DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Aight. We need to talk about the Economy and Stimulus

Look, lets at least *try* to put all of our bickering aside for the first 40 post or so and really discuss amongst DT what the hell is going on with the economy, stimulus, and congress.

If any of you have anybody on ignore, please grow a pair of balls and remove them off the list. *cough* memphis and bpg *cough*.

I am going to start the thread off by posting the newest update from the WH and republican led senate on the stimulus package, and then give my thoughts from there. nobody has to directly respond to what i have to say, but please give all of us a detailed opinion about where you think we should be heading, if schools should open up, if another stimulus is necessary, and the role congress and the Fed has played in our deficit DEALING with COVID.

aight, here we go:

Trump throws wrench into coronavirus bill negotiations with Senate Republicans

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-throws-wrench-coronavirus-bill-030957273.html

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is throwing a big wrench into negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over the next coronavirus relief bill by demanding a payroll tax cut be included and funding for testing be reduced or cut completely.

Leaving meetings on Capitol Hill Monday night, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that the payroll tax cut is in the yet-to-be released bill despite Republican senators saying they don’t think it’s good policy.

“Not a fan of that, I’ve made that pretty clear,” Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said of the payroll tax cut proposal. “I don’t think it’s something that changes anyone’s behavior and has trust fund implications. I just think there are better ways to do it.”

Republicans are trying to get on the same page before they start negotiating with Democrats before they leave for a month-long August recess.

Republican senators also denounced any attempt by the White House to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“My view is, we should do whatever we need to do to make sure we have adequate tests,” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chairman of the Health Committee, said. “All roads to open school, opening, going back to work, child care, lead through testing.

Mnuchin said that funding for schools is coming in at more than $70 billion and that might be allocated for schools that reopen.

McConnell on the Senate floor called his not-yet-finalized proposal “a good starting place” and said it could be released “as soon as this week.”

Mnuchin and Meadows met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at the White House earlier Monday. They met with Alexander and Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri and Richard Shelby of Alabama Monday evening on a variety of proposals — specifically a way forward on school funding.

The White House negotiators will be back on the Hill on Tuesday to brief all Senate Republicans as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on the other side of the Capitol.

Here’s where negotiations stand as of Monday night:

Payroll tax cut: Trump and the administration will have a lot of convincing to do among skeptical Senate Republicans who are less than committal to the idea of a payroll tax cut.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called it “problematic,” while Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said “It might create political problems but it creates a public relations problem.”

But White House officials assured reporters in the Capitol that the proposal is already in the bill.

“That plans to be in it… I mean, that’s part of the proposal,” Meadows stressed. “It’s in the bill,” Mnuchin said.

Thune gave the proposal a reality check: “I would say that it is a big priority, as you know, for the President. And so his advocates Mnuchin and Meadows and others, I think, will probably try and ensure that it's at least included in the first draft. Put it that way,” Thune said, laughing.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told NBC News he does support the tax cut being “means-tested.” Asked what other senators in his conference support it, Graham laughed and said “Good question.”

Funds for testing: Senate Republicans are pushing back on the administration’s idea to cut funding for coronavirus testing.

“Well, I think that's a that's going to be a priority for our members, for sure,” Thune said. Alexander told reporters “I believe that we should fund testing as generously as it needs to be funded.”

Blunt, who has been working with Alexander to increase testing capabilities, told reporters “I just think that’s wrong” to cut funding, citing a new rapid test the National Institutes of Health is working on that will need increased funding in the next bill. “It’s going to take more money to quickly focus in on those tests and have them ready, by the time, hopefully, by the time school starts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Meadows told reporters “How would they even know what funding for testing is?” when told Republican senators want to increase funds.

More money for reopening schools: After meeting with Alexander, Blunt and Shelby, Mnuchin told NBC News “Schools was a very big component” of their discussion but that he was “not going to talk about specifics, but it is a lot of money,” Asked how much funding will be included in the bill, Mnuchin said upwards of $70 billion “would be a good guess.”

Alexander and Blunt said they believe funding for testing is directly correlated to reopening schools.

