The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.26 If You Do This YOU'RE GETTING CHARGES! Rent Freezes, Kristen Bell, COVID-19 Relief, Maduro

Episode Date: March 26, 2020

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've had a fantastic Thursday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. And a quick note before we get started, one, as a friendly and in no way threatening reminder, the Philip DeFranco Show is now at the very least five days a week, meaning tomorrow you will get a Friday Philip DeFranco Show.

And also if something big happens over the weekend, I have a home studio, so make sure also you're subscribed, you have that bell click turned on for all notifications. And two, tomorrow's Friday Philip DeFranco Show is an extra special one because I was able to sit down with Dr. Fauci. He, of course, the immunologist who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases,

member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. We talked about the coronavirus, what the short-term future as well as the 18-month future looks like. I also asked some questions that you guys recommended. So keep your eyes open for that tomorrow. But with that said, welcome to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button button and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today

is incredibly important news, especially if you're a, I believe the technical term is a worthless dickhole or you happen to come across a worthless dickhole. The Justice Department's second highest ranking official has now said that people who threaten or intentionally attempt to spread the coronavirus could face criminal charges under terrorism laws. And more specifically, what we saw was

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen send a memo with guidance to top Justice Department officials, law enforcement agency chiefs, and US attorneys across the country. And in that, he said, because coronavirus appears to meet the statutory definition of a biological agent, such acts potentially could implicate the nation's terrorism-related statutes.

Threats or attempts to use COVID-19 as a weapon against Americans will not be tolerated." Now in this, he didn't state whether his warning was precautionary or if it came in response to reports of intentional exposure, but we have seen prosecutors at the state level already beginning to press terrorism charges against those accused of maliciously

trying to infect others. Prosecutors in Missouri, for instance, charged 26-year-old Cody Lee Pfister, who posted a video of himself licking merchandise in a Walmart, and that video showing Pfister saying, "'Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth.'" And he then l posted a video of himself licking merchandise in a Walmart. And that video is showing Pfister saying, "'Who's scared of coronavirus? Don't touch your mouth.'" And he then licks a row of deodorant sticks.

So the city of Warrenson police department said Monday that Pfister was taken into custody after it received numerous calls from people reporting the video. Those calls coming from both local residents and even people from places as far as the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom. And so with this, Pfister was later charged

with a terrorist threat in the second degree. That crime is a Class E felony, which means that it could be met with a prison sentence of up to four years and a fine. New Jersey has also been hit with a case of similar reckless behavior, with the state's Attorney General's Office saying Tuesday that it charged a man for his behavior in a Wegmans store.

And there, according to reports, a store employee was concerned that the man, 50-year-old George Falcone, was standing too close to her and an open food display. He then allegedly stepped forward to within three feet of her, leaned toward her and purposely coughed. Falcone also reportedly laughed, saying that he was infected with the virus

and then told two other employees they were lucky to have jobs. So this seemingly worthless dickhole was ultimately charged with harassment, obstructing administration of law and other governmental function and terroristic threats in the third degree. Which once again, that last charge alone

is punishable by up to three to five years in prison and fines of up to $15,000. There's also a woman in Pennsylvania who may also soon be hit with terrorist threat charges herself. This is because reportedly yesterday she walked into a supermarket and purposefully coughed over produce, parts of the bakery department, and meat case section. Right, and so following this incident,

the store's co-owner wrote a post on Facebook saying, "'While there is little doubt this woman was doing it "'as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances "'with the health and well-being of our customers. "'We had no choice but to throw out all products she came in contact with. And while the store said that it had not yet calculated the total loss, they estimated that it may be

well over $35,000. And regarding that very large sum, they wrote, we are checking to see if our insurance company will cover it, but even if they do, our rates will surely go up next year. Also going on to say, I'm absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. And going on to say, in these times when so many people

are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing. And with this specific situation, police were contacted, the local district attorney's office has promised to aggressively pursue numerous charges. And so I guess with all of that said, it brings us to the main point, like a lot of stories these days brings us to,

don't be stupid, stupid. This is not a joke, you're a joke. People are out there dying, people are out there hospitalized, people are out there scared. At the very least, just try to pump the brakes on being a garbage person for the next few weeks, if not months. And for everyone else out there that doesn't need

the most obvious advice in the world, know that this is something being taken seriously that something can be done about. But I guess to end this story, the question that I wanna pass off to you is what do you think about this level of charge? Do you think that it makes sense? Do you think it's overblown?

