Return-to-Work Demand and Extortion

Many of our fellow citizens are desperate to get back to work, and renew their livelihood.  For some workers, this makes sense, but this desperation is being used by players who don’t give a shit about the workers, but are manipulating them for advantage – and will put many workers in danger, and cost lives.  

When a state reopens an occupation, it’s only superficially voluntary.  Under the emergency declaration, self-employed people—hairdressers, massage therapists, for example—are able to access unemployment insurance payments to tide them over.  But as soon as the state of emergency ‘ends’, so do the payments.  

But, in order to work, these people must wear PPE comparable to what is worn in an ICU.  Being self-employed, they have to procure it themselves. And because much of it is in short supply, they have to compete with hospitals to get it … not a promising proposition.  Oh, and thanks to the tax ‘reform’ a couple years ago, this PPE is not tax deductible, even if they can find it.  

And it’s almost certain that their business will be dismal.  Clientele will be skittish to come back, and are hardly beckoned closer by the image of PPE that hasn’t been changed since the last client.  

This is being sold to desperate workers as an opportunity to return to normalcy.  But it’s not an opportunity at all; it is a no-win extortion scheme, which will deepen the financial suffering of the working poor, regardless of which choice they make.