Trump threatened earlier to withhold funds for schools if they didn’t reopen. Asked if funding for schools should be conditioned on reopening, Alexander did not answer. Blunt told reporters he doesn’t want to penalize schools that choose not to reopen, but thinks that schools that do open back up will need more funding.

Meadows told reporters “We’ll be briefing you all tomorrow” when asked if money will be conditioned on schools reopening.

Increased unemployment benefits: Republicans aren’t a fan of extending the $600 per week increased unemployment payments and neither is the administration, but Democrats are pushing for it.

“Obviously it will be a negotiation between the Republicans, Democrats and the White House,” Thune said. “ I can’t imagine a scenario where extending it at the current level would happen.”

Stimulus checks: Republicans are torn over more direct payments, but the administration wants it.

“Nothing is final. But I suspect that there will, there's a high level of interest in doing something more to help people, particularly on the lower end of the income scale,” Thune said. “But I think the last version of this cost somewhere on the order of $300 billion, and there'll be a plug in there to help people and whether that's payroll tax, or, you know, the direct checks, checks, or what form that takes, I'm not sure.”

Grassley favors stimulus checks over payroll tax cuts.

“I think once a person has a check in his hand, x number of dollars will be $1,200 or $1,000, I don’t know. But I think that’s going to do more economic good than if we dribble out $30 every paycheck,” he said. “Because people are going to notice and take some action as a result. So I hope all of this is being done in regard to the economic necessity.”

Liability protections: Legal protections for schools, colleges, charities, businesses and frontline health care workers and employers who follow public health guidelines will all but certainly be included in the Republican plan.

"We don’t need an epidemic of lawsuits on the heels of a pandemic," McConnell said Monday.morning.

long post but i need to say all of this.

First off, didn't ALL of congress just come out of a recess? and these clowns are about to go on ANOTHER one next month?

what do we pay any of them to do, again? this is straight up infuriating. these losers don't work at all. well, except for corporations.

ok, so i got that out the way.

Somebody, anybody, explain to me what a payroll tax cut is going to do to help the economy with regards to COVID? Was the 2017 tax cuts for corporations not enough? was deregulating the crap out of government for businesses not enough?

between congress and the Fed, we have spent something close to 5-6 trillion dollars since march, and the vast majority of that money went to corporations and propping up the stock market. once again, table scraps went to the majority of americans. and even then, it was a one-time thing.

so why another tax cut for corporations? you guys DO realize that despite getting the vast majority of bailout money, these corporations STILL fired people left and right, and are CONTINUING to do so, correct?

2/3rds of our economy is based on consumer spending, so somebody needs to explain to me why 2/3rds of the bailout money went to the supply side, instead of the CONSUMERS who spend the money

**disclaimer** if the republicans get their way, i wont even be eligible for the new stimulus do to income, AND THATS FINE. i am not advocating for myself here. i'm advocating for the majority of americans **disclaimer**

so what exactly did these businesses do with the money? clearly it wasn't mainly used to pay their employees, as we saw some businesses upset that employees got stimulus money and wanted to furlough them over it.

by the way, what happen to all the record profits said businesses were bragging about?

^^^ i want a conservative, specifically a trump support to answer that. they were bragging about tax cuts and record profits for 2 years....and yet not even 1 month and half and those SAME businesses were begging the government to bail them out.

what did they do with all those record profits they were MAGA'ing about?

why is it that the average american is expected to have 3-6 months worth of savings, but NOBODY demands that these businesses do the same? are businesses excluding from having a rainy day account?

or is their savings account the government..... ya know, privatize the profits, socialize the losses.

^^ conservatives, that crony capitalism. just wanted to make y'all aware of that.

anyways, there's nobody on this planet who can credibly argue against the fact that with an economy based around consumer spending, the bulk of the bailout money should've went to the consumer instead of the supply side. we would've been much better off as a whole, as the vast majority of that money would've went right back into the economy.

those stimulus checks needs to be made bigger, and recurring, for americans. the government needs to show just as much concern for the average american as they do their corporate slave masters.

