Cuomo Slams Protesters: “Get a Job as an Essential Worker,” Unemployment Not Worse Than Death

The unemployment rate is expected to spike above 20 percent.

Some economists are worried that the unemployment rate might even reach 30 percent.

The speed and velocity at which jobs have been lost is unprecedented.

President Trump has acted quickly and decisively, signing the coronavirus stimulus package to provide financial relief to American workers as well as the businesses that employ them.

Meanwhile, Cuomo said that the shutdown is worth it if it saves just 1 life.

According to Fox News, Cuomo claimed that essential businesses are still hiring:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that protesters calling for the state to reopen the economy so they can go back to work could “get a job as an essential worker.”

Cuomo made the comment at the end of a long exchange with WRGB reporter Anne McCloy, who told the governor that she spoke with demonstrators outside New York’s state Capitol in Albany before heading inside for the daily press conference. The protesters told her they can’t wait for widespread coronavirus testing – which Cuomo has been pushing  -- and want to return to work so they can have an income and feed their families, McCloy said.

“By the way -- if you want to go to work, go take the job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow,” Cuomo said.

“But the people aren’t hiring because of the pandemic,” McCloy responded.

“No, there are people hiring,” Cuomo said. “You can get a job as an essential worker, so now you can go to work and you can be an essential worker and you’re not going to kill anyone.”

Cuomo said earlier that “we get the economic anxiety, the question is how do you respond to it and do you respond to it in a way that jeopardizes public health and possibly causes more people to die?”

He also noted that the federal government is providing financial assistance for Americans and his state is “moving heaven and earth” to speed up payments to New Yorkers who file for unemployment.

Protests have erupted in New York and across the nation, calling for governors to ease stay-at-home restrictions.

While Governor Cuomo has received lots of positive praise from the press, many of his constituents were insulted by his callous comments.

The economic shutdown due to COVID-19 has resulted in millions of lost jobs.

Thousands of small businesses are threatened. Many of these small businesses were founded with the life savings of Americans who took the risk to pursue the American dream.

CBS 6 Albany provided a full transcript of the exchange, which liberal news outlets edited to only show Cuomo's "zinger" one-liner:

Anne: “These are regular people who are not getting a paycheck and they’re saying that they don’t have time to wait for all of this testing and they need to get back to work in order to feed their families. Their savings is running out, they don’t have another week, they’re not getting answers, so their point is the cure can’t be worse than the illness itself, what is you’re response to them?

Gov. Cuomo: The illness is death, what is worse than death?

Anne: Well what if someone commits suicide because they can’t pay their bills?

Governor Cuomo: The illness may be my death instead of your death. How can the cure be worse than the illness, if the illness is potential death?

Anne: But what if the economy failing is...

Cuomo: Worse than death?

Anne: Equals death, because of mental illness, the people stuck at home?

Gov Cuomo: No it doesn’t. It doesn’t equal death. Economic hardship yes, very bad. Not death.

CBS 6’s Anne McCloy took the protesters concerns straight to the governor at his daily news conference today and got their reaction to his remarks. (WRGB)

After Anne’s exchange with the governor, she went to ask some of the protesters outside what they thought of the Governor's remarks.

Mike Delgallo from Schenectady is out of work because his business is considered non-essential.

“My response to that is, if you’re afraid of being infected by something, then you have the right to quarantine yourself, but I don’t have the fear of getting infected so I have the right to leave my home to work, to not wear a mask and to live my life normally,” he said.

Anne also asked the governor about unemployment and the protesters claims they have a right to work.

Anne: They’re also saying if you can’t afford to pay me unemployment, or your system is not set-up

Governor Cuomo: You will be paid! You will be paid!

Anne: But they can’t wait for the money, they are out of money.

Gov. Cuomo: We are talking about a couple of days of lag and they will get the date of unemployment.

Anne: So, you are saying that – is there a fundamental right to work if the government cannot give me the money when I need it?

Gov. Cuomo: By the way, if you want to go to work, take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow. You are working. You are an essential worker. So, go take a job an essential worker.

Training to become medical personnel takes years of studying and certification.

Local and state governments are largely not currently hiring.

Neither are construction or home businesses.

Meanwhile, essential jobs at grocery stores are being overwhelmed with job applications from the millions of unemployed Americans.

This elitist attitude is exactly what delivered President Trump the 2016 election.