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All measures to fight the coronavirus should automatically continue until the economy no longer needs them. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Family First Coronavirus Response Act is an important first step in the United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Senate should pass it immediately. There are provisions for both health spending and paid sick leave as well as income supports in the form of expanded food-assistance programs and unemployment insurance.
We summarize some of the bill's specific provisions below, but we first want to highlight a few important loopholes, and talk about the important next steps.
The bill has some glaring exclusions. Perhaps the most problematic is the carve-out for large businesses; the bill exempts employers with more than 500 workers from its paid leave mandate. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that 11% of workers at private-sector businesses with 500 workers or more do not have access to paid sick leave, and 48% of private sector workers work in firms with 500 workers or more. Together, that means that 6.8 million private sector workers in large firms will not have paid sick days as a result of the large-firm exemption. And this does not count the fact that workers at these firms that do provide paid sick days often do not provide enough time for workers to self-quarantine for the recommended 14 days.
The bill also makes it possible for the Secretary of Labor to exempt certain health care providers and emergency responders from its paid leave provisions, and to exempt businesses with less than 50 people. The data show that 36% of workers at private-sector businesses with less than 50 workers do not have access to paid sick leave, and 27% of private sector workers work in firms with 50 or fewer workers, together meaning that 12.8 million workers may not have access to paid sick days as a result of potential exemptions for small businesses.
Together, that means that somewhere between 6.8 million and 19.6 million private-sector workers will be left without paid sick days as a result of the firm-size exemptions in the bill. The PAID Leave Act, which will be introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Congresswoman Rosa Delauro (D-Conn.), and Senator Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would go a long way toward closing these loopholes by providing 14 emergency paid sick days and 12 weeks emergency paid family and medical leave, reimbursed in full by the federal government.
Even with its weaknesses, the Family First Coronavirus Response Act includes key first steps, and should be passed immediately.
Recall the Center for Disease Control (CDC)'s initial recommendation to reduce the spread of COVID-19: seek medical care and stay home. On the health care side, there are important provisions in the bill to provide coverage for free COVID-19 testing and there is a temporary increase in the federal match for states' Medicaid programs. These are important first steps, but more needs to be done to ensure that patients not only have access to testing, but also have access to affordable medical care for treatment of the disease itself as well as secondary infections and potential complications.
On the CDC's recommendation to stay home, the bill provides temporary provisions to expand paid sick leave for some workers affected by the coronavirus. This measure is a step in the right direction towards providing the paid sick leave workers do not have today and desperately need.
Tax credits are available for employers with fewer than 500 employees to better afford paid leave for their workers. Tax credits are also available for the self-employed. These tax credits for employers and the self-employed are particularly important at a time when workers at the front lines of the service sector--often lower paid workers or those who are contractors or self-employed-may have lots of contact with the public, putting them and their customers at risk if they can't take time off, while at the same time being hammered by reductions in demand for their services. However, state and local government agencies are specifically excluded from the payroll tax credit, a glaring problem with the bill.
Other provisions in the Family First Coronavirus Response Act include:
So, think of these bills (the Family First Coronavirus Response Act and the PAID Leave Act) as important first steps. But we need a lot more. A coronavirus recession is now imminent--we will likely lose at least 3 million jobs by the summer. But policymakers can keep this number from rising if they act quickly and decisively, with fiscal stimulus that is big and that is sustained as long as the economy needs it.
Here is a framework for what the federal government needs to do to keep the recession as short and as shallow as possible and to have it be followed by a strong rebound:
1. Finance a sizeable amount of household consumption
Individuals who see their incomes drop because of job loss or hours declines will cut spending even on necessities like food and housing. Providing support will help people maintain this spending, which will boost the economy. It will allow households to better weather the recession, helping ensure a faster bounce back when the threat of the virus is gone. The first priority is to maximize income supports that can be delivered through existing programs, including federal-government-financed expansions to unemployment insurance, food stamps, and Medicaid. The federal government should also cover the entire cost of coronavirus treatment for every individual who contracts it. Finally, the federal government should send payments directly to U.S. families. The first payment of $2,000 per adult and child, phased out for higher-income taxpayers, should be immediate. Future payments would be stepped down over time and tied to economic triggers.
