Coronavirus

2020’s Unfinished Business

Update 496 – 2020’s Unfinished Business:Congress to Provide Interim Relief, Finally Nine months after the last Covid relief bill passed, with the epidemic spiking and the economic recovery stagnating, Congress is facing pleas to act from all sides. Today, the $900 billion compromise relief package and the $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill are the two …

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Countdown to Shutdown

Update 495 — Countdown to Shutdown:State of Budget Talks as the Clock Tocks  Developments this afternoon put the question to the President. With hundreds of thousands of new COVID cases a day, the nation has seen a sharp reversal in macroeconomic circumstances (see initial jobless claims). This doesn’t seem the time to shut down the …

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$908 Bn. COVID Talks Stuck

Update 494 — $908 Bn. COVID Talks Stuck:McConnell Eyes State/Local Aid, Sees Blue The promising progress in negotiations on a compromise COVID relief bill has hit a predictable but ironic snag. In a reversal of GOP Federalism 101, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell supports federal COVID assistance but not state and local aid for the …

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$908 Bn. Relief Bill Seen

Update 493 — $908 Bn. Relief Bill Seen:A Starting Point Bill Then, Dark Winter? COVID relief before the end of the year suddenly seems like a possibility. Prospects for a $908 billion bipartisan package — a starting point relief bill before the winter blow — have shot up, as have Corona cases since Thanksgiving.  Although …

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Another Budget Battle?

Update 490 — Another Budget Battle?Over What? And How Can the Fed Help? With days dwindling until the December 11 deadline for a budget deal needed to avert a government shutdown, Congress is negotiating yet another Continuing Resolution, which will alter federal spending priorities not at all as economic conditions continue to worsen. What’s the …

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Congress’s Lame-Duck a Turkey?

Update 488 – Cong. Lame-Duck a Turkey?“Must-Pass” Items Will; Relief, Not So Fast This Friday the 13th comes as coronavirus cases in the U.S. top 140,000 a day, three times a month ago, and the unemployment rate remains twice as high as it was in February. As we head into a lame-duck session of Congress, …

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Consequences of Failure

Update 481 • Consequences of Failure:The Prospect of Months without Relief  The CARES Act, passed in March, was a short-term antidote to head off the worst of the economic impact from COVID. Many of the programs were designed to sunset this calendar year, with the expectation that Congress would provide additional relief to follow as …

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$260bn+ in CARES Unused

Update 472: $260bn+ in CARES Unused; A Fiscal Fix for Fed Facility Failures? $454 billion was provided in the CARES Act enacted in March, the biggest corporate assistance package since TARP. Today, $259 billion remains uncommitted. All the while, fiscal relief has run out and the American people are suffering. While the $259 billion sits idle, …

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