Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) have announced legislation that would set minimum federal standards for unemployment benefits nationwide. The legislation also includes a stipulation that unemployment benefits will receive an extra boost when unemployment is high. “As we’ve seen the last year, it’s much harder for the unemployment system to work in…
The House of Representatives is moving toward final approval of the Covid-19 stimulus package in what would mark President Joe Biden‘s first legislative victory since taking office. The House had a two-hour morning debate earlier today ahead of a final vote on the bill. “Congressional leaders do not expect a replay of the prolonged fights around…
President Joe Biden continues to get high marks overall, according to a special online edition of the CNBC All-America Economic Survey, which found he has a 62% percent approval rating, a rating higher than those of the last four presidents. Americans have really taken to Biden’s handling of the economy as well, with 65% saying they…
Democrats are pushing President Joe Biden to support $2,000 monthly stimulus payments, what they say would amount to a vital lifeline to Americans who have been adversely impacted by the economic fallout in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Americans have thus far received only $1,800 since the crisis began in March. The first $1,200…
President Joe Biden will sign two executive orders on Covid-19 relief that aim to provide vital economic relief to Americans weathering the economic freefall caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The orders will expand food stamps and also ensure that anyone working for the federal government makes at least $15 an hour. These orders will provide…
Unemployment claims have spiked again. The Department of Labor (DOL) reports that unemployment claims in the first full week of January spiked to a seasonally adjusted 965,000, Additionally, non-adjusted claims rose to 1.2 million and the number receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) rose to 284,500. “This is bad news for the economy heading into 2021,”…
The Department of Labor (DOL) says unemployment benefits won’t lapse despite President Donald Trump’s delay in signing a new Covid-19 relief package. “As states are implementing these new provisions as quickly as possible, the Department does not anticipate that eligible claimants will miss a week of benefits due to the timing of the law’s enactment,”…
United States Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has confirmed that Americans could see $600 stimulus checks as soon as next week. The funds are part of a $900 million virus relief package that lawmakers agreed on last night; final votes will be tallied today ahead of a midnight deadline. “There are still parts of the economy…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this morning that the United States economy added just 245,000 jobs in November on a seasonally adjusted basis, 224,000 fewer jobs than had been projected. Although November’s unemployment rate (6.7%) is lower than October’s unemployment rate (6.9%) this is because more workers left the workforce in November. Of those…
A group of 76 United States mayors has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in an open letter that also calls out President Donald Trump and members of Congress for delaying vital Covid-19 relief for small businesses as the pandemic continues to wreak a harsh economic toll on the lives of average Americans. “We are…
A Columbia University study found that eight million more Americans are in poverty after coronavirus relief stimulus talks collapsed, a sign that “The COVID-19 crisis has induced both the largest declines and subsequent increases in monthly employment ever witnessed in the U.S., and has made clear the importance of high-frequency data on family well-being to…
Negotiations over more coronavirus relief legislation have largely faltered, and President Donald Trump says he’s considering a larger relief package, one larger than the $1.8 trillion offered by the White House. When Fox Business host Stuart Varney asked him if he would consider a larger bill, Trump responded: “I would. This was not caused by…
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned that the upcoming election could be “a bloodbath of Watergate proportions” for the GOP if people are in dire financial straits as a result of the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. “If people are going back to work, if they’re optimistic, if they’re positive about the future, we could…
President Donald Trump says coronavirus aid talks have restarted, just days after he shocked financial markets by announcing he’d ordered Republicans to end negotiations altogether. “Now they are starting to work out,” he told Fox Business Network. Earlier this week, Trump announced he had instructed Republicans not to negotiate a coronavirus financial stimulus package until…
President Donald Trump, who yesterday announced he had instructed Republicans not to negotiate a coronavirus financial stimulus package until after November’s general election, appeared to reverse course this morning, telling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that he is “Waiting To Sign” a bill authorizing stimulus checks as soon as it lands on his desk. The…
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) rebuked the Senate’s attempts to confirm a nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court in remarks earlier today. Baker says the Senate should “allow the American people to cast their ballots” first, joining a chorus of voices who say a confirmation should be decided…
A group of 13 Nobel Prize-winning economists has announced their endorsement of Democrat Joe Biden in November’s general election. The economists announced their endorsement in a letter released by the Biden campaign. The signatories are the economists George Akerlof, Peter Diamond, Oliver Hart, Eric Maskin, Daniel McFadden, Roger Myerson, William Nordhaus, Edmund Phelps, Paul Romer,…
Wall Street analysts say the chances of Congress approving a federal stimulus package are “effectively zero” now that the conversation has shifted to filling the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat. “With the passing of Justice Ginsburg, the level of rhetorical heat has increased, if that seemed even possible,” Greg Staples, head of…
President Donald Trump called Democrats “heartless” and accused them of blocking vital coronavirus relief as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the economy and people’s livelihoods. The Senate did not approve new relief legislation last week. Democrats are ‘heartless.’ They don’t want to give STIMULUS PAYMENTS to people who desperately need the money, and…
The novel coronavirus caused President Donald Trump’s net worth to drop $600 million in the last year, Forbes reported, placing him at No. 339 (a drop of 64 points) on The Forbes 400, which profiles and ranks the country’s richest billionaires. “Blame the coronavirus, which has battered not only the president’s poll numbers but also the…