Can someone tell me what Payroll tax cuts have to do with relief help to individuals during a pandemic?

Now, i actually AGREE with republicans for the liability protection for schools and businesses.

this country is way to lawsuit happy with all the frivolous lawsuits that get filed. its ridiculous, and nobody should be suing businesses KNOWING there's an active pandemic going on, and you took your ass outside anyway. not their fault.

so i'm cool with that, and it needs to be in the new package. what i'm NOT cool with is Trump demanding that COVID testing and CDC money but cut.

THAT IS FREAKING DUMB. why is he so hellbent on fudging the numbers? how can he sit there and trash China, then turn around and demand we do the same thing? SO FAKE!!

guys, Rona do care what race you are, what class you belong to, what religion you claim, what church you're part of, how hot it is outside, who your baby mamma is, NONE OF IT.

She sets the timeline, not us. and we need real economic policies that reflect the current situation. and right now, that isn't happening.

By the way, Andrew Yang is looking like a freaking prophet right now with his UBI stance, because we are WELL on our way to that reality.

i told y'all before, all businesses needed was a REASON to accelerate laying off workers and investing more in AI and robots in the factories and retail. and Rona gave it to them. there are so many millions of americans who WON'T be getting their jobs back because of this, no matter how quickly we get the virus under control in the future.

supply side economics is going to destroy this country. even in the worst pandemic in decades, government found a way to bend over backwards for the group of people/corporations who didn't need to money, and pretty much stuck their noses up in the air at the little guy.

it's a disgrace.

Quickly ...

I don't see how a payroll tax helps right now. The people who need help aren't earning and would not benefit.

Yes the tax cuts that overwhelmingly helped the wealthy and did nothing for the economy a while ago would seem to be enough.

Corporation tax was also reduced to 21% - a move I think most agreed with. So businesses have received a big benefit already. Maybe food industry and food service need a break as they are chronically hit by the pandemic.

I wasn't aware of Yang and the UBI - here is info for anyone that is interested:

https://www.yang2020.com/what-is-freedom-dividend-faq/

I don't know if I believe in a "no questions asked" approach. I'd need to consider that and figure out if education, training, criminal behavior etc might be things to require or result in UBI being taken away.

Considering the unemployment numbers and how devastated the economy was (and will be again because CV-19 is more rampant than ever right now) .... the economy isn't hurting as much as you would think. Stimulus checks and extended benefits have really helped.... I think we need to find a way to keep what we know works going. My fear is that the "we have to reopen the economy" mantra lead by Trump is going to do more long term damage to the economy than anything else. We've seen states like FL open up when they didn't meet all the stages that were laid out - the result has been disaster. That's nothing special or specific to FL, that same result is going to happen EVERYWHERE we open up too soon with too many cases and data that doesn't align with the steps laid out to reopen. Add to that the efforts to force schools to reopen (again even in FL where 30%+ of kids tested have been positive) ....

Be interested to see what actual solutions anyone might have to offer ... from any side or even from any country.

my 2 cents on payroll tax.

Cutting the employee share may help a little. However, those of us lucky enough to still be employed pays 7.65% (I think that is still the employee half) up to something like the first 140k. If the cut is 50%, it saves someone making $25k about $18.50/week. Double that for someone making $50k. So, it does help a little.

Cutting the employer part I don't see benefiting anyone other than employers. I can't see much if anything trickling down to employees given the previous tax cuts to employers didn't.

Of course, this doesn't help anyone that is currently unemployed.

Small business drives our economy, these are the employers who need a lifeline right now. That $18.50 X 35 employees is $2800 per month. It trickles down to employees in the sense that $2800 in bills can be paid... and an employer remains instead of an empty building. This isn't about who gets more or benefits more, it's about keeping the wheels turning.

Good callout

The wheels have come off since Trump screwed up the response to the virus,,, cutting the employee taxes do virtually nothing for those not working. And they are the ones that need it most.