Yes, no, why, why not? And then, let's talk about money, jobs, unemployment, and the economy in general. And so first, let's talk about unemployment, because we knew unemployment numbers were likely to be high, but the number that we've seen is actually pretty staggering. Reportedly, 3.28 million people filed for unemployment

last week alone. To make the comparison, that is exponentially higher than any single week we saw in the 2008 recession. In fact, this past week broke the previous record for weekly unemployment filings by nearly five times. Right, the previous record was almost 700,000 people back in 1982. Look, understand, I'm not saying this to cause fear

or panic, this is a very, very specific circumstance, also a very unusual one. Right, a typical recession takes time, it plays out over a series of months, even years. However, this situation in the United States has basically all happened over a matter of two weeks. And so because the circumstances are so wildly different, it's hard to use those previous numbers

to predict what's going to happen to the economy even just a month from now. You know, I mentioned the 2008 recession. There, we definitely never saw weekly unemployment hit into the millions, but it was higher than average for about five years. And so when you added all of those years together, you got a total of about 26 million claims filed.

And with the coronavirus, we could continue to see extremely high unemployment rates, but that could only last for a few weeks. After that, economists have said that the economy could bounce back relatively quickly. So what a number of experts have said is instead of treating this like a typical recession, let's look at it more like a natural disaster.

It's something that causes the immediate shutdown of an entire economic region. Look at Louisiana and Hurricane Katrina, for example. On average, you have about 4,000 unemployment claims being filed each week in Louisiana. When Katrina hit back in 2005, we saw this massive, yet momentary spike. And that spike is actually very similar

to the nearly 73,000 people who filed unemployment claims in Louisiana last week. But of course, unlike most natural disasters, it's not just one state. It's just about every state, with states like California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas all boasting some of the largest numbers. But by far the biggest spike that we

saw was in Pennsylvania where nearly 380,000 people filed for unemployment. But still one of the biggest questions that people have in their mind is, is this still a recession? Actually on that note this morning we saw Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, addressing that question in a pretty rare interview with the Today Show. We may well be in a recession, but again I would point to the difference between this and a normal recession. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with our economy, quite the contrary. The economy performed very well right through February. We've got a 50-year low in unemployment for the last couple of years. So we start in a very strong position. This isn't something that's wrong with the economy. This is a situation where people are being asked to step back from economic activity,

close their businesses, stay home from work. So in principle, if we get the virus spread under control fairly quickly, then economic activity can resume. So essentially saying we may already be in a recession, but continuing to push the narrative that this is a much different situation. But very notably here, Powell also stressed, of course, we still don't know how quickly that could happen. And in the meantime, it's predicted that unemployment

could climb as high as 40 million people by April. Which then of course brings us to the question of, well what happens to that potential 40 million people and also everyone else? And so of course, one of the biggest things that we're seeing regarding the economy is the $2 trillion stimulus package. And last night we saw the Senate unanimously pass it.

It now goes to the House, they're expected to vote on it tomorrow morning. And if it passes without any revisions, it would then head to President Trump, who says that he would sign it immediately. Now in response to this, so far, the stock market appears to have responded favorably. You know, back in mid-February,

stocks were at an all-time high. The Dow Jones sitting at around 29,000 points. But then, the coronavirus starts battering the US, stocks plummet. By Monday this week, the Dow Jones had sunk to 18,000 points. Notably, it had not been that low since 2016, but as the stimulus package got closer and closer and further along, we saw the stock market climb it.

And as of recording this video, the Dow is sitting at around 22,000 points. So there's that regarding Wall Street, but of course, what about Main Street? What's happening to Joe and Jane Blow? So in this 883-page bill, Americans in general will receive a one-time direct deposit of up to $1,200

and married couples will get up to $2,400 plus an additional $500 per child. This is available for individuals with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples up to $150,000. Also $350 billion are aimed towards small businesses of 500 or fewer employees. Reportedly this relief would come in the form of loans, with companies able to receive up to eight weeks

of cash flow assistance, and if employers maintain payroll, the portion of the loans used for covered payroll costs, interest on mortgage obligations, rent, and utilities would be forgiven. Also, individuals can delay the payment of their 2020 payroll taxes until 2021 and 2022. All testing and potential vaccines for COVID-19 will be covered at no cost to patients.

And of course, the biggest thing for all the people that are being laid off right now, a $250 billion extended unemployment insurance program. Yesterday we talked about how several Republican senators said they had an issue with some people potentially actually making more money if they were laid off. This because in addition to the normal unemployment check

that people would receive each week, they'd get an additional $600. So as is, certain people might actually bring in more money on unemployment right now. This would last for four months and also be extended to people that are self-employed, independent contractors, and gig economy workers. Now two things here I want to hit on. One, this in no way covers everything in the bill.

