Rushing in to confront a crisis is always better than letting it simply unfold.
Tag Archives: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (2020)
What if We Had Spent the Money on Climate?
Along with everything else, the pandemic was a huge missed opportunity.
The Courage Required to Confront Inflation
Inflation is the nation’s primary economic problem. The Federal Reserve still needs to move cautiously as it begins to raise interest rates.
Trump Officials Gave Pandemic Loan to Trucking Company Despite Objections
A congressional report raises new questions about a pandemic relief loan to a troubled trucking company with close ties to the Trump administration.
Trump Officials Awarded $700 Million Pandemic Loan Despite Objections
A congressional report raises new questions about a pandemic relief loan to a troubled trucking company with close ties to the Trump administration.
Rapid Inflation, Lower Employment: How the U.S. Pandemic Response Measures Up
The United States spent more on its policy response than other advanced economies. Now economists are revisiting how that worked.
If Biden’s Plan Is Like a ‘New Deal,’ Why Don’t Voters Care?
The $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief law unleashed a massive wave of spending on local construction projects and programs. Democratic candidates aren’t getting much credit.
Federal Covid Cash Kept New York State Afloat. That Could End Soon.
An influx of federal funds may have saved the M.T.A. and staved off painful budget cuts in Albany and New York City. There’s a fight over what comes next.
Covid Stimulus Money Brings Clashes Within Cities and Counties
As communities across the United States receive pandemic relief money, fierce debates have erupted over priorities, and who has the power to set them.
Justice Dept. Names Prosecutor to Pursue Covid-19 Relief Fraud
President Biden had pledged to name a chief prosecutor to go after “criminals who stole billions in relief money.”
Florida Woman Used Pandemic-Relief Loan to Pay a Hit Man, Police Say
The authorities say that Jasmine Martinez, 33, of Miami, received the loan two weeks before the shooting death of Le’Shonte Jones as she walked with her toddler.
Modern Monetary Theory Got a Pandemic Tryout. Inflation Is Now Testing It.
Modern Monetary Theory, the buzziest economic idea in decades, got a pandemic tryout of sorts. Now inflation is testing its limits.
Little of the Paycheck Protection Program’s $800 Billion Protected Paychecks
Only about a quarter of the funding went to jobs that would have been lost, new research found. A big chunk lined bosses’ pockets.
The View From the White House
Ron Klain, President Biden’s chief of staff, reflects on the first year of the administration.
I.R.S. to Start Tax Season With Major Backlog
At least 10 million returns from last year remain unprocessed because of short-staffing at the tax collector, according to the national taxpayer advocate.
Chris Hayes on How Biden Can Have a Better 2022
The political journalist discusses the Biden administration’s successes and failures with the economy, pandemic response and climate change.
Democrats Blast Corporate Profits as Inflation Surges
Politicians are placing more blame on greedy companies as prices stay high. But booming consumer demand is enabling firms to charge more.
Fed’s Moves in 2022 Could End the Stock Market’s Pandemic Run
Shares soared as interest rates stayed low and stimulus programs helped the economy. But expected changes could make investors wary.
Biden Administration Extends Pause on Student Loan Payments
The Biden administration, under pressure from Democratic lawmakers, announced a three-month extension, citing the ongoing pandemic.
Justice Dept. Says Some Inmates Can Stay Confined at Home
The move reverses a Trump-era decision that would have sent nearly all of the thousands of inmates released to home confinement during the pandemic back to prison.
Billions in Amtrak Funding Could Modernize Aging Rail System
The $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law includes money that Amtrak hopes can fix crumbling bridges and tunnels along the Northeast Corridor.
Biden Agenda Sinks Under its Own Ambitions
A key Democrat’s decision to pull support from the president’s sprawling climate and social agenda is rooted in the scope of the bill.
Joshua Bellamy, Ex-Jet, Is Sentenced to 3 Years in Covid-19 Aid Scheme
Mr. Bellamy obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan for $1.2 million for his company, Drip Entertainment L.L.C., by using false information, federal prosecutors said.
How the $4 Trillion Flood of Covid Relief Is Funding the Future
From broadband to transportation to high-tech medical manufacturing, benefits from America’s pandemic money infusion will linger.
Build Back Better May Not Have Passed a Decade Ago
President Barack Obama barely muscled his health law through the House. But income inequality, economic stagnation and a pandemic propelled an even more ambitious bill.