And please don't tell me about employers will bring people back because of the lower costs. remember the huge tax breaks that they got and were supposed to create jobs? Yeah Right.

GM and Ford cutting thousands of jobs, closing a bunch of plants... Right...

This doesn't keep the wheels turning.. Not even a little. but it will end up creating more debt and deficit. That used to be a bad thing for Republicans.. But of course, Under Trump, it's a good thing.

I don't really believe that anyone is opposed to "small businesses" getting tax relief. I think the problem becomes the definition of what a small business actually is.

In the last bail out that was determined by how many employees a company has. I'm pretty sure it was set at a five hundred employee threshold. There's a huge problem with that.

I'll give you some examples. This was as of 2019...

ADVOCO
Greenville, South Carolina
FOUNDERS: Steve Brindle and Paul Cowley
2018 REVENUE: $13 Million
EMPLOYEES: 67

ARKADIUM
New York City
FOUNDERS: Jessica Rovello (CEO) and Kenny Rosenblatt
2018 REVENUE: $15 Million
EMPLOYEES: 89

CHIEF OUTSIDERS
Houston
FOUNDER: Art Saxby (CEO)
2018 REVENUE: $13.1 Million
EMPLOYEES: 70

CHOICE ONE ENGINEERING
Sidney, Ohio
FOUNDER: Tony Schroeder
2018 REVENUE: $7.7 Million
EMPLOYEES: 45

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Pflugerville, Texas
FOUNDERS: John (CEO) and Jennifer Garrett
2018 REVENUE: $27 Million
EMPLOYEES: 220

EVERGREEN
Phoenix
FOUNDERS: Bruce Pomeroy and Andrew Skipper (CEO)
2018 REVENUE: $100 Million
EMPLOYEES: 54

FBS DATA SYSTEMS
Fargo, North Dakota
FOUNDER: Paul Wurzer
2018 REVENUE: $20 Million
EMPLOYEES: 110

FILTRINE MANUFACTURING
Keene, New Hampshire
FOUNDER: George Kneuper
2018 REVENUE: $17.7 Million
EMPLOYEES: 95

GREAT LAKES BREWING COMPANY
Cleveland
FOUNDERS: Pat and Dan Conway
2018 REVENUE: $45 Million
EMPLOYEES: 233

HARVEST GROUP
Rogers, Arkansas
FOUNDERS: Ross Cully (CEO), William Waitsman and Dan Arnsperger
2018 REVENUE: $15 Million
EMPLOYEES: 85

HENDERSON
Houston
FOUNDER: Dan Henderson (CEO)
2018 REVENUE: $45 Million
EMPLOYEES: 175

INSPIRA MARKETING
Norwalk, Connecticut
FOUNDER: Jeff Snyder
2018 REVENUE: $71 Million
EMPLOYEES: 300

https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/...9/#1879baf6382c

There are several others listed on the link should you choose to look at it. But for the most part these are not what people think of when they hear the term "small business". They, once again for the most part, aren't starving for help. By and large they aren't going to be doing any big time hiring.

That's where the problem begins. By basing small businesses strictly on how many employees they have, it creates loopholes where people making lots of money with few employees can drain the money allocated for small businesses that actually need the help. This is exactly what happened in many cases during the first batch of coronvirus bailout to small businesses.

Too many of the small, mom and pop type businesses who needed the help failed to get any. The type of businesses I listed above who have good legal representation and large assets swooped the money up before the mom and pop places even knew how to fill out the paperwork.

I don't think anyone actually has a problem with tax breaks for small businesses. I think the definition of what our government considers a small business to be is the problem.

And no matter how hard anyone tries to debate the topic, we are most certainly a consumer driven economy. No matter how man tax breaks you give a small business, if consumers do not buy their products they will fail.

Employers only hire people when the demand for their products increase. In other words, hiring is purely consumer driven. It would take an idiot to hire people there isn't a need for.

Blah, blah, blah, Trump's fault, blah, blah.
Everything's Trump's fault. We know that when we log on to this site.

