Within days, Germany’s capital distributed money to 150,000 artists, shop owners, hairdressers and other small-business owners and freelancers to cover basic expenses.


By Melissa Eddy

April 3, 2020

BERLIN — When Germany shut down public life to halt the spread of the new coronavirus last month, Laurenz Bostedt, a freelance photographer, watched as one contract after another was canceled, until his entire expected income had disappeared.

On Tuesday, 5,000 euros, or about $5,400, landed in his bank account, just three days after he had submitted an application for immediate assistance. The city-state of Berlin had pledged on March 19 that money would be distributed quickly to self-employed people and small- business owners who were unable to cover their basic expenses.

To the shock of many Berliners, hardened by regular stacks of paperwork from the city’s bureaucracy, it was. On Thursday, just five days after the application process opened, Berlin’s government said it had already paid out more than $1.4 billion to more than 150,000 self-employed individuals or businesses with fewer than five employees.

“We are all pretty amazed,” Mr. Bostedt said in a telephone interview. “It went surprisingly fast and was all refreshingly well-organized.”

Small employers and freelancers like artists, fashion designers, computer programmers, hair stylists, web designers, coffee shop owners and club operators account for a quarter of all business in Berlin. They were too small to qualify for the initial aid from the federal government that was aimed primarily at keeping big business afloat, leading the city to set up a rescue package meant specifically for them.


https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/world/europe/coronavirus-Berlin-self-employed.html

https://twitter.com/RBReich/status/1246815642235351042










I have no doubt Anne sleeps well at night.

https://twitter.com/ElisabethKangMD/status/1246654890211934208

Published Wed, Apr 1 20203:01 PM EDT
Megan Leonhardt
@Megan_Leonhardt


Thanks to lawmakers, coronavirus tests are now free for all Americans. But if you do test positive for COVID-19 and require treatment, the hospital bills could easily cost Americans tens of thousands of dollars, even if you have insurance.

Those who are hospitalized with coronavirus can expect to pay anywhere from $42,486 to $74,310 if they are uninsured or if they receive care that’s deemed out-of-network by their insurance company, according to recent analysis by independent nonprofit FAIR Health.

For those with insurance who are using in-network providers, out-of-pocket costs will be a portion of $21,936 to $38,755, depending on the cost-sharing provisions of their health plan.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/covid-19-hospital-bills-could-cost-uninsured-americans-up-to-75000.html





Medicare for ALL 2020

https://twitter.com/RevDrBarber/status/1246423270750072835















There is only one reason we don't have it.

https://twitter.com/likeagirlinc/status/1246212812378079232












It is the workers of this country that are holding us up through this crisis.

https://twitter.com/wendellpotter/status/1245735811548495872











Highly informative thread.

to appalachiablue for pointing this petition out in another thread.



Misinformation about COVID-19 is deadly — especially when it’s coming from the president of the United States.

President Trump has spent weeks downplaying the virus and spouting lies in his press conferences, standing in the way of a unified national response to the pandemic and contributing to the rapidly spreading disease.

And last week during one of his nightly press conferences that aired on broadcast-television stations across the country, President Trump talked about the alleged benefits of a drug called chloroquine in treating coronavirus. But the FDA has not approved chloroquine for this illness and studies of its safety and effectiveness are just beginning. After hearing this press conference, a couple in their 60s ingested the drug because they believed it could prevent them from becoming sick. Now, one of them has passed away and the other is in critical condition.

Many conservative outlets are echoing the Trump administration’s tone about the pandemic by downplaying the virus, spreading conspiracy theories or spouting racist comments targeting Asian people.

The Federal Communications Commission has rules on the books to deal with this kind of misuse and abuse of the public airwaves and it needs to enforce them.

Sign the petition: Tell the FCC to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on the public airwaves NOW.

https://act.freepress.net/sign/journ_misinfo_trump/?source=FPblog

https://twitter.com/ChrisKemmitt/status/1245488277760737280







https://twitter.com/ChrisKemmitt/status/1245488279891456001







An important thread exposing the outrageous deference to police overreach and violence. Yes, this ruling happened in America.

https://twitter.com/DavidsonLVRJ/status/1245428955076644864