Stocks Hit a Record as Investors See Progress Toward a Spending Deal
After weeks of fluctuations driven in part by Washington gridlock, share prices hit another high and put a dismal September in the rearview mirror.
Joe Manchin Doesn’t Like What Joe Biden Is Doing
Why is that?
Where Biden Is Most Vulnerable
He said he knew how to get things moving. But we’re stalled.
Racial Bias Skewed Small-Business Relief Lending, Study Says
Black business owners were more likely to get Paycheck Protection Program loans from online lenders than from banks, according to new research.
Economic and Earnings Concerns Begin to Weigh on Stocks
After having few cares about the markets all year, investors are getting nervous as the Fed signals that harsher policies are on the way.
S.B.A. Overpaid $4.5 Billion on ‘Illogical’ Small Business Grant Claims
A program gave money to 700,000 self-employed people who improperly claimed to have as many as a million employees, according to an inspector general’s report.
Federal Reserve Signals It May Soon Slow Bond Purchases
The Federal Reserve said it could soon slow its large-scale purchases of government-backed debt and indicated it might raise interest rates in 2022.
Parents of Students With Disabilities Try to Make Up for Lost Year
In New York City, hundreds of thousands of students with disabilities didn’t receive special education services during remote learning.
Rescue the System That Rescues Our Workers
The structure of unemployment insurance is broken and does little to help those who pay into it.
Why $46 Billion Couldn’t Prevent an Eviction Crisis
As national eviction protections lapse, much of the rental assistance sits unspent. Aid was slowed by red tape, resistance from landlords and the difficulty of navigating an informal market. Does a lease on a napkin qualify?
Vast Expansion in Aid Kept Food Insecurity From Growing Last Year
Despite the economic downturn, government figures for 2020 show no overall rise in hunger of the sort typical in past recessions. But some groups still suffered.
800,000 New Yorkers Just Lost Federal Unemployment Benefits
Many pandemic-era federal programs expired on Sunday, leaving jobless New Yorkers with more modest state unemployment benefits, or no aid at all.
Unemployment Benefits Expire for Millions Without Pushback From Biden
The president has encouraged some states to continue helping the long-term unemployed, but administration officials say it was time for enhanced federal aid to end.
Can American Democracy Survive Another Pandemic?
Adam Tooze’s “Shutdown” warns that we are ill equipped to deal with another health crisis or other immense problems that may challenge us.
Biden, Needing a Win, Enters a Sprint for his Economic Agenda
As his poll numbers slide, the president and his aides have mounted an aggressive pitch in Congress and around the country for his spending plans on infrastructure and more.
Biden Enters a Sprint for his Economic Agenda
As his poll numbers slide, the president and his aides have mounted an aggressive pitch in Congress and around the country for his spending plans on infrastructure and more
15% of PPP Loans Could Be Fraudulent, Study Shows
Some $76 billion of the program’s $800 billion in loans may have been taken improperly, a new paper concludes.
Biden Legal Team Decides Inmates Must Return to Prison After Covid Emergency
When the pandemic ends, thousands in home confinement will be recalled unless Congress acts or Biden issues mass commutations.
Supreme Court Sides With Alaskan Natives in Dispute Over Coronavirus Aid
Tribal governments in the lower 48 states had sued to challenge the allocation of $450 million in federal virus aid to Alaska Native corporations.
Why Washington Can’t Quit Listening to Larry Summers
A longtime leading man of economics is no longer making America’s policies. He’s still driving a critical conversation around them.
Man Awaiting Trial for Covid-19 Bank Fraud Does It Again, Authorities Say
A Pennsylvania man was facing bank fraud and money laundering charges over Paycheck Protection Program loan applications when he submitted another one, U.S. prosecutors said.
California Plans Rent Forgiveness Using Federal Stimulus Surplus
The state is poised to embark on an ambitious, complex effort to cover the unpaid rent of low-income renters who struggled during the pandemic.
The Pandemic Stimulus Was Front-Loaded. That Could Mean a Bumpy Year.
There’s a risk that the affluent, who saved money by limiting things like traveling and dining out, will sit on their cash rather than spend it.
Medicaid Enrollment Surpassed 80 Million, a Record, During the Pandemic
The increase points to the program’s growing role not just as a safety net, but also as a foundation of U.S. health coverage.
May 2021 Consumer Price Index Shows Fastest Inflation Since 2008
The Consumer Price Index showed the strongest year-over-year reading since 2008, and a core index popped the most since 1992.