In fact, I'll link down below for all the other aspects, all the other industries. But also, two, a thing to keep in mind is that this is not the end of the story. Even with this bill being two trillion dollars, right, about 10% of the US GDP, a number of economists believe that another stimulus bill on top of this will be needed to help the economy. Either A, to stop continued bleeding as the coronavirus continues to spread, or B, if the coronavirus is contained, using it as a way to kickstart things

once things have started because, as Jonathan Park, a professor of finance at MIT said, "'This should not be thought of as a stimulus bill. "'This should be thought of as social insurance "'in a disaster state of the world for the most hard hit.'" And saying the idea is to freeze time for a month or six weeks and let people emerge with a not huge amount of debt,

not starving, not being evicted. Right, and so one of the biggest things to understand with this situation is, you know, we can throw whatever economic policy, stimulus, pull whatever levers we have, none of that matters if the problem of the virus is not handled. And that's the big thing driving all the potential outcomes

and the timeline right now. Also really quick to go back to that point of rent, it's almost April 1st, meaning a lot of people's rent will be due very soon, which given the state of what is happening here in the States is why people are demanding a rent freeze. Right, because while major cities like Los Angeles and New York have halted evictions during this pandemic,

tenants will still have to come up with the money once this is all over, which right now doesn't seem possible for a lot of people. Also some states have been able to suspend mortgage payments as well, including California, where just last night, Governor Gavin Newsom said that four out of the five major US banks agreed to delay mortgage payments

and stop foreclosures for 90 days, with the remaining Fifth Bank of America willing to do so for 30 days. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo taking a similar measure last week. But this still leaves renters, who are in most cases the most economically vulnerable in a tricky position because their payment is still on the calendar.

And that's renters in general, but also in a particularly tricky spot. California and New York, they have some of the highest rental prices in the country. For example, in LA specifically, 60% of the population spends at least 30% of their income on rent, with some even spending over 50%. Over the past week, you maybe have seen people

using the hashtag like cancel rent online, saying things like, Governor Gavin Newsom, how can you possibly justify "'not giving rent relief right now? "'Your orders forbid us from making income. "'Landlords are getting mortgage relief, "'but renters are expected to keep paying rent? "'With what income? "'Outrageous, shame on you.'"

Another reading, "'Being immunocompromised, vulnerable, and unemployed "'is a lethal combination. "'Deciding between life-saving medications "'and food slash rent is highly problematic.'" And you also have some government leaders calling for it as well, like New York State Senator Mike Gianaris, saying, let's cancel rent for 90 days to keep people in their homes during the coronavirus crisis. And others, like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, tweeting, businesses who suddenly had their incomes cut off to pay rent, mortgages, and major bills on April 1st

without any payment moratoriums or immediate relief. We've also seen a number of companies get involved with this discussion as they are also feeling the weight of this virus. Cheesecake Factory, for example, said that nationwide it will not be paying rent in April, saying that the decline in restaurant traffic has been a severe blow to them

and telling Eater in a statement, "'We have to take both into consideration "'in terms of understanding the nature "'of our rent obligations and with respect "'to managing our financial position. We have very strong longstanding relationships with our landlords. We are certain that with their partnership,

we will be able to work together to weather this storm in the appropriate manner." And online, this move in general was received rather well with people who have been calling for a rent freeze saying this is a strong example. Some saying that corporations, because they're so big, they have so much weight, they were now leading the revolution.

There have also been stories of individuals popping up, like that of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, who actually own property that they rent out in LA. They are actually waiving rent for the people who live there for the month of April, with their rep saying the tenants got an email with the news over the weekend, and adding, the message expressed empathy and encouragement,

and promise to work with residents going forward as best as possible as everyone learns to adjust to the public health crisis. Right, but of course, on the other side, you have a number of people against a rent freeze, a rent strike, and this is because while some places have lifted mortgage payments or other kinds of debt relief, that is not the universal case.

And in fact, there was a Bloomberg opinion piece that was published that suggested that freezing rent could ignite a mortgage crisis, with that piece saying, "'There's pretty much no way around people "'eventually paying what they owe, "'ideally with the help of the US government, "'or else risk turning a health crisis into a banking crisis. Right, so that's the situation as it is now,

and I mean, April 1st is less than a week away. If something happens, it's gonna need to happen soon. So in the meantime, for landlords out there, there's just advice. Advice from the likes of Tom Bannon, who is the chief executive of the California Apartment Association, one of the nation's biggest landlord groups,

and he's argued for landlords. Halting evictions for tenants who have been affected by COVID-19 is good business. Adding, here's the reality, if you evict somebody, the chances of getting a new resident are not good. And I'll say personally, I don't understand a situation where people don't have to pay their mortgage, but the people renting from them still have to pay.

