As millions of unemployed Americans face the loss of benefits, Rising Up With Sonali examines the COVID-relief bill that Congress is struggling to pass with Josh Bivens from the Economic Policy Institute.
Free Speech TV
July 27, 2020
According to the Economic Policy Institute:
Currently, Senate Republicans are offering a proposal to reduce this weekly $600 supplement to closer to $200. This is better than allowing the $600 benefit to go all the way to zero, but this would still lead to GDP that was lower by 2.5% a year from now, and, would lead to 3.4 million fewer jobs created over the next year.
Politicus USA
July 27, 2020
Backing that up, the Economic Policy Institute just released analysis indicating that reducing the payments to $200/week, one of the “compromises” Mitch McConnell is considering, would cost as much as 3.4 million jobs over the next year. They’ve estimated that if it goes away entirely, it would slow the growth of GDP by 3.7% over the next year, resulting in 5.1 million fewer jobs being created.
Daily Kos
July 27, 2020
The $600 benefit has buffered the blows to the overall economy and individual households, according to a blog by Josh Bivens, the director of research at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute. He said extending the $600 benefit through the middle of 2021 would boost the quarterly gross domestic product by an average of 3.7% and increase employment by 5.1 million workers.
If the $600 payments aren’t extended, jobs will be lost, Bivens said in an email. Income losses will result in lower demand for goods and services and cut the demand for workers, he added. Colorado would lose 66,898 jobs over the next year, according to the think tank’s estimates.
Denver Post
July 27, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that eliminating the $600 addition could cost the economy over 5 million jobs.
Augusta Free Press
July 27, 2020
Expanded unemployment insurance has recently been shown to have added more than $800 billion to the economy, but the expansion is set to expire on July 31. According to the Economic Policy Institute, ending this expansion prematurely could cost the economy more than 5 million jobs.
Center for American Progress
July 27, 2020
According to a study published last year by the Economic Policy Institute, Massachusetts has the second highest childcare costs in the country, slightly better than Washington, D.C. The average monthly cost in the state was $1,743 for infant care and $1,258 for prekindergarten.
BU Today
July 27, 2020
As layoffs continue, some economists fear that reduced payments won’t be enough to help struggling Americans as more states halt re-openings and businesses shutter. In May and June, 7.5 million unemployed Americans went back to work, and roughly 70% of that group would have made more drawing unemployment, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy for the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
“Concerns about the work disincentive simply ignore the realities of the labor market for working people, who will be very unlikely to turn down a job for a temporary boost in benefits, particularly when it is now clear that jobs are going to be scarce for a very long time,’’ Shierholz said in a blog post.
“Cutting off the $600 cannot incentivize people to get jobs that aren’t there.’’
Press Connects
July 27, 2020
Others argue that there are more unemployed workers than job openings, as senior economist Heidi Shierholz wrote in a blog post for the Economic Policy Institute, or that people aren’t returning to work because it’s not safe for them or their families.
“Cutting off the $600 cannot incentivize them to get jobs; it will just cause pain,” Shierholz wrote.
ABC News
July 27, 2020
And in a third study, the Economic Policy Institute says that cutting off the $600 weekly payment would be devastating for families. The money accounted for 15% of total wages and salaries in May, compared to the previous high of 2.5% in 2010 during the Great Recession.
Ending the payments would also damage the broader economy because that cash is being spent and keeping other employees from being laid off, the report says. Extending the payments through mid-2021 would boost the GDP by 3.7% and support 5.1 million workers, according to the study.
In a new analysis, EPI says that reducing the extra benefit to $200, as Senate Republicans are proposing, would cost 3.4 million jobs over the next year, including 557,428 in California.
Sacramento News & Review
July 26, 2020