Overview
At 2:00 AM on Saturday, February 27, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a “COVID relief and economic support“ bill at a cost to taxpayers of $1.9 trillion. The next Saturday, Senate Democrats passed a very similar bill, and President Biden stated he will sign it. This will be the sixth “COVID relief” law and swell the tab for such legislation to a total of $5.3 trillion. The combined cost of these laws to every household in the United States will be an average of $41,036.
The House bill also contained a provision to double the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour. The Senate rejected this for now, but given that 97% of Congressional Democrats voted for this, it will likely be back on the agenda soon.
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The collapse
At approximately 2:00 pm a cave-in occurred at the San Jose mine following warnings of disturbances earlier in the day. The mine, opened in 1889, had been the site of numerous earlier accidents, including an explosion in 2007 that killed three miners. Little was done to improve conditions before the mine was reauthorized for continued excavation by Chile’s National Geology and Mining Service (Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería; Sernageomin) in 2008. Inside the mine at the time of the collapse were 33 workers; 32 were Chilean and one was Bolivian. Most were miners, though several subcontracted workers were also trapped. The mine, which spiraled into the depths of a mountain, was approximately 2,625 feet (800 metres) deep.