What A Day - One Simple Trick To Slim Down Your Relief Bill

Episode Date: September 9, 2020

The Rochester, NY police chief and other high ranking officers all resigned or took demotions yesterday, following protests over the police killing of Daniel Prude. Prude’s case, along with other recent violent incidents, are leading some to propose alternatives to police intervention for mental health emergencies. Republicans in the Senate are back in session with a new coronavirus relief bill, which is itself a pared down version a bill they proposed earlier this summer. For now, Democrats are rejecting it because they believe a larger, more comprehensive bill is necessary. While aid is held up in Congress, state and local governments are facing severe budget shortfalls. And in headlines: two ex-soldiers from Myanmar’s army say they were ordered to commit atrocities against Rohingya villagers, the Trump administration is ordered to stop winding down the census, and nine drug companies say they won’t seek vaccine approval without doing rigorous testing.

It's Wednesday, September 9th. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is What A Day, where we are super proud of the work we did on 20 seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Yeah, the show might be ending, but we'll never forget the times we had creating and starring in E's Keeping Up With The Kardashians. We owe it all to you, Ryan Seacrest. You're a real one. On today's show, the havoc in state budgets due to the pandemic, then some headlines.

But first, the latest. There's more news out of Rochester, New York, where Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man, was killed by police in March when they were called to help him in the midst of a mental break. According to the mayor, the police told city officials that Prude was overdosing on drugs, but body camera footage released last week by Prude's family contradicted their telling of the events and immediately sparked protests over the police's excessive use of force on Prude. Yesterday, the Rochester police chief and other high-ranking officers resigned or were demoted. The police chief said, quote, as a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my

character. Right. And he's referring to allegations that the police force covered up the killing of Daniel Prude, something that he denies. And according to the mayor, the police chief will stay on through the end of September. But as protests build and as New York Attorney General Letitia James assembles a grand jury to consider evidence in the incident, questions have started to mount about what officers resigning actually means for accountability. Yeah, and the issue is going to continue to be incredibly relevant given the state of policing in America right now. So regarding accountability, let's look at Colorado because it's one of the states that's made progress on this front and is actually a leader in some respects. This year, with pressure from protests after George Floyd's murder and

renewed protests over the death of Elijah McClain, the governor signed a wide-reaching police accountability bill that eliminated qualified immunity for police officers, making Colorado the first state to do that. Since then, 241 officers in the state have resigned. Now, does that mean they aren't accountable to any investigation into misconduct? It's complicated. So police unions have a stronghold on laws surrounding police liability. Back in Colorado, for example, that new law only now makes the individual officers financially liable for any successful civil suit against them. And even with that being the case, it's only $25,000 worth of accountability. So if you are paralyzed from the waist down because a police officer shoots you seven times and you successfully sue them, that $25,000 just

isn't going to go very far. Before this law was enacted, an officer could basically avoid any punishment, was not guaranteed to be fired, and was often allowed to continue being an officer in a different jurisdiction. Even now, police unions in Colorado are hoping to get liability insurance to shield the police from any actual punishment for their behavior. So any punishment or accountability, whether individual officers resign or are fired, seems to be on a case-by-case basis. Right, and that's part of the issue here. But let's talk for a moment about police being called to intervene in mental health crises. It begs the question, why do police officers need to be involved in anything but crime?

Yeah, I mean, that's a really good question. So it's clear that all police departments would benefit from de-escalation training, right? But there are also professionals who do this work, and they would be more effective. So when people say to fund the police, they're hoping to reallocate a lot of the funding that goes to police to public health initiatives and people who are actually trained to help instead of shoot. You may have heard about 13-year-old Lyndon Cameron

in Salt Lake City, Utah, being shot several times by police after his mother called 911 to request a crisis intervention team last week. Lyndon has Asperger syndrome and was having an episode caused by bad separation anxiety as his mother went to work for the first time in more than a year. Instead of receiving that help, police arrived and within five minutes they had shot her son. The Washington Post maintains a fatal force database that shows that Americans with mental health illnesses make up almost a quarter of people

killed by police officers. So this isn't a fringe issue in the defund movement. That's right. And it's starting to get a little bit more attention in recent years. So let's talk about some of the alternatives that cities and states have come up with. Well, to start in Rochester, the mayor says they're going to move to crisis intervention from being handled by police to youth and recreation services. So that's a start. But one of the most prominent alternatives for handling mental health calls is in Eugene, Oregon. They have a program called CAHOOTS, which stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets, and they work to handle a majority of mental health emergencies there. They take about 20% of all 911 calls. They send out a medic and crisis worker to handle those calls, and they've rarely had to call police

for backup. So out of 24,000 calls last year, only 150 needed police to come in, according to people who work in the program. New York City has NYC Well, which sends out professionals for wellness checks instead of simply sending police. The number to reach them is 1-888-NYC-WELL. So we'll keep tracking this issue as well as other alternative models to policing mental health. But let's move on to more stuff that keeps me up at night. Coronavirus news. The Senate came back from recess yesterday. Congratulations on your vacation. And Republicans have come up with another economic relief bill that is supposed to take the place of the bill that House Democrats passed months ago, which Republicans said no to.

