Miscellaneous

Senate Process SOP

Update 521 — Senate Process SOP:Real Reforms and Honorable Manchins Over time, policymakers in Washington have used the term “bipartisan” to describe bills. But the true meaning of the word has been clouded by the way Washington uses it and how folks elsewhere still understand it. Which bills it applies to — how it is …

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Bills Beyond Relief

Update 515: Bills Beyond Relief:Paying For the Road to Recovery Now that President Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill, the American Rescue Plan (ARP), has officially been signed into law and almost entirely deficit-financed, focus is shifting to a new multi-trillion dollar package centered on infrastructure: The Recovery Act. Some are calling for revenue offsets to …

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House OKs Biden Bill Intact

Update 512 — House OKs Biden Bill Intact$1.9 Trillion: What Will be Its Legacy, Impact? President Biden entered office seven weeks ago, promising a $1.9 trillion federal pandemic response to address unabated individual, family, and small business needs. He also promised stimulus aimed at an economy suffering 10 million jobs lost with millions more slipping …

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Recovery Still “Uncertain”

Update 508 — Recovery Still “Uncertain,”Powell Reminds Congress, Citing Jobs Lag In his first appearance before the 117th Congress, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell presented the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report in hearings before Senate Banking yesterday and House Financial Services today.  Powell depicted an economy still suffering from the pandemic and warned of risk of …

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Ask Students, Is Debt Certain?

Update 506: Ask Students, Is Debt Certain?  Now for Something Completely Academic… Amid the impeachment trial in the Senate — with the defense just having rested its case — and unrelenting and unaddressed pandemic needs unabated in the country, we stop to look at a now-endemic economic crisis: the student debt burden. A $1.7 trillion problem, …

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The 117th Congress

Update 505 — The 117th Congressand Democrats’ Harmonic Majorities For the first time since 2010, Democrats have full control of Congress and the White House — an opportunity that doesn’t come often but comes at just the right time. Last time around, the Obama Administration was able to pass the Dodd-Frank Act and landmark legislation …

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Recovery Robust or Go-Bust?

Update 504 – Recovery Robust or Go-Bust?What’s at Stake in $1.9 Tr. Covid Relief Bill On Wednesday, the House passed a budget resolution for fiscal year 2021, and this morning, following an all-night ‘vote-a-rama,’ the Senate advanced the resolution. These are the first steps in the reconciliation process allowing Democrats to pass President Biden’s $1.9 …

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Democrats’ Trifecta

Update 503 – Democrats’ Trifecta:The Healing Power of Reconciliation  With a Democratic trifecta of now-unified majorities in both chambers of Congress and control of the White House, the new administration has political math on its side in efforts to deliver legislative results and needed COVID relief for weary and sceptical Americans. Democrats will rely on …

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2020 GDP Drop of 3.5%

Update 502 – 2020 GDP Drop of 3.5%Really Hits Home… Owners & Renters The economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2020, the largest contraction since 1946 and the first annual decline since 2009. Consumer spending specifically took a major hit, decreasing from Q3 to Q4 — an alarming anomaly and a reminder that disposable income, …

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