The Montoya Minute 04.06.20
Unemployment for gig workers, Families first act, Trump on his bullshit, who got a bailout and why, Yts and their bioweapons, zoom is malaware, and viva los farm workers!
Hey ya’ll I hope you’re hanging in there. SO, with the onset of Rona I’ve decided to make a few shifts. I’m going to be including summaries to make reading a little easier. I’m also going to add more sections and resources as per your request. Let’s see what it do!
CNBC: Unemployment benefits for gig and self-employed workers stalled by confusion, delays
The $2 trillion coronavirus relief act expanded financial assistance to previously ineligible workers, which include freelancers; workers in the gig economy, and independent contractors. They can now apply for unemployment benefits, but there have been delays since it is apparently confusing af to fill out and it’s not happening in all states--yet. State’s are also awaiting for final word from the U.S. Labor Department around new unemployment rules.
Non-governmental organizations acted faster in providing funding for self-employed individuals then the actual government.
Just shows how inefficient and unprepared the government was even though they knew since 2019 Rona was coming.
ABC11: Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Here's how the new paid sick leave requirements work
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is requiring some public and private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19 starting on April 1 and only if they are eligible. Depending on the circumstances at the business, you’ll be able to see if you’re able to apply or not.
If a business is temporarily closed to help with social distancing people can’t apply for paid time off.
If hours have been shortened, individuals can also not apply for the benefits. The FFCRA does list qualifying reasons for leave, the duration of leave, and the calculation of pay.
It’s crazy that we’re only now getting paid leave and benefits. But the real question is will these remain in place after Corona?
NBCNEWS: Trump rollback of mileage standards guts climate change push
While the world is paying attention to the coronavirus, the Trump administration released a final rule on mileage standards through 2026. According to Chet France (former 39-year veteran of the EPA), the administration is pursuing a policy that’s going to have a negative impact on public health. Rather than ramping up production of electric vehicles and more fuel-efficient gas and diesel vehicles, the policy will be in favor of American consumers continuing to buy less fuel-efficient SUVS (which is seen to be the popular purchase of vehicles of Americans at this time). States and environmental groups will likely challenge the rule. It’ll take 1 to 3 years to get a final decision on which guidelines will be followed.
We have 12 years to get our shit together for the sake of the environment and this is what our “leader” is doing.
This government and all governments need to stop propping up the oil industry.
Politico: Who got special deals in the stimulus and why
The $2 trillion “economic rescue package” *cough cough hand out* is the largest in American history. It’s a win for home state industries and special interest projects. The deals include:
The travel agents relief: the ability to apply for $25 billion in loans and loan guarantees reserved for the airlines.
Better faster sunscreen: a lobby brought to you by L’oreal with language ensuring that the FDA reviews newer and more novel ingredients for over-the-counter sunscreen products in a timely fashion.
Equity for small states: provide $150 billion for state and local governments.
job security for military brass: permits Trump to extend the terms of up to seven senior military leaders.
Credit reporting industry: consumers wouldn't get a negative credit report if they have an agreement with a lender to delay payments or make partial payments.
Student loan tax boom: under the bill, a company could pay up to $5,250 of an employee’s student loan payments each year on a tax-free basis. (If you’re a w-2 employee and you haven't been laid off, and you renegotiate your interest rates, and you have less than 40k in loans maybe this will be helpful. If my employer did this it would take 15 years for them to pay my loans off.)
Casinos: allowed to apply for portions of the $350 billion in Small Business Administration loans if they’re a small business and need less than $10 million. Larger casinos can apply for $454 billion in loans backed by the Treasury. (I dgaf about a Casino rn wtf)
Free video visitation in prison: free video conference and phone calls for inmates during the pandemic. (Free calls? They’re in there DYING! Let them out!)
Harbor dredging help: includes language making it easier for Congress to dole out money for harbor dredging by exempting from discretionary spending caps the Army Corps of Engineers funding provided through the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (Ok but like whyyy? Why now?)
Relief for farmers: provides $9.5 billion in emergency aid for the agriculture industry and replenishes $14 billion in spending authority to the Agriculture Department’s Commodity Credit Corp. (How is the farming industry getting this much money and still can’t pay Farm Workers fairly or cover their expenses? Who will pick the food? They are still out there working and they are getting sick. Justice for farmworkers!)
Think about how when people receive help via welfare and SNAP benefits from the government they’re called freeloaders and when it’s a shitty company with an unsustainable business plan it’s thrown billions of dollars without a second thought. The money all comes from the same place-- you and me.
