Note -- Silvrback has alerted me that the RSS notification did not go out on yesterday's post on Michigan's governor and her critics (including the Wheeling News-Register). See the next post down.

The big picture from the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent

It enrages Trump propagandists that large majorities refuse to prioritize his reelection needs over their own health and lives.

Their BS line is that reopening carefully is waging class war on workers. But workers are bearing the brunt of the illness.https://t.co/ePXfCMhg19 pic.twitter.com/vQ1rdVrB0q

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) May 12, 2020

Some examples

Kroger

1. @kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is paid $12 million per year

Sales at his stores are booming

Multiple Kroger workers have died of COVID-19

But, as the pandemic rages, McMullen plans to rescind its $2/hour "hero bonus" for hourly employees in six dayshttps://t.co/ICHm10HySa

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 11, 2020

Tesla

Elon Musk furloughed thousands of factory workers and ordered pay cuts.

Meanwhile, he stands to take home a $700M bonus.

Now, he's threatening to close his Fremont facility and take away people’s jobs unless he’s allowed to risk their health.

Billionaires aren't the answer.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 10, 2020

Comparing American and European unemployment rates

America’s unemployment rate is at 14.7%. CNBC suggests that the actual rate is much higher:

The real unemployment rate, which includes people who are not looking for work or are underemployed, already stands at 22.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mnuchin acknowledged that the jobless rate may be even higher and stand at 25%, comparable to the Great Depression, when pressed on the issue by Wallace who pointed out that April’s unemployment report stopped in the middle of the month.

What about Europe? From Statista:

Unemployment across the whole of the European Union is expected to rise to nine percent in 2020, in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns enforced by national governments.

A comparison by Foreign Policy describes how "nearly all European countries are reimbursing workers’ incomes directly through their employers at levels from about 60 to 90 percent of wages." (They are still working.) A group of Democratic senators have introduced a similar plan for America. As Bernie Sanders explains:

How does it happen that Europe is facing the same pandemic, but has an unemployment rate that's just a fraction of ours?

It is time to adopt a simple, efficient, and cost-effective approach: Guarantee the paycheck of every worker in America. https://t.co/uyKlUf0r5w

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 12, 2020