I didn't tell you "employers will bring people back". Many are just looking for a way to stem the tide and survive. But the fact remains, any help for those about to drown will inevitably help their employees as well... not real hard math there. Not talking about Ford or GM, they will be working to line the pockets of shareholders until there are no American employees left - not relevant.

If you don't think helping the millions of small business afloat will help keep the wheels turning - you're off your rocker. And again, I'm talking about small business. Businesses with under 100 employees provide jobs to over 30% of the population... under 20 employees close to 20%. I know you think they're all evil, I read your posts. And the debt and deficit (which, again, has nothing to do with Trump) is merely not filling the SS fund that is a slush fund for our government anyway.

So, what are the answers then? Let them all fail? You cool with 40% + unemployment?

This so called payroll tax cut is designed to hurt Social Security funds. I have no hard evidence but dem rumors say it is a play Trump wanted to make for his base. So I'm only going to say any tax cut should be scrutinized thoroughly because hurting social security right now is a BAD idea.

j/c:

The thread started w/this:



Maybe we can honor his request and try and have a real discussion w/out the bickering and finger-pointing.

I give Swish credit for trying to start a thread that promotes rational discussion. There are a ton of threads where we can bicker and play the blame-game.

I think we need some substance and detail before we can buy into that .... I don't doubt there might be some truth to what you say? But without some detailed explanation that could easily be social media BS and simply Trump hatin'

Why do we need a stimulus. Everybody is more or less back to work.

I still havent received my 2019 tax refund. They can stimulate me by sending me the money they owe me.

This was intended to be written in purple ?

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm

The national unemployment rate declined by 2.2
percentage points over the month to 11.1 percent but was 7.4 points higher than in June
2019.

There are a lot of people who didnt go back to work because they make more on unemployment. Stop giving them free money and they will go back to work.

Let's stay on topic, please. No need to bicker.

So they are all back to work or they are being given too big a hand out and won't go back to work? Which is it .... I definitely heard that when things opened back up, people were earning more from the stimulus than their jobs paid and it was a problem. But when you pay a server $2.13 an hour and they make the rest up with tips, but the volume is down 75%, it's not unrealistic for a server (as an example) not to want to go back to work.

I don't think it's as simple as "take them off the stimulus" ... without the stimulus we'd be in worse shape with more businesses going under already. how I see it.

Well, not to have the lynch mob after me, but I go to 4 or 5 different bars/restaurants. They are all busy except for one.

Maybe its just Georgia, but people arent content to sit at home.

The local bars arent suffering.

I think there are a subset of people who could use the stimulus, but for most people its just giving them taxpayer money when they already have a decent job.

That's not what I have experienced, I'm sure it depends on the city, state, demographics.

And there won't be a lynch mob after you ... if you want to be a Granny killer, that's up to you.

There is no real "hurting social security right now", bro. Social Security is and has been a corpse. SS was supposed to be a "trust fund". Despite the fact that's it's basically a Ponzi scheme, it could have at least kept up with payments for quite a while.

Our government spends the funds and replaces them with IOUs, it's been that way for decades and won't change anytime soon. The payroll tax cuts (you're correct, they're SS funds) just mean there are less funds for the government to steal for other things. Hurt SS? Not any more than a bee sting would hurt your ankle after having your leg run over by a train.

This is a great article for anyone that wants to understand how ridiculous it is to think of our SS program as some warm, fuzzy security blanket:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/smoke-mirrors-and-social-security-1529332406

Republicans and White House divided on stimulus proposal: 'I'm not a no, I'm a hell no'

(CNN)Senate Republicans and the White House remain at odds over several central components of their next stimulus proposal after a full day of negotiations on Capitol Hill.

With fewer than three weeks to go until the August recess -- and with the virus still ravaging many corners of the country -- Tuesday's negotiations marked little progress, and instead evolved into a day of venting sessions for rank-and-file members, each with his or her own idea of how to tackle the next chapter of spending. It all comes just days before a $600 federal enhancement to unemployment insurance is set to expire.

