most famous ones is county sherrifs.  There was a law passed during the desperation of the Great Depression that said that money for housing prisoners is to be paid to the sherif and he then pays to house the prisoners.  This money is not taxable and there is NO oversight.  Most states abolished it, but a few didn’t.  They are easy to spot if you look at prison numbers.  In those states the sherif generally houses every inmate in the area and skims.  It’s so incredibly profitable that one some years ago ran into some sort of difficulty where he couldn’t use public funds directly to pay for his house, as they usually do, and bought a mansion with cash because it was more convenient.  That year he was the highest tax payer in the state because he had to expose and be taxed on the income he paid for the mansion with.  The only glimpse that the public ever gets of just how much money flows through that loop hole.  Sherrifs in these few remaining states are famous for running the most brutal and underfunded prisons in America.

Many correctional facilities in this country really are hives of scum and villainy, and that's excluding the prisoners.

[PhantomJaguarr]

I’m spending a decent amount on delicious home chef brand meals at work. Hey It is recorded when you first get the virus you lose your sense of smell and taste. Since I’m out in the public almost every day I’m enjoying what I can.

[Theminecraftaddict555]

I've been hearing about this 99% of corona deaths in Italy not actually being linked to corona itself but to some other illnesses that the victims already had. Can anybody confirm this at all? 

 

Edit: Found the study but its not in english whatsoever (now allowed to translate it in english for some reason) https://www.epicentro.iss.it/coronavirus/bollettino/Report-COVID-2019_17_marzo-v2.pdf

[RonnieOP]

4 hours ago, Theminecraftaddict555 said:

I've been hearing about this 99% of corona deaths in Italy not actually being linked to corona itself but to some other illnesses that the victims already had. Can anybody confirm this at all? 

 

Edit: Found the study but its not in english whatsoever (now allowed to translate it in english for some reason) https://www.epicentro.iss.it/coronavirus/bollettino/Report-COVID-2019_17_marzo-v2.pdf

Thats part of the issue with getting accurate data.

 

A crap load of people die everyday, virus or not,. So some areas wont count a heart attack death as a corona death even if the patient did have it. And then some will report it as a corona death even if they are not sure it was the virus that killed them or something like a heart attack that wasnt due to the virus.

 

[DanTheMuffinMan]

Anyone know when Ontario non-essential businesses are supposed to actually re-open? Is it really April 14th? So much conflicting info out there.

[Bombastinator]

5 minutes ago, DanTheMuffinMan said:

Anyone know when Ontario non-essential businesses are supposed to actually re-open? Is it really April 14th? So much conflicting info out there.

Seems variable.  Minnesota reopen got pushed out a month into May.