President Donald Trump took to Twitter this morning to attack Democrats, claiming that economic shutdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus are politically motivated. “The Democrats will open up their states on November 4th, the day after the Election,” he wrote. “These shutdowns are ridiculous, and only being done to hurt the economy prior to…
President Donald Trump boasted about the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that found employers added 1.4 million jobs in August. However, the president did not mention that the report also points out the United States has lost 11.5 million jobs since February. “Great Jobs Numbers! 1.37 Million Jobs Added In August. Unemployment…
According to the latest data released by the Department of Labor (DOL), another 1 million American workers filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is the 22nd time in 23 weeks that unemployment claims topped 1 million as the nation struggles economically amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Job claims…
Over one million unemployment claims were filed last week, according to new data from the Department of Labor (DOL), rising to a seasonally adjusted 1.106 million for the week ended Aug. 15, from an upwardly revised 971,000 in the prior week. The national economy has regained only 9.3 million of the 22 million jobs lost…
President Donald Trump’s personal net worth has dropped $300 million in one year as the coronavirus pandemic hurts his businesses, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. This means the president has lost roughly 10 percent of his wealth since his inauguration. His net worth now stands at $2.7 billion, according to the Billionaires Index. “The drop…
President Donald Trump claimed that the United States will experience an economic “disaster” if Democrat Joe Biden wins this year’s general election. “I think if he wins, you’re going to end up with a disaster,” Trump said on Fox Business. The president further suggested that the Green New Deal backed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)…
Kentucky voters are angry at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s response to the economic crisis wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Protesters have taken to protesting outside McConnell’s Louisville office, carrying signs with slogans such as “Mitch Better Have My Money.” Protests have been organized by Kentucky representatives from the AFL-CIO, Teamsters and other labor groups….
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took Republicans to task for delaying vital financial relief to everyone affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn for what you just described,” she told CNBC’s Jim Cramer. Pelosi added that she “hopes” President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to…
62 percent of voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin believe enhanced unemployment benefits should be extended, according to polling published Wednesday by CNBC/Change Research. All of the aforementioned states are swing states in play for November’s general election. 42 percent “strongly” supported extending the payments, while 20…
The latest data from the United States Department of Labor (DOL) shows that 1.4 million more Americans have filed for unemployment, the first increase since the pandemic intensified in March. DOL says about 32 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, though that figure could include double-counting by some states. The current data is an increase…
According to new data from the Department of Labor, another 2.44 million Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits last week The current unemployment rate of 14.7 percent means that nearly 40 million Americans are out of work as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced many businesses to declare bankruptcy or impose layoffs….
According to an Associated Press report, President Donald Trump’s allies are recruiting “extremely pro-Trump” doctors to go on television and advocate reopening the national economy as speedily as possible. This would be “without waiting to meet safety benchmarks proposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the new…
The Orlando Sentinel‘s editorial board criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after he blamed the high number of unemployed people for the state’s failure to pay unemployment benefits. DeSantis made the remarks in response to a reporter’s question about delays that have affected individuals who first applied for unemployment in March. “I can tell you that DEO…
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has called for an inspector general to investigate coronavirus stimulus loans given to large companies and those close to the administration. “Let me issue a warning right now to anyone who participates in a corrupt giveaway with President Trump and his administration,” Biden said in a video message released by his…
In an op-ed for The Washington Post, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wrote that President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic amounts to little more than “deflecting blame and dividing Americans.” “The coronavirus, to date, has taken the lives of more than 79,000 Americans. One of every 5 U.S. workers has filed for unemployment — with the…
Writing in an op-ed for The Hill, journalist and Fox News political analyst Juan Williams says President Donald Trump’s “failure of leadership” allowed the coronavirus “to do greater damage to the economy than it otherwise would.” “Yet an upbeat Vice President Pence is still selling the illusion that the nation will be done with the…
Late Night host Seth Meyers slammed President Donald Trump over his insistence that the national economy reopen and his push for states to lift their stay-at-home orders, saying that his lack of empathy compels him to let Americans die to return to business as usual. “You would think that putting aside his venality, his narcissism,…
Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote a letter to President Donald Trump suggesting he suspend visas for guest workers “during recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.” The news was first reported by Politico. The lawmakers suggest Trump suspend guest worker visas for 60 days and prevent some workers from returning to the U.S. for…
An exclusive report from The Associated Press reveals that President Donald Trump’s administration shelved a 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team titled “Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework.” The report, the AP notes, “was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state…
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) admitted during a private call with lawmakers that reopening the economy would spread the coronavirus even as he publicly announced that he would end an executive stay-at-home order. The news was first reported by The Daily Beast; a spokesperson for Abbott confirmed the call is authentic. “How do we know reopening businesses won’t…
