Americans with low incomes are pulling back from buying even as their richer counterparts keep spending — with potentially big consequences.
Tag Archives: Stimulus (Economic)
We Are Not Powerless Against a Recession
Rushing in to confront a crisis is always better than letting it simply unfold.
Inflation Is Posing 19 Problems for One Central Bank
After more than a decade of worrying about low inflation, the European Central Bank is trying to tackle the problem of high inflation across the eurozone’s economies.
Inflation Expected to Remain High Even as Economy Slows and Layoffs Rise
Inflation is expected to remain high later this year even as the economy slows and layoffs rise. Already, signs of financial stress are surfacing.
What if We Had Spent the Money on Climate?
Along with everything else, the pandemic was a huge missed opportunity.
White House Struggles to Talk About Inflation, the ‘Problem From Hell’
Inflation is upending voter confidence and posing a glaring political liability that looms over the Biden administration’s major policy decisions.
Is ‘Greedflation’ Rewriting Economics, or Do Old Rules Still Apply?
Economists and politicians are debating whether monopolistic companies are fueling inflation in ways that confound longstanding theory.
Biden’s Curious Talking Point: Lower Deficits Offer Inflation Relief
The administration says federal spending trends are helping rein in price increases, but the economic calculus may be more complicated.
Ron DeSantis Is Being Incoherent on Inflation
The Florida governor, like many other Republicans, needs to get his story straight.
States Turn to Tax Cuts as Inflation Stays Hot
Tax reductions and rebates that are being proposed to help people cope could have the unintended effect of pushing prices higher.
The Fed Wants to Fight Inflation Without a Recession. Is It Too Late?
Federal Reserve officials took a while to recognize that inflation was lasting. The question is whether they can tame it gently now.
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.
In a Michigan County, Stimulus Funds Are Remaking Public Health Programs
Many cities and counties say that shoring up local public health systems is crucial to recovering from the pandemic and addressing entrenched health disparities.
As Biden Pleads for More Covid Aid, States Are Awash in Federal Dollars
States pushed back on a plan to take back some of their stimulus money to fund President Biden’s emergency spending request. Now Congress is trying to find other ways to offset the cost.
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.”
Fraud Investigation in Food Aid Puts Focus on Role of Nonprofits
The F.B.I. is investigating what it called a “massive fraud scheme” in the Minneapolis area as the government cracks down on misuse of pandemic assistance.
Berkshire Hathaway Rebounds From the Pandemic
In announcing the company’s $90 billion profit in 2021, Warren Buffett noted the role that Berkshire plays in the American economy.
Black Farmers Fear Foreclosure as Debt Relief Remains Frozen
Lawsuits from white farmers have blocked $4 billion of pandemic aid that was allocated to Black farmers in the American Rescue Plan.
Top European Court Rules E.U. Can Freeze Aid to Poland and Hungary
In a landmark decision, the European Court of Justice cleared the way for the bloc to cut billions in aid on the grounds that members are eroding rule-of-law checks and balances.
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.
Fed Signals Rate Increase in March, Citing Inflation and Strong Job Market
Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said the central bank could raise rates imminently as officials cut back help for the economy.
Fed’s Policy Pivot May Prove Late and Abrupt, Critics Fret
The Federal Reserve is still buying bonds as prices surge. Some praise the central bank’s continuing policy pivot; others ask if it was fast enough.
Rapid Inflation Fuels Debate Over What’s to Blame: Pandemic or Policy
The White House is emphasizing that inflation is worldwide. Economists say that’s true — but stimulus-spurred consumer buying is also to blame.
The I.R.S. Warns of Messy Tax Filing Season
The agency, which has been hobbled by paperwork backlogs and short staffing, said tax filers should expect a lower level of service this year.
Here Are 10 of the Worst Predictions About 2021
Bitcoin, Tesla, the Suez Canal, the Mars helicopter — people got a lot wrong.
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.
What We Learned About the Economy in 2021
For once, the government tried overheating the economy. For better and worse, it succeeded.
The New Pentagon Papers: Civilian Casualties
Readers call for Pentagon accountability for the killing of civilians. Also: Julian Assange; Republican hypocrisy; two-family homes.
Fed Could Raise Rates 3 Times in 2022, Speeds End of Bond-Buying
Federal Reserve officials suggested as many as three interest rate increases in 2022 as the economy heals and inflation persists.
Republicans Who Assailed Biden’s Stimulus Bill Are Embracing the Money
Republican governors who criticized the $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as wasteful are championing state projects funded by the money.
How Tech is Helping Poor People Get Government Aid
Even as the government expanded aid programs, many people faced barriers to using them. That problem is now being addressed with apps and streamlined websites.
Why the November Jobs Report Is Better Than It Looks
The number of jobs added was below expectations, but otherwise the report shows an economy on the right track.
A Top Official Says the Fed Will ‘Grapple’ With a Faster Bond-Buying Taper
The president of the New York Federal Reserve said Omicron could prolong supply and demand mismatches, causing some inflation pressures to last.
Powell Says Fed Could Finish Bond-Buying Taper Early
The Federal Reserve could pull back economic support faster as inflation lasts, and its chair signaled that for now the Omicron variant is a “risk.”
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.
Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Is a Big Success
Voters may pummel Democrats next year but future generations will be grateful.
Mortgage Bills Are Coming Again. $10 Billion in Aid May Arrive First.
The federal Homeowner Assistance Fund aims to help those still struggling as forbearance periods come to an end. But the assistance isn’t limited to mortgage payments.
How America’s Pandemic Economic Response Fought the Last War
A focus on the challenges of the Great Recession has fueled some of the challenges of this crisis.
Japan’s Economy Shrinks, but Outlook Is Warm as Virus Ebbs
The coronavirus and supply chain issues stymied growth in the third quarter, but high vaccination rates and low numbers of virus cases point to a recovery.
Stocks Soar in India, Luring Investors at Home and Abroad
The second-most populous country is enjoying some of the world’s strongest stock market returns. Pro-growth policies and gnawing questions about China have helped.
The Congressional Black Caucus Was Key to the Infrastructure Vote
Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the chairwoman of the caucus, Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, to announce a key deal, understanding that the lawmaker had more influence at that point than she did.
What Jerome Powell Didn’t Do: Lay the Groundwork for Higher Rates
He said high inflation was mostly a result of pandemic effects like supply network disruptions, a problem he thinks the Fed can’t fix.
What to watch at the Fed’s meeting Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce plans at 2 p.m. Wednesday to slow its bond buying while leaving interest rates near zero. But the focus is on what comes next.
As the Fed Prepares to Slow Support, Attention Shifts to Rate Increases
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce a plan to taper off its bond buying. With inflation surging, economists’ eyes are already turning to rates.
Even With a Dream Job, You Can Be Antiwork
The pandemic has prompted a dawning realization that we are way too obsessed with our jobs.
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.
As Democrats Trim Spending Bill, Some Americans Fear Being Left Behind
President Biden had an ambitious agenda to remake the economy. But under the duress of negotiations and Senate rules, he has shelved a series of proposals, some of them indefinitely.