The Republican proposal is a, quote, skinny bill. So, Gideon, let's talk about what's in it. Yeah, so this is actually a more pared down version of a bill that Republicans proposed earlier this summer when the CARES Act was running out. And back then the bill would have given out $1 trillion in relief money, but this new bill is reportedly around $500 billion. Much, much smaller, hence is half of the $600 that was helping people out earlier in the year. It's also likely to extend the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, allocate moneyal Service, which is meant to forgive a previous loan. But what's missing are more of those direct payments to people and money for state and local governments. And so for now, Democrats are rejecting it with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying it is, quote, emaciated and, quote, laden with poison pills Republicans know Democrats would never support, like apparently some random money for the coal industry. So now once again, you have Democrats saying that something larger and more comprehensive is

necessary and Republicans saying that Democrats are holding up aid, even though as we said, Democrats passed something a while ago. And according to Politico, at the moment, Republicans don't even necessarily have the votes to pass their own bill. Wow. I mean, I agree with Chuck, but why so much effort on the skinny thing? It's like, I don't know, a profile in a 2006 tabloid with Lindsay Lohan. Like, we get it. It's skinny. There's not a lot there. Thank you. All right. Well, you mentioned money for states and local governments. You know, they got some money in the CARES Act, but they haven't gotten any aid since. That led to concerns about their budgets, potential layoffs, cutbacks, etc. So where does that stand? Not in a good place. So

this has definitely been a worry for a long time. But economists have been raising the alarm that as time goes on with no aid in sight, the situation could just get worse. So to try to get a sense of the scale here, Moody's Analytics projected that state governments will have budget shortfalls of over $300 billion through the summer of 2022. And so the problem is kind of twofold. It's one, that additional aid hasn't come from Congress. And two, that tax revenues went way down earlier in the year during the most restrictive stretch of lockdowns. And so when states are running short on this money, they have to cut things that affect daily people's lives.

The New York Times points out a few examples in a recent article. A composting service getting suspended in New York, public broadcasting taking a hit in Alaska, a kind of modernization plan, including air conditioning in prisons in Florida, got the axe earlier this summer. It's sort of an excuse for a lot of these folks to cut back on things that elected officials may have wanted to do all along. Yeah. And just to explain the cuts. So unlike the federal government, states can't run a deficit. So if they don't have enough money, it's either cutting back or doing some sort of budget magic to move money around. You've been looking at New York State. So how is it actually playing out there? Yeah. So there, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is talking about a roughly $8 billion cut to local governments that could affect everything from special education to public transportation around the state. And meanwhile, other states are also trying to save money by scaling back

on pension contributions or delaying raises for teachers. Some states are even making Medicaid patients pay more in copayments. So it is a major, major problem for these states and one that could definitely have more ripple effects down the line beyond just these immediate cuts. But circling back to New York, it was of of course, once the center of the pandemic, and it is heavily reliant on tourism and industries like Broadway, which, you know, can't really happen when it's unsafe to be in crowds. So in some senses, it feels especially vulnerable to this economic devastation. Yeah. And to deal with these budget issues, you know, other than cuts, another option is to raise taxes. That's being talked about in New York, but there's

definitely a debate. So what's going on? Yeah. so one of the conversations that's been happening for a long time in the state, particularly since this new crop of Democrats came into state government, is imposing more taxes on the wealthy. It's something that Cuomo has just historically resisted much to the chagrin of those Democrats. And more recently, that resistance has been compounded by the fact that wealthy city residents left the state when the pandemic struck. And one argument has been that a tax hike could potentially lead to more of that happening. Cuomo recently has maintained that the federal government needs to step in here, but we've seen how that has been going so far this year. And so there are multiple Democratic proposals on the table, including one that would increase the tax rate on millionaires in the state on this kind of sliding scale,

and one that would tax capital gains of the state's billionaires and use that money for certain workers. And yesterday, there was maybe slight crack in Cuomo's continued resistance to the idea, saying that it could be an option. So we'll see how this all plays out. But that is the latest for now. It's Wednesday, WOD Squad. And for today's Tim Check, we're talking about dreams come true. A candy maker who invented the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean, is running a countrywide scavenger hunt. And he's giving away the iconic movie prize of one candy factory. The details are kind of fuzzy, but essentially you can go to thegoldticket.com.

Again, WAD does not endorse or accept money from this website at all. And then pay $50 to enter into a treasure hunt, which involves solving riddles. If you win the hunt, you get $5,000 and can also get a factory, which you could use to start a candy company. So Giddy, a lot of information here. Will you be playing? I really do.