President Donald Trump said Democrat-run states facing financial strain because of the coronavirus pandemic shouldn’t expect to be bailed out by the federal government. “I think Congress is inclined to do a lot of things but I don’t think they’re inclined to do bailouts. A bailout is different than, you know, reimbursing for the plague,”…
According to data released by the Department of Commerce, the United States economy shrunk 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of Americans out of work. The decline is the first quarter of negative GDP growth for the U.S. since the same period in 2014 and was driven…
Democratic Governors Andrew Cuomo (N.Y.) and Phil Murphy (N.J.) criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for suggesting that states should declare bankruptcy instead of receiving a federal bailout. “I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” McConnell said yesterday during an appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio program. “It’s…
Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate who lost to Governor Brian Kemp (R) following a contentious election riddled with accusations of voter fraud, says there is “no logic” to her former opponent’s decision to open the economy. “There is no logic and that’s part of the problem,” Abrams told View co-host Ana Navarro. “We only shut…
The Department of Labor announced that unemployment claims in the United States have continued to spike, with 4.4 million new filings in the last week, an unprecedented amount. This brings the total number of unemployment claims to 26.4 million, more than the 2008 financial crisis. The news comes as President Donald Trump announced he would…
The Associated Press reports that President Donald Trump is consulting faith leaders on “a phased-in return to broader in-person worship” after religious services had to move online after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered houses of worship nationwide. A White House statement said Trump “mentioned his memories as a young child attending Billy Graham’s service at Yankee…
Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) took President Donald Trump to task for his assertion that the economy would reopen soon amid the coronavirus pandemic. “There is no ‘reopening’ without a plan to get the virus under control and keep it that way,” Schiff wrote on Twitter. “Trump’s false claims of absolute power are alarming, of course….
The latest Monmouth University survey has found that 41 percent of Americans are experiencing economic hardships, saying they’ve lost income as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The impacts could be felt across all income brackets, with 42 percent of those making less than $50,000, 40 percent of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 and…
Earlier today, President Donald Trump announced he would champion” a new “Opening Our Country Council” and name someone to chair it, the latest move in his plan to reopen the economy as the nation grapples with the novel coronavirus. The council will likely include a group of business leaders, doctors, governors, and other professionals. It…
According to new data released by the Labor Department, 6.6 million additional Americans have filed for unemployment, bringing the number of unemployment claims nationwide to 16.6 million. The unemployment rate in the United States was at a 50-year low as recently as January, when the economy added 225,000 jobs, but those numbers have been upended…
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed stay-at-home orders come at the expense of wrecking the economy in a monologue on his show. “Are we just going to sit by and watch $22 trillion — that’s the value, that’s the sum total of the GDP, that’s the U.S. economy — are we just going to sit…
Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden has come out against President Donald Trump’s proposal to have the economy up and running by Easter. “Now he’s suggesting he wants to get the country back opened by Easter,” Biden said during a video conference with reporters. “It would be a catastrophic thing to do for our people and…
President Donald Trump’s controversial assurance that the national economy would be up and running again by Easter has received significant criticism from both sides of the political aisle as well as from health experts who argue that loosening social distancing would result in even more deaths and greater economic turmoil. Now, 32 prominent economists, including…
President Donald Trump has courted significant controversy since announcing he will look into loosening federal guidelines for social distancing and urge businesses to reopen even as the nation grapples with the coronavirus pandemic. “Our country wasn’t built to be shut down,” Trump said during a briefing at the White House. “America will, again, and soon,…
The novel coronavirus has claimed at least 458 lives in the United States according to the most recent statistics, and health experts are unyielding in their recommendation that the nation must adhere to an initial 15-day period of social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. But President Donald Trump said last night that…
Billionaire Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital, took to Twitter to demand President Donald Trump order a 30-day nationwide shutdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Shutting down the country and closing our borders “is the only answer,” Ackman said in response to a growing public health crisis that has claimed the…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost all gains it amassed since President Donald Trump took office, a further indication of the turbulent effect of the coronavirus pandemic on global markets. The Dow plunged 1,428.48 points, or 6.7 percent, an intraday low of 19,808.90. That’s below its close of 19,827.25 on Jan. 20, 2017, the…
Speaking on CNN, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hasset said a global recession is imminent, with a loss of 1 million jobs in April. “I think that the odds of a global recession are close to 100 percent right now,” Hassett said. “I think in the U.S., we’re going…
The stock markets have tanked pretty hard due to concerns surrounding the spread of coronavirus across the globe. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump is still trying to promote an optimistic view about what’s happening, economically, when it comes to the disease’s impact. When asked on Thursday if he was planning to sign any sort of economic…
The coronavirus outbreak is officially a global pandemic, and policy experts around the world are expressing significant concern over how the virus, which has claimed 4,729 lives worldwide according to the most recent official count, will impact global economies. White House Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow’s old statements have come back to haunt him in…
President Donald Trump really wants a stimulus package to pass Congress so that he can deal with the economic fallout that’s related to the global spread of coronavirus. Among other items, Trump is promoting a payroll tax holiday to last through at least the end of this year, a notion that some in his own…