The Putin plan also provides support for medical personnel, doctors, nurses, emergency staff, hospital employees, health care workers and first-responders. Here's Putin:
"We have mobilized all the capabilities and resources for deploying a system of timely prevention and treatment. I would like to specially address doctors, paramedics, nurses, staff at hospitals, outpatient clinics, rural paramedic centers, ambulance services, and researchers: you are at the forefront of dealing with this situation. My heartfelt gratitude to you for your dedicated efforts."
Will Putin and his advisors make mistakes in containing the virus and ending the contagion as swiftly as possible?
Probably, but it certainly looks like they've got their priorities right. Putin seems to understand that the health and welfare of the Russian people has to be put before the stock market, finance capital or the voracious corporate kingpins. In contrast, Trump wants to put more people at risk of infection by sending them back to work after Easter. That's just not the way responsible leaders behave, not if they really care about the health of their people. Here's more from Putin:
"There are two more measures I would like to suggest. First, all interest and dividend income that flows from Russia and is transferred abroad into offshore jurisdictions must be taxed properly".I suggest that those expatriating their income as dividends to foreign accounts should pay a 15 percent tax on these dividends".
Second, many countries levy income tax on interest earned by individuals from their bank deposits and investments in securities, while Russia does not tax this income at all. I propose that people with over 1 million rubles in bank deposits and debt securities pay a 13 percent tax on this income". I propose using the budget revenue from these two measures to fund initiatives to support families with children and help people who are unemployed or on sick leave."
What does it mean?
It means that Putin is closing tax havens and tax loopholes so he can get the money he needs to pay for the epidemic. It means he's taking on the wealthiest and most powerful people in Russia so he can provide relief for the people who are stuck in their homes trying to survive. It means he's risking his own political future in order to do the right thing. Here's Putin:
"People of Russia, we need the state, society and the people to work together.. We have to be mindful that we bear personal responsibility for our close ones, for those who live near us, and who need our help and support".It is our sense of solidarity that underpins the resilience of our society, as well as an unwavering commitment to mutual assistance and the effectiveness of the response we come up with to overcome the challenge we are facing."
Shared sacrifice, solidarity and brotherly love. That's what he's talking about, isn't it? The threads that bind a disparate group of people into a sovereign nation.
In America, we make the working poor pay for the excesses of the crooked rich, while in Russia, the wealthy are asked to make sacrifices for the sake of the country. Which approach do you think is better?
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