The splits come on key issues, from President Donald Trump's insistence on a payroll tax cut to the administration's push to tie education money to the reopening of schools. There are also several Republicans deeply opposed to moving forward on a proposal pegged to start around $1 trillion.

"Everyone has their own idea," Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, as he emerged from a closed-door conference meeting.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, is pressing for Republicans to coalesce around a proposal that would serve as a starting point for negotiations with congressional Democrats, who already passed a $3 trillion measure in May. He told reporters Tuesday the proposal that he is pushing "enjoys fairly significant support among Republican senators." But he acknowledged, "not everyone."

McConnell, in a floor speech earlier in the day, outlined key components expected to be in the GOP plan, including $105 billion for schools, a second round of targeted funding for the forgivable small business loan program, another round of direct payments and liability protections for businesses, hospitals, health care workers and schools. It's a proposal a large portion of the Republican conference is eager to get behind, but several key components remain under discussion with the White House.

The issues, which had been building for a better part of a day as Republican senators raised concerns, questions or outright opposition to key White House tenets, were laid bare in a closed-door lunch Tuesday attended by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

"A lot of people had a lot to get off their chest," one Republican senator told CNN. Several senators spoke up against the efficacy of the payroll tax, the senator said. Others railed against the overall path toward another significant spending package altogether.

Multiple Republicans, according to a person in the room, raised the issue of the tax cut being too expensive and taking too long to implement at a time when the country is in need of a quick boost to the economy.

"Maybe three people raised it and they were all saying the same thing: maybe this isn't necessary," the person said of GOP senators raising objections.

Meadows said that administration officials viewed the lunch as more of a listening session and described it as "more just, the senators talking and expressing frustrations with perhaps where things are."

Republicans still plan to introduce their proposal this week, and McConnell made clear a sense of urgency remains with millions out of work and the virus still plaguing parts of the country.

"The American jobs market needs another shot of adrenaline," McConnell said.

But as Republicans work through what will end up in the GOP proposal, some senators are already lining up against whatever McConnell introduces.

"At lunch today I asked my Republican colleagues, 'What in the hell are we doing?'" Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, recounted to CNN after the closed-door lunch. "We'll see where this ends up, we still don't know the details of this initial proposal, but, as it's written right now, I'm not only a no, I'm a hell no."

Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, expressed similar sentiments when he left the lunch early, underscoring the shift in dynamics among Republican senators since the initial $2.2 trillion package was passed unanimously in March.

The divisions between the White House and Republicans come at a time when rank-and-file members have seen the President's polls dipping in key swing states and as the US has struggled to shake the grip of coronavirus as allies across the world have managed with far better outcomes. The negotiations also come as billions remain unspent in the last stimulus packages, a point that conservatives argue that the next round must be more targeted.

The divergent opinions between the White House and Senate Republicans have had the effect of holding off negotiations that were expected to begin in earnest this week.

"We can't negotiate on a vague concept. We need a specific bill." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who met in a separate meeting with Mnuchin, Meadows and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "When can they get us that bill? Who knows."


Mnuchin, citing the expiring enhanced unemployment funds, is pressing for an agreement by the end of next week.

"We're going to try to get something done by the end of next week," he told reporters in the Capitol. "That's the time frame because we want to get something done before the unemployment insurance expires. This is a process."

The roughly 75-minute meeting between White House negotiators and the Democratic leaders represented the first substantial talks between the two sides in months. But without a GOP proposal, Meadows acknowledged actual negotiations would have to wait.

"Obviously, the leader and the speaker are waiting for any guidance from Senate Republicans," Meadows told reporter as he left the meeting with Democrats, which he characterized as "very good."

One area of progress, according to GOP senators, was on the funding for testing and tracing measures and other key public health agencies. The new funds, proposed by Senate Republicans, had become a central dispute after the White House proposed zeroing out state grants for testing and new funds for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, as well as reducing money for the Pentagon's virus efforts.

Meadows and Mnuchin, over the course of several hours and two days, met with the three Republican senators responsible on health care and appropriations issues -- Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Roy Blunt of Missouri -- to try and iron out the differences.

