With financial markets in a state of near panic over an incoming COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York took the extraordinary step of injecting over $1.5 trillion into the stock market yesterday in a bid to calm investors’ fears about a collapse. To put that into perspective, that number is equal to the total amount of student debt held in the country, more than twice as much as the original TARP bailout during the 2008 financial crash, and nearly 30 times the net worth of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the richest man to ever run for president.

Despite the enormous investment, the market rallied for only around 15 minutes before immediately slumping, negating the spike within two hours. Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is over 3,000 points lower than yesterday, with a third of all value wiped from the stock market in just two weeks. President Trump has demanded more intervention to help the markets. Meanwhile, his son Eric was busy deleting previous statements he made advising people that this would be a great time to invest and win big.

imo, the best sort of economic system is one so fragile that we need to pretend a pandemic isn't happening to avoid frightening it to death

— Shaun (@shaun_vids) March 12, 2020

Earlier this week the government decreed that all medical facilities nationwide conduct coronavirus testing free of charge. And even establishment Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are demanding comprehensive social welfare reform, including emergency paid sick leave and healthcare, despite campaigning their whole lives against those policies. As recently as Monday, Biden, the Democratic frontrunner for president, suggested he would veto any Medicare for All bill that the House of Representatives passed.

These new positions from the Democratic elite have certainly surprised many activists who have fought for universal healthcare for decades, and have faced committed opposition from Democrats, Republicans and the media alike. During the Democratic primary debates, moderators asked 21 questions about where the money was going to come from to pay for programs like free healthcare or student loan relief, but never once asked about financing aggression against Iran or any other enemy nation. Yet, in the face of a crisis, it appears Washington is trying to gauge how much free healthcare will be necessary to avoid a disaster.

For those who might be wondering, “Where did the Federal Reserve get the $1.5 trillion they just committed to injecting?”
A blast from the past explanation of how it all works.