[Peace-discuss] Where Coronavirus and capitalism mix: poverty makes us all less safe

[J.B. Nicholson]

You're as free from risk of getting communicable disease or infection as the least 
healthy person around you. Therefore we all need Medicare for All and nobody (not 
even older people who already have Medicare) can afford to take the attitude of "I've 
got mine, I'm okay".

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/23/most-americans-dont-have-the-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html 
-- "A $1,000 emergency would push many Americans into debt"

> * Most people would be in a bind if they missed even one paycheck.
> 
> * Just 40 percent of Americans could pay an unexpected $1,000 expense, such as an
> emergency room visit or car repair, with their savings, according to a survey from
> Bankrate.

This article dates back to the long government shutdown of January 2019 but the 
conclusions are still apt:

> Hundreds of thousands of people are living without a paycheck amid the longest
> government shutdown in history.
> 
> As a result, federal employees and contractors are digging into their retirement
> savings, filing for unemployment, picking up other jobs and unable to meet their
> rent or mortgage payments.
> 
> Most people would be in the same bind if they missed even one pay period.
> 
> Just 40 percent of Americans are able to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, such
> as an emergency room visit or car repair, with their savings, according to a
> survey from personal finance website Bankrate.
> 
> Instead, many would put the expense on their credit card or take a personal loan.
> (More than 1,000 people were interviewed in early January).

Now imagine how much more worse things get for the poor as time goes on and the 
continuity of national policy continues apace. Apparently we've got the ability and 
willingness to bail out the banks for $1.5T (with no Congressional review in part 
because Congress passed a bill into law to make this happen) but nothing for the poor.

How bad do things have to get before you're ready to break from the system that 
delivered these outcomes to you and your fellow citizens?