The governor's message to out-of-work New Yorkers is, 'It's not all about you'
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)/(Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was asked Wednesday for his response to unemployed New Yorkers protesting against the state's coronavirus lockdown, and he suggested those who are struggling to pay their bills should "go take a job as an essential worker."
What are the details?
During a press conference, a reporter told the governor she had spoken to demonstrators outside the venue before the briefing, telling Cuomo, "These are regular people who are not getting a paycheck. Some of them are not getting their unemployment check, 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 point is, the cure can't be worse than the illness itself," the reporter continued, asking Cuomo for his reaction.
"The illness is death," Cuomo responded, before dismissing the reporter's assertion that extended financial strains and a broken economy would lead to suicides and other deaths rivaling COVID-19 fatalities.
Addressing protestors directly, Cuomo said, "It's not all about you."
Gov. Cuomo went on to say that he "gets" the economic hardships, but stressed that it could not be addressed "in a way that jeopardizes public health and possibly causes more people to die." He also acknowledged that there was a delay in unemployment payments.
The unidentified reporter pressed further, asking, "Is there a fundamental right to work if the government can't get me money when I need it? Is there a fundamental right to go to work?"
Cutting her off, Cuomo fired back, "Sure, you want to go to work? Go take a job as an essential worker. Do it tomorrow."
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