Trump’s CDC is Banning Evictions, and it Probably Will Help Him.
By: Lauren Elizabeth
Tags: Society, Election 2020, Politics, Trump, Government

Trump’s CDC is Banning Evictions, and it Probably Will Help Him.

His latest faux populist gimmick could work.

Carolyn Kaster/AP

As I’ve said now countless times before, I’ve struggled with processing just how quickly everything has spiraled out of control over the course of a matter of months. It feels as though with each passing day, the American people have dealt with a new layer of unnecessary trauma and suffering, and the sense of utter despair and hopelessness only intensifies the more I attempt to come to terms with the extent of it. But considering we are fresh in to a new month, the fact that tens of millions of people have been unable to pay their mortgage and rent has been heavy on my mind, and prompted a renewed sense of dread about what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months.

Recently, it was reported that the Trump administration will be using the CDC as a means by which to stop the coming wave of evictions.

Chris Arnold with NPR writes:

“The Trump administration is ordering a halt on evictions nationwide through December for people who have lost work during the pandemic and don’t have other good housing options. The new eviction ban is being enacted through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The goal is to stem the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, which the agency says in its order “presents a historic threat to public health.” It’s by far the most sweeping move yet by the administration to try to head off a looming wave of evictions of people who have lost their jobs or taken a major blow to their income because of the pandemic. Housing advocates and landlord groups both have been warning that millions of people could soon be put out of their homes through eviction if Congress does not do more to help renters and landlords and reinstate expanded unemployment benefits. …Under the rules of the order, renters have to sign a declaration saying they don’t make more than $99,000 a year — or twice that if filing a joint tax return — and that they have no other option if evicted other than homelessness or living with more people in close proximity.”

Of course, while this is an undeniably essential move in this moment in order to prevent the mass humanitarian crisis from coming to fruition, as per usual the American government has put a bandaid on a gushing wound they will no longer be able to hide come January when months worth of back rent is expected to be paid. It should also go without saying that the President hasn’t done this out of the goodness of his heart, and that this has nothing to do with the wellbeing of the American people, but instead everything to do with the preservation of his own power as the impending election grows closer and closer.

The thing is, I’m not sure anyone who will immediately benefit from this action is going to care about that at all. In all honesty given the circumstances they’re in, I really cannot blame them.

If nothing else, this is yet another indication of the sadistic, criminal, and frankly abusive way the American people have been treated by the very people — in all levels of government — who we are supposed to trust will listen to our concerns, and advocate for the best interests of their constituents.

In perhaps the most mild way one could look at it, Americans have been abandoned by our lawmakers. People have been starved in to submission, and robbed of any last shred of stability they have through no fault of their own while politicians go on “recess” on the taxpayer’s dime to solicit donations from their high-dollar donors. While owners of small businesses across the country are wondering how they’re going to get through this, the Treasury secretary is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of taxpayer money to some of the largest corporations in the country. While Jeff Bezos , the founder and CEO of Amazon — a company which doesn’t pay any federal taxes — has nearly doubled his wealth to 200 billion dollars as a direct result of this pandemic, the American people who created his wealth have gotten one time checks of $1200 dollars to get us through.

Given the amount of trauma that’s been inflicted on us, is it any wonder that the American people are so desperate for some sort of help, that when they get it from him President Trump is rightfully confident that the absolute bare minimum could be enough to help him to retain his power?

As I’ve been saying before, people need something to vote for, not just something to vote against, and for at least some of us, this recent ban on evictions could be that “something”. There’s not a doubt in my mind that in this twisted dystopian hell-scape we find ourselves in, Trump will be able to gaslight a number of people in to forgetting the fact that he helped to create the situation they find themselves in, so long as he reminds them on a consistent basis that he was the one who took the action that allowed them to keep the roof over their child’s head while — as I’m sure he’ll say — congress did nothing.

I’m not sure anything could serve as a better testament to just how far this country has sunk than the idea that the shelter of tens of millions of people has been boiled down to nothing more than a partisan, political tool for the electoral aspirations of a six times bankrupt billionaire who happens to hold the highest office in the land. It seems as though every day, there’s more and more reason to grow concerned that he may indeed be re-elected, and I’m still trying to prepare myself for that very real possibility.