Ecuador: cardboard coffins distributed amid coronavirus fears
Ecuador’s biggest city, Guayaquil, has become a hotspot of Coronavirus transmissions causing hundreds of deaths a day. Hospitals and mortuaries have been overwhelmed, forcing some families to store bodies at home. Authorities are distributing thousands of cardboard coffins and have created a helpline for families who need corpses to be removed from their homes. Ecuador did not take caution in asking its citizens to self-quarantine and now are having to deal with the impact of COVID-19.
The President really thought just because it was in China the Coronavirus would never come to Ecuador????
Low testing means there could be a higher death toll of individuals in the country, and of those infected.
White supremacists discussed using the coronavirus as a bioweapon, explosive internal document reveals
The Department of Homeland Security has found out that white supremacists have been plotting to target law enforcement and "nonwhite" people and infect them with the coronavirus (bioterrorism) through a messenger app called Telegram. They were also open to going into public spaces to infect people. Their plan was to put saliva on door handles and in non-white neighborhoods.
“They floated options like leaving "saliva on door handles" at local FBI offices, spitting on elevator buttons, spreading the virus in "nonwhite neighborhoods," and being in public with their perceived enemies.”
Trump cut off programs that look into domestic terrorism so how is the United States making sure that these threats won’t actually happen??
Also Telegram App should be held responsible for being a hub for terrorism. Tech should not be exempt for aiding and abetting.
Real Heroes: Mexican Farmers Work Hard To Supply Food Amid COVID-19
The agricultural industry is the backbone of the U.S. economy and Mexican farm workers are playing a big part in it. Mexicans are entering the United States to help with the production of food as seasonal farm workers. But non-emergency H-2A visas are temporarily on hold for the protection of the people though if they applied for the same program the previous year they are eligible to receive their visa. Farmers are asking the Trump administration to ease the entrance of these individuals. While Americans are at home protecting themselves from the corona, Mexican farm workers are sacrificing their health just to make sure that they can help sustain the food chain in the U.S. and that they have something in return to feed their families.
Mexican farm workers are feeding the nation and yet they’re paid shit, they work in extreme conditions, and after all this time being vilified by Trump are the people keeping us alive. Irony.
Will Trump make it easier for farm workers to enter the US? Will he give or at least say something positive of the folks who are keeping us fed?
Tech Sh*t
‘Zoom is malware’: why experts worry about the video conferencing platform
Zoom has risen in demand as everyone takes their work online, but turns out Zoom is not as secure... like at all! The company has stopped all new-feature development to work on security and safety issues. Since people have had to switch to video conferencing video hijacking has become more common. Hackers from white supremacist groups shout racial slurs or threats, and screen share porn. Zoom falsely advertising itself with secure communication, hackers getting on the user’s Mac and controlling the webcam and microphone, hosts track how often you click out of zoom, and zoom sells user data according to a report from Motherboard, but the company has updated its policies to state that Zoom does not do that.
I was hacked last week so I can tell you, this is 100% real and scary af! Just another tech platform that is not 100 percent reliable in security and safety, but goes ahead in selling their business and selling my data to other platforms for advertising purposes.
Naborly asks landlords to report if tenants are “delinquent” on April rent, to build a profile on them
The company, Naborly, is allowing landlords to “confidentially” screen tenants to avoid risk of late rent payments and property damage.Naborly works by providing the landlord with an online rental application form tenants fill out with data about their identity, income, etc. Naborly then runs a background check on them and submits a report to the landlord. Naborly’s email states that landlords are promised that their tenants will never learn they had reported them to this self-styled “landlords’ credit bureau.”
Yet another example about the importance of diversity in tech. Like there aren’t already enough barriers to POC getting housing to begin with! They lack all empathy. It’s gross!
Imagine being on this side of history? Tweet and IG this story because this shit ain’t right.
It should be illegal to have renters keep the record search confidential. This follows suit with other discriminatory renter laws meant to keep Black and Brown people in relined neighborhoods.
Creeping Authoritarianism Has Finally Prevailed
“On March 30, the Hungarian Parliament, which is controlled by Orbán’s party, Fidesz, voted to cancel all elections, suspend its own ability to legislate, and give the prime minister the right to rule by decree—indefinitely.”
This man has been in power since 2010 and is using the COVID-19 as an excuse to take over. Wow! No word from
“The bill introduces jail terms of up to five years for intentionally spreading misinformation that hinders the government response to the pandemic, leading to fears that it could be used to censor or self-censor criticism of the government response.”
Social Sh*t
Finance Sh*t
I’m going to start posting more finance stuff because the only real way any POC can get ahead is if we understand how the system works and how we can find way to make it work for us too.
On Wednesday I’ll be leading a webinar about how we can start getting ready to care for our parents. Millennials and Gen Z I’m looking at you! It’s around the corner and we’ve got to be ready. Sign up for the free platform to get the Webinar codes directly in your inbox!
Thanks ya’ll see you next week! Stay safe! If you’ve got time share with your friends and fam!