I really do want to. I just have a lot of concerns about the intent here and the other possible things that could happen. You know, it's like we were saying earlier, Willy Wonka is kind of a scary story that involves a lot of child death. So like, is that something that's sort of coming into play here? Is this a scheme to create a new kind of jelly bean that perhaps has human flavors in it? Oh, God.

I don't know. I just, you know, I'm raising questions because this raises a lot of questions. I think that that's really fair. On the Willy Wonka front, you know, the Oompa Loompas, there's no record of them being paid. I believe that there is some sort of, like, trafficking, you know, slavery situation happening.

So I agree, like, it's a fun time movie, but, like, when it comes down to reality and a factory being given to you, you just got to figure out what's actually involved and read the fine print. Also, do I really want to run a factory, particularly in this economy? I don't know. You know, like that's another thing that's like, even if you set aside all the moral questions and potential slavery and children being killed here. That's a big thing to think about. So I guess all that being said, are you going after whatever it is that this is?

Are you going to thegoldticket.com? I mean, I might visit the website, I guess. So I'm not good at scavenger hunt, so I doubt that I'll win. So I don't think that I even have a risk of winning this thing, but I'm curious. That's pretty much it. I'm definitely curious about the scavenger hunt, if it requires me to just use the internet, or do I have to drive somewhere and find something hidden behind a tree? I just want to know the details of that.

I want to see how whoever wins this factory is going to achieve this. And so that's really the beginning and end of my curiosity. Right. And it's also like, is that going to be COVID safe? You know, like, where are we being asked to go here? That's a good point. If somebody gets there before you, were they wearing a mask? We don't know.

A lot of questions outstanding. But I hope you all find a candy factory just like that. We have checked our temps. Stay safe and we will check in with you all again tomorrow. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. Two ex-soldiers from Myanmar's army testified that they were ordered to commit atrocities against Rohingya villagers. It is the first time that members of Myanmar's military have openly confessed what the UN sees as an army-directed genocide campaign

against the Rohingya Muslim minority. The soldiers admitted to killing 150 civilians and destroying dozens of villages. Myanmar's government has long denied accusations of mass killings and crimes against the group that precipitated an immense refugee crisis. The two soldiers are now in the custody of the International Criminal Court, which has been investigating whether or not military leaders in the country have ordered large scale massacres against the Muslim minority. Trump administration will stop its plans to wind down counting efforts for the 2020 census for now. On Saturday, a district judge in California issued a temporary restraining order to stop the Census Bureau from rushing efforts to count everyone in

America by the end of this month. The agency previously got an extension to the counting process because of the pandemic, but the administration reversed that decision last month. Experts have warned that rushing to finish the count would lead to a severe undercount of people in hard-to-reach communities, such as immigrants and people experiencing houselessness. Little reminder that the census determines how $1.5 trillion in federal funding will be spent for the next 10 years. The Census Bureau said yesterday that it would also prevent further layoffs of workers who are still being sent out to get headcounts. If you haven't yet, please make sure to fill out the census on 2020census.gov. It is easy peasy. The simulation we are in has become largely focused on meteorology.

Parts of the Rocky Mountains saw drastic shifts in weather from Monday into Tuesday, with temperatures dropping 60 degrees in less than 24 hours and bringing snow and damaging winds to states that were enjoying summer sun all weekend. One utility reported that almost 200,000 customers in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming lost power after the plunge, which was the result of a dramatic change in air pressure over the Intermountain West. And this comes as the West Coast battles historic wildfires. There were 40 burning in California yesterday and in Oregon, thousands have been evacuated due to fires and high winds that the state's governor described as, quote, unprecedented. You know, it would be sick if we had one thing this year that was unprecedented

in a good way, like a dog with the softest fur or the loudest guitar solo of all time. I would just really like to get that lucky. All right, well, you can stop worrying that Trump will push a vaccine in October that's just water with food coloring in it. Nine top drug companies issued a pledge yesterday saying they won't seek approval for their vaccines until they demonstrate safety and efficacy in phase three clinical trials. The companies clearly intend to allay concerns that Trump would sacrifice scientific rigor and push out an unsafe vaccine. After the FDA gave and then withdrew emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus treatment, then overstated the efficacy of blood plasma as a treatment last month,

and Trump said, I want to treat coronavirus by shining a light in people's blood, the prevalence of these concerns isn't that surprising. Three companies that signed yesterday's pledge have already begun large trials in the U.S., but per Trump's own vaccine advisor, it remains, quote, very unlikely that a vaccine will be authorized before Election Day. One of those companies, AstraZeneca, paused global trials yesterday after a participant in the U.K. had a serious adverse reaction, though it's not known whether that was a direct result of the vaccine. And those are the headlines.

That's all for today. If you like this show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, enter your dog in a contest for the softest fur, and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just riddles and candy scavenger hunts like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes.

I'm Gideon Resnick. And keep that light away from our blood. I don't like seeing it that bright. Yeah, I don't need to look at it. It's gross. What a day is a Crooked Media production. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tun is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our senior producer is Katie Long. Thank you.