2. Give substantial fiscal aid to state governments
State governments will bear a large share of the cost of the public health response to the coronavirus. Further, due to job loss and sharp declines in spending, state tax revenues will fall. Given balanced budget requirements, that will mean state spending will collapse, creating an enormous drag on the economy. A quick way to transfer resources to state governments is for the federal government to pay states' share of Medicaid. The federal government should take on all state Medicaid spending for at least the next year.
3. Payroll tax credit to businesses to not lay off workers
Businesses should be encouraged not to lay off workers, because this will mean fewer families face the enormous income and spending shocks of job loss, and it will speed up the recovery when the threat of the virus is over. The federal government should institute payroll tax credits, starting at the end of the first quarter, for coronavirus-impacted businesses who maintain, or nearly maintain, payroll.
4. Ramp up direct government purchases of things that help fight the virus
The federal government should significantly increase their purchase of medical equipment for use in fighting the impact of the coronavirus, and finance field hospitals and testing clinics to address the crisis.
All measures to fight the coronavirus should automatically continue until the economy no longer needs them. Right now, no one knows how long it the economy will take to recover from the coronavirus shock, and we should not saddle these crucial provisions with arbitrary end dates. Instead, we should make sure the economy gets the support it needs for as long as it needs it by instituting conditions-based triggers to determine when they end.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Family First Coronavirus Response Act is an important first step in the United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Senate should pass it immediately. There are provisions for both health spending and paid sick leave as well as income supports in the form of expanded food-assistance programs and unemployment insurance.
We summarize some of the bill's specific provisions below, but we first want to highlight a few important loopholes, and talk about the important next steps.
The bill has some glaring exclusions. Perhaps the most problematic is the carve-out for large businesses; the bill exempts employers with more than 500 workers from its paid leave mandate. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that 11% of workers at private-sector businesses with 500 workers or more do not have access to paid sick leave, and 48% of private sector workers work in firms with 500 workers or more. Together, that means that 6.8 million private sector workers in large firms will not have paid sick days as a result of the large-firm exemption. And this does not count the fact that workers at these firms that do provide paid sick days often do not provide enough time for workers to self-quarantine for the recommended 14 days.
The bill also makes it possible for the Secretary of Labor to exempt certain health care providers and emergency responders from its paid leave provisions, and to exempt businesses with less than 50 people. The data show that 36% of workers at private-sector businesses with less than 50 workers do not have access to paid sick leave, and 27% of private sector workers work in firms with 50 or fewer workers, together meaning that 12.8 million workers may not have access to paid sick days as a result of potential exemptions for small businesses.
Together, that means that somewhere between 6.8 million and 19.6 million private-sector workers will be left without paid sick days as a result of the firm-size exemptions in the bill. The PAID Leave Act, which will be introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Congresswoman Rosa Delauro (D-Conn.), and Senator Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would go a long way toward closing these loopholes by providing 14 emergency paid sick days and 12 weeks emergency paid family and medical leave, reimbursed in full by the federal government.
Even with its weaknesses, the Family First Coronavirus Response Act includes key first steps, and should be passed immediately.
Recall the Center for Disease Control (CDC)'s initial recommendation to reduce the spread of COVID-19: seek medical care and stay home. On the health care side, there are important provisions in the bill to provide coverage for free COVID-19 testing and there is a temporary increase in the federal match for states' Medicaid programs. These are important first steps, but more needs to be done to ensure that patients not only have access to testing, but also have access to affordable medical care for treatment of the disease itself as well as secondary infections and potential complications.
On the CDC's recommendation to stay home, the bill provides temporary provisions to expand paid sick leave for some workers affected by the coronavirus. This measure is a step in the right direction towards providing the paid sick leave workers do not have today and desperately need.
Tax credits are available for employers with fewer than 500 employees to better afford paid leave for their workers. Tax credits are also available for the self-employed. These tax credits for employers and the self-employed are particularly important at a time when workers at the front lines of the service sector--often lower paid workers or those who are contractors or self-employed-may have lots of contact with the public, putting them and their customers at risk if they can't take time off, while at the same time being hammered by reductions in demand for their services. However, state and local government agencies are specifically excluded from the payroll tax credit, a glaring problem with the bill.