Blunt said staff is working to get the administration negotiators more details about their specific requests and needs before a final agreement can be reached. He called the discussions with Mnuchin and Meadows "very frank," but said things are "moving in the right direction."

"Like everything here, nothing's done until everything is done, but we're getting close," Blunt said.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/politics/...ulus/index.html

McConnell Finally Confirms GOP Support For Second Round Of Stimulus Checks

TOPLINE Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday confirmed Republican lawmakers’ support for a second round of stimulus checks, but the amount of the payments and the restrictions on income are yet to be revealed.

KEY FACTS

- “We want another round of direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback,” McConnell said on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

- Congressional Democrats and President Trump are also on board with the second round of checks.

- Under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, the IRS sent direct payments of $1,200 to qualifying Americans making less than $75,000 per year (or $150,000 for couples filing jointly), plus $500 for dependent children under age 17.

- It’s not yet clear if the next round of checks will be the same as the CARES Act’s direct payments; some have speculated that Republicans will want to lower the income threshold and narrow the scope of recipients to those earning $40,000 per year or less.

KEY BACKGROUND

Lawmakers returned to Washington this week to hash out the next, and likely last, round of rescue legislation before they leave again for an August recess. They’re sharply divided on a raft of issues, from aid to state and local governments to funding for school reopenings to expanded unemployment to liability protections for businesses. McConnell is expected to release the GOP’s proposed bill sometime this week.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen...s/#6ca16df07043

McConnell says economy needs 'another shot of adrenaline,' backs additional round of stimulus checks

The Trump administration is pushing a package with a price tag of $1 trillion

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday made clear he supports another round of stimulus checks to Americans. The economy needs “another shot of adrenaline” amid the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

McConnell, R-Ky., has been in negotiations with top congressional Democrats and the White House on what the next coronavirus bill would look like, as the Trump administration is pushing a package with a price tag of $1 trillion.

McConnell said he supports “another round of direct payments” to Americans – something President Trump and top members of his administration have said they, too, support.

“The economy needs another shot of adrenaline,” McConnell said Tuesday. “If we lose control of the virus…everything else will be window dressing.”

Sources told Fox News this week that an emphasis would be put on liability protections and “addressing unemployment insurance in a proper way.”

The key to Republican support for the package is making sure those who are without work do not make more on unemployment than they would if they were working. The additional unemployment benefit of $600 a week approved in the third coronavirus package will expire Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said it was "cruel-hearted and callous" to cut off the additional unemployment benefits without extending the program, and a "failure of leadership in the Senate and in the White House."

Jeffries noted the House bill, passed in May, extended those benefits, which he said "is appropriate because the pandemic is not over and in many parts of the country, is just getting started."

As for liability protections, McConnell said he was focused on “creating a safe harbor” for firms, universities and small businesses “if we want any genuine reopening at all.”

“We need to carve out a new normal,” McConnell said. “We can’t go back to April.”

McConnell reiterated that he believed the new plan being pushed by Republicans would score “Democratic support.”

Fox News is told Republicans are looking at $100 billion of the $1 trillion to go to state and local governments; $70 billion of that will go toward helping schools re-open in a safe manner.

“The Senate had led at every step of this process,” he said. “We need to rise to the occasion one more time.”

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week said the administration is “focused on starting with another trillion dollars.”

“We think that will make a big impact,” Mnuchin said Monday, while noting that “the focus is kids and jobs,” and that the goal is to have the package in place by the end of this month.

Mnuchin also said lawmakers are aiming to pass the new legislation before the end of July, when the current “enhanced unemployment insurance” expires.

The administration also supported liability protections, with Mnuchin saying this week that they “want to make sure that frivolous lawsuits don’t prevent schools, universities and businesses from reopening.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also supported that protection, saying businesses “should not have an attack from any lawsuits” as they try to reopen.

President Trump is continuing to push for a cut in the payroll tax – levies that companies pay on behalf of their employees to fund Social Security and other benefits – as part of the package.

