Comment on Pandemic relief makes the rich richer

Click here for the latest coronavirus news, which the BDN has made free for the public. You can support our critical reporting on the coronavirus by purchasing a digital subscription or donating directly to the newsroom. Sadly but predictably, the snake oil cures and scams meant to exploit the coronavirus crisis for personal gain seem endless. But perhaps the greatest scam was the one approved by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. The $2 trillion rescue measure known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act delivered a $135 billion tax break for the wealthy elites like hedge-fund investors and real estate tycoons. In the midst of the greatest medical and economic crisis in modern history, Congress chose to give a tax break almost exclusively to Americans making more than $1 million a year, handing each of those 43,000 lucky souls a tax cut averaging $1.6 million.