Other provisions in the Family First Coronavirus Response Act include:
So, think of these bills (the Family First Coronavirus Response Act and the PAID Leave Act) as important first steps. But we need a lot more. A coronavirus recession is now imminent--we will likely lose at least 3 million jobs by the summer. But policymakers can keep this number from rising if they act quickly and decisively, with fiscal stimulus that is big and that is sustained as long as the economy needs it.
Here is a framework for what the federal government needs to do to keep the recession as short and as shallow as possible and to have it be followed by a strong rebound:
1. Finance a sizeable amount of household consumption
Individuals who see their incomes drop because of job loss or hours declines will cut spending even on necessities like food and housing. Providing support will help people maintain this spending, which will boost the economy. It will allow households to better weather the recession, helping ensure a faster bounce back when the threat of the virus is gone. The first priority is to maximize income supports that can be delivered through existing programs, including federal-government-financed expansions to unemployment insurance, food stamps, and Medicaid. The federal government should also cover the entire cost of coronavirus treatment for every individual who contracts it. Finally, the federal government should send payments directly to U.S. families. The first payment of $2,000 per adult and child, phased out for higher-income taxpayers, should be immediate. Future payments would be stepped down over time and tied to economic triggers.
2. Give substantial fiscal aid to state governments
State governments will bear a large share of the cost of the public health response to the coronavirus. Further, due to job loss and sharp declines in spending, state tax revenues will fall. Given balanced budget requirements, that will mean state spending will collapse, creating an enormous drag on the economy. A quick way to transfer resources to state governments is for the federal government to pay states' share of Medicaid. The federal government should take on all state Medicaid spending for at least the next year.
3. Payroll tax credit to businesses to not lay off workers
Businesses should be encouraged not to lay off workers, because this will mean fewer families face the enormous income and spending shocks of job loss, and it will speed up the recovery when the threat of the virus is over. The federal government should institute payroll tax credits, starting at the end of the first quarter, for coronavirus-impacted businesses who maintain, or nearly maintain, payroll.
4. Ramp up direct government purchases of things that help fight the virus
The federal government should significantly increase their purchase of medical equipment for use in fighting the impact of the coronavirus, and finance field hospitals and testing clinics to address the crisis.
All measures to fight the coronavirus should automatically continue until the economy no longer needs them. Right now, no one knows how long it the economy will take to recover from the coronavirus shock, and we should not saddle these crucial provisions with arbitrary end dates. Instead, we should make sure the economy gets the support it needs for as long as it needs it by instituting conditions-based triggers to determine when they end.
Family First Coronavirus Response Act is an important first step in the United States' response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Senate should pass it immediately. There are provisions for both health spending and paid sick leave as well as income supports in the form of expanded food-assistance programs and unemployment insurance.
We summarize some of the bill's specific provisions below, but we first want to highlight a few important loopholes, and talk about the important next steps.
The bill has some glaring exclusions. Perhaps the most problematic is the carve-out for large businesses; the bill exempts employers with more than 500 workers from its paid leave mandate. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that 11% of workers at private-sector businesses with 500 workers or more do not have access to paid sick leave, and 48% of private sector workers work in firms with 500 workers or more. Together, that means that 6.8 million private sector workers in large firms will not have paid sick days as a result of the large-firm exemption. And this does not count the fact that workers at these firms that do provide paid sick days often do not provide enough time for workers to self-quarantine for the recommended 14 days.
The bill also makes it possible for the Secretary of Labor to exempt certain health care providers and emergency responders from its paid leave provisions, and to exempt businesses with less than 50 people. The data show that 36% of workers at private-sector businesses with less than 50 workers do not have access to paid sick leave, and 27% of private sector workers work in firms with 50 or fewer workers, together meaning that 12.8 million workers may not have access to paid sick days as a result of potential exemptions for small businesses.
Together, that means that somewhere between 6.8 million and 19.6 million private-sector workers will be left without paid sick days as a result of the firm-size exemptions in the bill. The PAID Leave Act, which will be introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Congresswoman Rosa Delauro (D-Conn.), and Senator Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would go a long way toward closing these loopholes by providing 14 emergency paid sick days and 12 weeks emergency paid family and medical leave, reimbursed in full by the federal government.