Many Republicans are reluctant to approve such a reduction, though, over deficit concerns. However, advocates in the administration believe the payroll tax would jolt the economy quickly.

“That will be in there,” one senior source close to the talks said of the payroll tax, characterizing it as the president’s “number one ask.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconne...stimulus-checks

The yellow bit is "Fox News" admitting Trump is going after social security with this tax cut! Just saying for those that needed proof.

I think the worst thing this admin could do in this next stimulus package is cut off the $600 unemployment aid. I think that is all that is keeping the economy going right now. If you put 20 million people in the position of being homeless, broke, and desperate smack in the middle of this and you are jerking the rug out from under America IMHO.

The stimulus checks help but are not vital at this point IMHO because they are a bandaid temporary boost. We need to view this longer term and we need people to be able to live meanwhile.

I'm good with more small business loans IF they are actually small businesses (mom and pop) that get them this time around.

I'm good with limiting lawsuits, but not like McConnell wants. Dems say make stringent OSHA regs and as long as employers meet those guidelines for safety they can't be sued. This is just better and leaves no room for cutting corners when it comes to safety.

If we want kids back in school and people back to work, the least we owe them is to make it as safe as we can. I don't see how anyone argues with this.

Lol.... a payroll tax ciut that only helps corporations. 20% unemployed and they’ll get nothing until maybe they get their measly minimum wage service job back someday with no raise when they return.

Meanwhile grocery bills double. Rent doesn’t get paid. Pffft trump and his supporters.

Dumbasses opened up way too early. So early a second closing and a second stimulus package is needed now.

can someone explain in better detail what the payroll tax cut actually is? is it for employees? or employers?

How does it help those that aren't working?

I think Trump wants the cut to be from Social security amount employers and employees pay in. His stimulus does nothing to help the unemployed, and helps employers more than employees. That's my take but i could be wrong.

Yes, lower the employer contributions to Social Security and then the funds dry up. It's an attack on Social Security, like I said.

Wow no wonder Georgia is spiking with cases.


A few of my friends work in restaurants in my area. They were laid off in March called back in June. They get less hours then they used to so they still claim a percentage of unemployment plus the $600 from the fed a week. Their weekly take home from their restaurant job averages around $200 with reduced hours.

Fact is they want to work but can’t get enough hours with minimum wage to keep their heads above water.

Jc

Sigh, trump is whining again on twitter over the payroll tax cut.

Isn’t he supposed to be the great negotiator in history? How come he never seems to actually negotiate?

All he does is yell at the republicans in congress demanding they put something on his desk, yet never actually leads anything.

And by the way, Nancy pelosi keeps dog walking the republicans. Republicans have a conservative leaning SC, republican executive branch, republican senate, and STILL bows down to whatever Pelosi tells them to do.

It’s why I laugh when MAGA hatters whine about pelosi. Y’all just salty cause y’all don’t have anybody that can step to her.

Trump needs to stop pushing another dumbass tax cut for the wealthy. It didn’t work in 2017, it isn’t gonna work now.

4.5 million Americans expected stay jobless for six months or more: NBER

https://www.yahoo.com/money/millions-of-...-205047951.html

Yikes. And this isn’t the only outlet saying this.

Because to him, negotiation is a one way street. My way or the highway...

Good read:

Andrew Yang: It's a 'ridiculous fantasy' to think America's economy will snap back to normal

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/27/economy/andrew-yang-economy-universal-basic-income/index.html

I’ve said on this board before, COVID only accelerated plans for businesses to replace the people with robots.

Did they fire you from OAN?

You're supposed to talk about the wealth trickling down.

First he got $4 million in COVID-19 relief loans. Then he bought a Lamborghini.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/first-got-4-million-covid-210256806.html

And it’s just the guy who got caught.

As I said, the vast majority of the money should’ve went to the consumers, not businesses.

I couldn’t keep lying to myself like that. I dunno how anybody could sleep at night knowing they spread some of the dumbest crap imaginable to others.

Yep...just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll never know how much of our tax dollars went to the wealthiest and their economic thugs who play at our expense.