Dem
52
Ties
3
GOP
45
Yesterday, we had an item about the $90 payments that Donald Trump said he was going to make to 20 million senior citizens. We were skeptical, to say the least, about the political utility of this project.
Within an hour of the blog going live yesterday, we had many e-mails from readers who had received their $90. We wanted to share some of those messages, because we think they are instructive:
M.M. in Monroe, MI: I'm just reading today's posting. I can confirm to you that the $90 Medicare "bribes" are indeed being sent. For some reason, I get my government deposits early and just after midnight I received an e-mail from my bank that I had an early deposit posted for the $90. I checked my banking app and the deposit was there from SSA TREAS. A short time ago I made a $90 contribution to Dr. Amy Acton's campaign for Ohio governor. I actually live in Michigan, but Jocelyn Benson seems to be doing fine here and the contribution would be better utilized by Dr. Acton. I hope many recipients also donate this sad, desperate attempt at a bribe to Democratic candidates and that news that this is happening makes its way to Trump to add to his narcissistic injury.
K.K. in San Diego, CA: Just before reading "Donald Trump Is Getting Desperate, Part I: Policy," I had noticed that my mom had received a mysterious $90 direct deposit from Social Security. Was this what Trump was referring to? I guess that's why Trump would put "Checks" in quote marks.
I'll make sure there's always enough to cover the [inevitable?] later retraction from the bank account.
K.J.O. in Brookdale, NJ: Thank the Lord for Electoral-Vote.com. This morning my spouse and I each received an electronic deposit of $90 from the U.S. Treasury. We both wondered what is this. Since we get our news from banned news sources such as CNN and MS NOW, we somehow missed this story. Imagine our delight, as we read Electoral-Vote.com, to learn this is an unsolicited illegal bribe for our vote from Donald Trump. The Donald needs to know it will take much more that $90 or $5,000 or even $1,000,000 to buy our votes. Although in The Convicted Felon's favor I do approve of taking government funds and redistributing them to poorer citizens.
K.R. in Louisville, CO: Donald's $90 bribe showed up in both my and my husband's accounts yesterday. I'm surprised he didn't check voter registrations as a condition of the payments.
The deposits caused me to have to create a new "income" category in my banking app. I'm calling it "Stupid Trump Ideas."
D.S. in Palo Alto, CA: "Checks" have already appeared in our bank account. One $90 credit was electronically deposited in my checking account for each of my wife and me yesterday. I had to do a network search to determine why this had happened. I'll take it, I guess. Sigh. Illegal or not, I have it and Uncle Sam doesn't, at least for now.
T.B. in Nowata, OK: Surprisingly, $90 showed up in my bank account yesterday. This was another misfire by Trump, obviously rushed through by his team. This is all the information available on the direct deposit:
Nothing promoting Trump, no signature, no smiling or growling, just an entry through SSA, the same as my monthly payment except much smaller. This is proof that the monies are being issued and in my case, to someone who didn't need it and sure as hell won't vote for any Republican this cycle. I would have much rather seen this money go to rural hospitals, since our local one was just closed.
R.C. in Newport News, VA: Yesterday (!), my local credit union showed two ACH transfer deposits for $90 each, presumably one each for my wife and me. They read:
Deposit ACH SSA TREAS 310 TYPE: XXSOC SEC ID: XXXX CO: SSA TREAS 310 Entry Class Code: PPD ACH Trace Number: XXXXThe XXXXs are long identifying numbers I removed. How anyone will associate this entry with voting for a Republican is beyond me. Unless they are political junkies. Note no mention of Medicare premiums, just the Social Security Administration.
Nobody is going to confuse our readership with the attendees at a Trump rally. Nonetheless, we think these reports support our contention that this hasty, paltry payment isn't going to change many hearts or minds. Also, the readers add two things we did not think of in our initial, unimpressed writeup. First, the administration did such a poor job of communicating that many people won't even know what the $90 is for. Second, some people are going to turn around and donate the $90 to Democratic candidates as an act of protest, further muting whatever slight benefit the initiative conveys to the red team.
Oh, and as a bonus, we had a number of readers who wrote in to address our confusion as to why Trump is such a fan of year-round Daylight Savings. Here are a couple of those:
D.G. in Sandwich, NH: In "Donald Trump Is Getting Desperate, Part II: Petulance," you wrote: "We are not sure why Trump has become personally invested in permanent Daylight Savings Time."
Apparently, Trump received a letter dated October 1 from PGA CEO Brian Rolapp urging the president to support the Sunshine Protection Act that prohibits states from deciding whether or not to move clocks once a year. The reason is that moving clocks back would deprive golfers (and golf-course owners) of an hour's worth of tee-time. From Rolapp's letter to Trump:
The National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) estimates that permanent DST would generate 23 million additional rounds per year and $1 billion annually in new direct revenue for the golf industry - an average of $250,000 per facility.Kids going to school in the dark? No problem. Just follow the money.
E.F. in Baltimore, MD: Before he got into the politics business, Trump's main hustle was the golf resort business, primarily because he's always loved the affluent demographic it attracts.
Real golf fanatics love to squeeze in an extra round before heading to the office, but saying you've got a 6:00 a.m. tee-off time makes you sound less important than all those 7:00 a.m. bigshots. Doesn't affect most of the country, but in Florida in the wintertime, it will translate into more rounds of golf being played just after dawn, which puts more money directly into trump's pocket.
Beyond the crass economics, I've always believed that when politicians need to make it look like they're doing something about whatever crisis-du-jour they're incapable of solving, they start monkeying with Daylight Savings Time. Doesn't solve the problem, but it's better than doing nothing. Permanent DST won't bring back $3 gas, but it'll distract us while we revel in not having to change all the clocks.
Ah yes, we forgot the First Rule of Trump, which is, "It's the grift, stupid." And also the Second Rule of Trump, which is, "Hey! Look over there!" The two of you clearly have the right of it on this question; thanks to you and to the others who wrote in to clarify things. (Z)