Even with its weaknesses, the Family First Coronavirus Response Act includes key first steps, and should be passed immediately.
Recall the Center for Disease Control (CDC)'s initial recommendation to reduce the spread of COVID-19: seek medical care and stay home. On the health care side, there are important provisions in the bill to provide coverage for free COVID-19 testing and there is a temporary increase in the federal match for states' Medicaid programs. These are important first steps, but more needs to be done to ensure that patients not only have access to testing, but also have access to affordable medical care for treatment of the disease itself as well as secondary infections and potential complications.
On the CDC's recommendation to stay home, the bill provides temporary provisions to expand paid sick leave for some workers affected by the coronavirus. This measure is a step in the right direction towards providing the paid sick leave workers do not have today and desperately need.
Tax credits are available for employers with fewer than 500 employees to better afford paid leave for their workers. Tax credits are also available for the self-employed. These tax credits for employers and the self-employed are particularly important at a time when workers at the front lines of the service sector--often lower paid workers or those who are contractors or self-employed-may have lots of contact with the public, putting them and their customers at risk if they can't take time off, while at the same time being hammered by reductions in demand for their services. However, state and local government agencies are specifically excluded from the payroll tax credit, a glaring problem with the bill.
Other provisions in the Family First Coronavirus Response Act include:
So, think of these bills (the Family First Coronavirus Response Act and the PAID Leave Act) as important first steps. But we need a lot more. A coronavirus recession is now imminent--we will likely lose at least 3 million jobs by the summer. But policymakers can keep this number from rising if they act quickly and decisively, with fiscal stimulus that is big and that is sustained as long as the economy needs it.
Here is a framework for what the federal government needs to do to keep the recession as short and as shallow as possible and to have it be followed by a strong rebound:
1. Finance a sizeable amount of household consumption
Individuals who see their incomes drop because of job loss or hours declines will cut spending even on necessities like food and housing. Providing support will help people maintain this spending, which will boost the economy. It will allow households to better weather the recession, helping ensure a faster bounce back when the threat of the virus is gone. The first priority is to maximize income supports that can be delivered through existing programs, including federal-government-financed expansions to unemployment insurance, food stamps, and Medicaid. The federal government should also cover the entire cost of coronavirus treatment for every individual who contracts it. Finally, the federal government should send payments directly to U.S. families. The first payment of $2,000 per adult and child, phased out for higher-income taxpayers, should be immediate. Future payments would be stepped down over time and tied to economic triggers.
2. Give substantial fiscal aid to state governments
State governments will bear a large share of the cost of the public health response to the coronavirus. Further, due to job loss and sharp declines in spending, state tax revenues will fall. Given balanced budget requirements, that will mean state spending will collapse, creating an enormous drag on the economy. A quick way to transfer resources to state governments is for the federal government to pay states' share of Medicaid. The federal government should take on all state Medicaid spending for at least the next year.
3. Payroll tax credit to businesses to not lay off workers
Businesses should be encouraged not to lay off workers, because this will mean fewer families face the enormous income and spending shocks of job loss, and it will speed up the recovery when the threat of the virus is over. The federal government should institute payroll tax credits, starting at the end of the first quarter, for coronavirus-impacted businesses who maintain, or nearly maintain, payroll.
4. Ramp up direct government purchases of things that help fight the virus
The federal government should significantly increase their purchase of medical equipment for use in fighting the impact of the coronavirus, and finance field hospitals and testing clinics to address the crisis.
All measures to fight the coronavirus should automatically continue until the economy no longer needs them. Right now, no one knows how long it the economy will take to recover from the coronavirus shock, and we should not saddle these crucial provisions with arbitrary end dates. Instead, we should make sure the economy gets the support it needs for as long as it needs it by instituting conditions-based triggers to determine when they end.
"Corporations get let off the hook, Musk gets insider information, and the American people get hosed."
The latest U.S. agency in the crosshairs of billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is reportedly the Federal Trade Commission, an already-understaffed department tasked with preventing monopolistic practices and shielding consumers from corporate abuses.