It feels like it goes against the whole point of the relief effort, and if anything, opens up the possible exploitation of the most vulnerable. But for now, we'll have to wait and see. I know in New York City in the past day, we've seen Bill de Blasio saying that he's looking into it. Gavin Newsom has said that he is exploring legal options to do this.

But for now, we wait and each moment we do, April 1st gets closer. And the last thing that we're gonna talk about today is if you can believe it, there is a bit of non-coronavirus news that we should talk about. And this is about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro because this morning,

the Department of Justice charged Maduro and 14 others, including senior officials with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, and other charges. Now this indictment, which was announced by Attorney General Bill Barr, accuses Maduro of conspiring with the Colombian rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces, aka FARC. And FARC is a US designated terrorist group

known for getting its money by smuggling cocaine. According to a press release from the DOJ, for more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities. It goes on to say that Maduro was so successful because he and others corrupted the institutions

of Venezuela and provided political and military protection for the rampant narco-terrorism crimes. And adding, Maduro and the other defendants expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine in order to undermine the health and well-being of our nation. Maduro very deliberately deployed cocaine as a weapon, with a press release alleging that Maduro

has been one of the leaders of a drug cartel called the Cartel of the Sun since 1999. In his role as leader of that cartel, Maduro negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine, directed the cartel to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC, coordinated foreign affairs with Honduras and other countries to facilitate large scale drug trafficking, and solicited assistance

from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned in essence as an armed forces unit for the cartel. Also I know there is a lot more in that press release and the indictment which officials say was more than a decade in the making, but main point, top level allegations, Maduro was directly involved in drug trafficking and that he corrupted

the political institutions of Venezuela to do so. And also, very notably here, the release also said that the State Department was actually offering rewards of up to $15 million for information that could lead to the capture and arrest of Maduro. But also, that said, it is unlikely that he will be arrested and actually see the inside of a courtroom in the United States.

But still, regardless, this is a huge deal for a few reasons. First of all, it is just incredibly rare for the United States to indict a foreign in the United States. But still, regardless, this is a huge deal for a few reasons. First of all, it is just incredibly rare for the United States to indict a foreign leader on drug charges. In fact, according to reports, it is only the second time that the US government has filed criminal charges against a foreign head of state. And secondly, this is a very serious escalation

of the Trump administration's pressure campaign on Maduro and his regime. In case you forgot, the United States, along with 60 other countries, do not recognize Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela. Instead, recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's true leader. This is when Maduro is held onto power

while the people of his country continue to suffer. Very notably here, many have said that Maduro has used the drug trade to keep power as the country's oil industry has collapsed on him, which was Venezuela's biggest resource. And this, while the United States has slowly been ramping up efforts against Venezuela,

first imposing sanctions on individuals, then expanding those to a full-blown embargo on oil, and also locking Venezuela out of the US financial system. There have also been smaller efforts as well. I mean, we talked about Trump inviting Guaido to the State of the Union. But as far as this most recent and huge update, it seems like Maduro had a heads up on it.

Even before the charges were officially announced, we saw Maduro responding in a tweet on Twitter, rejecting them and writing, "'There's a conspiracy from the United States and Colombia "'and they've given the order of filling Venezuela "'with violence. As head of state, I'm obliged to defend peace and stability for all the motherland under any circumstances.

Now, normally one of the big conversations around this might be, hey, with this huge change, are we gonna see mass protests? But the thing is, with the coronavirus outbreak, the protest movement against Maduro has died down. Like we've seen with other countries, the pandemic has significantly weakened Venezuela, making it very vulnerable.

Yeah, ultimately, as far as what happens next, we're gonna have to wait to see. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you liked this video, you like jumping into the news with us each day, hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, definitely hit that subscribe button,

ring that bell to turn on notifications so you don't miss these daily videos. Also, if you're looking for more to watch right now, maybe you missed yesterday's Philip DeFranco show, or you wanna check out a brand new clip, you can click or tap right there to watch one of those right now. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco show or you want to check out a brand new clip. You can click or tap right there to watch one of those right now. But with that said, of course, as always,

my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you liked the video. Subscribe if you like it.