Newsletter Archive

June 2020

No More $1,200 Stimulus Checks?

The money includes $1.2 trillion allocated in March by the CARES Act, which has provided enhanced benefits for unemployed workers, forgivable loans for small businesses and direct cash payments for households, hospitals, cities and states…

Plus: Plus, most coronavirus relief funds have been depleted

Protests, Pandemic and Looming $1 Trillion Decision

At the very least, the protests — and the political clashes they have sparked between the White House and Congress — could make it harder to avoid the fiscal cliff and address the difficult decisions it will force:

Plus: Plus, the dire state of state tax revenues

A $16 Trillion Hit to the Economy

In response to a request by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), CBO Director Phillip Swagel laid out how the pandemic has caused the budget office to dramatically revise projections it had issued in January, reducing its forecast…

Plus: Plus, IRS Lets High-Income Tax Cheats Slide

May 2020

Trump Says He’ll Terminate WHO Funding

Accusing the World Health Organization of protecting China during the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump said Friday that the U.S. would sever its relationship with the agency.

Plus: Plus, why incomes jumped during the pandemic

Jobless Claims Top 40 Million, but There’s a Silver Lining

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved bipartisan changes to give small businesses more time and flexibility in using emergency loans obtained through the Paycheck Protection Program meant to aid companies and workers during the…

Plus: Plus: House votes to relax PPP rules

100,000 Deaths

The most important number of the day is clearly 100,000 — the sad milestone in the Covid-19 death toll that the U.S. reached on Wednesday. As The New York Times reports, that is far higher than in any other nation and tops the number of U…

Plus: Plus: The EU's $825 billion coronavirus rescue plan

Trump Admin Eyes Back-to-Work Bonuses

Republicans have objected to extending the $600-a-week in extra unemployment benefits Congress provided as part of the CARES Act in March, arguing that the payments, which come on top of state benefits, slow the reopening of the economy by…

Plus: Plus: Could the US pay companies to leave China?

Biden Slams Trump’s Coronavirus Response

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday slammed President Trump’s efforts to prop up the economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, charging that the focus so far has been on helping large corporations and the very wealthy instead…

Plus: Plus: $429 billion saved, but plenty more to go

The Republican Clash Over Coronavirus Aid

About 2.4 million people filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department announced Thursday, bringing the nine-week total since the coronavirus crisis struck to more than 38 million.

Plus: Plus: More than 38 million jobs lost

Trump Stakes Out a Negotiating Position on Coronavirus Aid

President Trump complained last week that providing additional federal funding to help states recover from the coronavirus crisis would be unfair to Republicans “because all the states that need help — they’re run by Democrats in every…

Plus: Plus: 36.5 million jobs lost

Trump Wants to Cut Enhanced Unemployment Benefits: Report

The enhanced unemployment benefits provided by Congress for laid-off workers as part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act are shaping up to be a major point of contention as lawmakers engage in an increasingly partisan debate over a next round…

Plus: Plus: Trump threatens funding to states over mail-in voting

Trump Threatens to Permanently Cut WHO Funding

President Trump threatened late Monday to permanently stop funding the World Health Organization and “reconsider” U.S. membership in the group if it does not “commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days.”

Plus: Plus: A deal to bring drug manufacturing back to U.S.

$500 Billion Coronavirus Fund Has Barely Been Used

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again cautioned that the central bank and Congress may need to do more to prevent longer-term economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic — and that concerns about the massive federal budget deficit…

Plus: Plus: Powell pushes for more

House Set to Pass $3 Trillion Coronavirus Relief Bill

The Democratic-led House is set to pass a $3 trillion emergency coronavirus relief bill that is destined to be ignored by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Plus: Plus: White House floats another corporate tax cut

‘Costly, but Worth It’: Fed’s Powell Urges More Stimulus

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned Wednesday that the U.S. economy could suffer prolonged damage if Congress doesn’t provide additional aid to address the coronavirus pandemic and its toll on businesses and households.

Plus: Plus, Pelosi defends $3 trillion relief package

Pelosi's $3 Trillion Stimulus Plan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has been encouraged to “think big” for the next coronavirus relief package, and it looks like she has taken that advice to heart. House Democrats on Tuesday released the Health and Economic Recovery…

Plus: Plus: a record April deficit

What’s in Pelosi’s Next Massive Aid Package?

Even as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans take a wait-and-see approach to the next phase of coronavirus relief, House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi are racing this week to finalize their own proposals for a…

Plus: Plus: Trump advisers' debt fears

Worst Unemployment Since the Great Depression

The U.S economy set new records last month for job losses and the unemployment rate, the Labor Department announced Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic took an enormous toll on economic activity throughout the country.

Plus: Plus: Dem senators propose $2,000 monthly coronavirus payments