Axios reported Friday that at least two DOGE staffers "now have offices at" the FTC. According to The Verge, two DOGE members "were spotted" at the agency's building this week and "are now listed in the FTC's internal directory."
The Verge noted that the FTC is "a fairly lean agency with fewer than 1,200 employees," a number that the Trump administration has already cut into with the firing of some of the department's consumer protection and antitrust staff.
At least two of Musk's companies, Tesla and X, have faced scrutiny in recent years from the FTC, which is now under the leadership of Trump appointee Andrew Ferguson, who previously pledged to roll back former chair Lina Khan's anti-monopoly legacy.
Emily Peterson-Cassin, corporate power director at the Demand Progress Education Fund, which referred to the operatives as Musk's "minions," said Friday that "DOGE is yet again raiding a federal watchdog tasked with protecting working Americans from Wall Street and Big Tech."
"The FTC has worked to stop monopolistic mergers that would have led to higher grocery prices and is now gearing up to go to court against Meta's social media monopoly," said Peterson-Cassin. "It's no surprise that at this moment, while the economy is in freefall and fraud is on the rise, DOGE is choosing to raid the federal watchdog that protects everyday Americans and threatens corporate monopolies and grifters."
News of DOGE staffers' infiltration of the FTC came as Trump's sweeping new tariffs continued to cause global economic turmoil and heightened concerns that companies in the U.S. will use the tariffs as a new excuse to jack up prices and pad their bottom lines.
Ferguson pledged in a social media post Thursday that under his leadership, the FTC "will be watching closely" to ensure companies don't view Trump's tariffs "as a green light for price fixing or any other unlawful behavior."
But Trump has hobbled the agency—and prompted yet another legal fight—by firing its two Democratic commissioners, a move that sparked fury and has already impacted the FTC's ability to pursue cases against large corporations.
Peterson-Cassin said Friday that "the only winners" of DOGE's targeting of the FTC "are Trump's billionaire besties like [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg and especially Musk, who now stands to gain access to confidential financial information about every company ever investigated by the FTC, including the auto manufacturers, aerospace firms, internet providers, tech companies, and banks that directly compete with his own companies."
"Corporations get let off the hook, Musk gets insider information, and the American people get hosed," Peterson-Cassin added.
"The president single-handedly wiped out Americans' retirement savings overnight and subjected businesses to intense whiplash with his increasingly erratic and chaotic policies that continue to drive consumer and business uncertainty."
Alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs continues to grow, with stocks plummeting and JPMorgan warning that "the risk of recession in the global economy this year is raised to 60%, up from 40%."
After China announced new 34% tariffs on all American goods beginning next week, The Associated Press reported Friday that "the S&P 500 was down 4.8% in afternoon trading, after earlier dropping more than 5%, following its worst day since Covid wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,719 points, or 4.3%, as of 1:08 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.9% lower."
Noting the state of Wall Street this week, Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens declared in a Friday statement that "Trump has officially brought the economy to its knees."
"The president single-handedly wiped out Americans' retirement savings overnight and subjected businesses to intense whiplash with his increasingly erratic and chaotic policies that continue to drive consumer and business uncertainty," she said. "To call this an economic downturn is an understatement; Trump is marching us straight into a depression."
Political and economic observers have been publicly wondering for weeks if Trump is intentionally crashing the economy. Further fueling those fears, he ramped up his trade war on Wednesday by announcing a minimum 10% tariff for imports, with higher levies for dozens of countries. Although he claimed those steeper duties are "reciprocal," his math "horrified" economists and has been called "crazy."
Responding in a Thursday note titled, There Will Be Blood, head of global economic research Bruce Kasman and other experts at JPMorgan wrote that "if sustained, this year's ~22%-point tariff increase would be the largest U.S. tax hike since 1968."
"The effect of this tax hike is likely to be magnified—through retaliation, a slide in U.S. business sentiment, and supply chain disruptions," states the note, which came before China's announcement.
As Bloomberg reported:
Several Wall Street firms on Thursday warned of a U.S. recession, with some making it their base case, after... Trump announced major levies on goods imported from countries around the world. Other economists, including those at JPMorgan, said the hit could be big, though they are taking a wait-and-see approach before revising their projections.
The announcement rocked global financial markets, and the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since 2020. Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Thursday afternoon, said he was open to reducing tariffs if trading partners were able to offer something "phenomenal."
"We are not making immediate changes to our forecasts and want to see the initial implementation and negotiation process that takes hold," the JPMorgan note says. "However, we view the full implementation of announced policies as a substantial macroeconomic shock not currently incorporated in our forecasts. We thus emphasize that these policies, if sustained, would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year."
The team also pointed out that the United States is in potential danger no matter how other countries are ultimately impacted, calling a "scenario where rest of world muddles through a U.S. recession possible but less likely than global downturn."
As Common Dreams reported last week, in anticipation of Trump's tariff announcement, Goldman Sachs published a research note projecting that the odds of a recession in the next year are 35%, up from 20%.
Other financial industry research firms that have recently warned of a possible recession include Barclays, BofA Global Research, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, and UBS Global Wealth Management, according to Reuters.
"This is a game-changer, not only for the U.S. economy, but for the global economy. Many countries will likely end up in a recession," Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said in a late Wednesday note about the levies. "You can throw most forecasts out the door, if this tariff rate stays on for an extended period of time."
Experts have made similar comments to the press in the wake of the president's Rose Garden remarks on Wednesday. Time on Friday shared some from Brian Bethune, a Boston College economics professor:
"[Consumers] are not even going to the grocery store and paying more for vegetables because there's none available from Mexico, or going to Whole Foods, for example, and finding the big sections of fresh fruit are being shut down. They haven't really felt the full impact [yet], and they're already saying something isn't right," Bethune says.
However, while some economists... are more cautious in their discussion about a possible recession, Bethune says it's "inevitable." The question, he says, is just how long until it happens and for how long will it occur? He sees Trump's admission of there being " some pain" on the horizon as only proof of the inevitability.
"At least they [the Trump administration] are not pretending that it's not disruptive, but they're basically soft-selling it, reflecting their ignorance about the way business operates," Bethune claims.
Also on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest U.S. jobs data. Although the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2% in March, the economy added 228,000 jobs, which was better than expected.
However, economists warn of what lies ahead. As University of Michican economics professor Betsey Stevenson put it, "Today's jobs report is like looking at your vacation photos after you had a horrible car crash on the way home."
"Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line," wrote one union.
In what one outlet has reported is slated to be the largest single-day action to resist the Trump administration since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are planning to mobilize on Saturday to say: "Hands Off!"
A list of locations for the events, which are not all slated to start at the same time on Saturday, can be found here.
Trump and Musk "think this country belongs to them," according to a website for the Hands Off! events. "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history."
"They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They're handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich," according to the website's about page, which also notes nonviolent action is a "core principle" behind the events.
A spokesperson for the events told Common Dreams on Friday afternoon that the events have generated over 500,000 signups nationally, a number that is "growing rapidly," and there are over 1,000 events taking place on Saturday, a number that is "also growing steadily."
The actions are the latest warning sign for the Republican Party under Trump, who has allowed Elon Musk to play a core role in his administration, particularly in the administration's efforts to carry out cuts to federal personnel and spending.
Musk poured millions of dollars into a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election that took place on April 1—helping to make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history by one tally—only to have his preferred candidate, judge Brad Schimel, lose.
"This is a huge signal from a battleground state that Americans are genuinely upset, genuinely angry, I think, with Trump and with Musk," said John Nichols, a correspondent for That Nation, when recapping the outcome of the race on Democracy Now!
Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—are supporting the action as partners.
"People nationwide are rising up at hundreds of events to say one thing loud and clear: Hands Off!" wrote SEIU on the platform X, which is owned by Musk, on Friday. "Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line."
The environmentalist iIll McKibben wrote on Bluesky on Wednesday: "Expect to see a lot of gray hair at the April 5 Hands Off rallies—we've been organizing like crazy at Third Act," a group that mobilizes Americans over the age of 60.
In early February, anti-Trump "Movement 50501" protests took place nationwide and protestors united under the slogan #TakedownTesla have also targeted Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, in recent weeks.