Trump vs Dems on Economic Stimulis - MBrew

 

ECONOMY Trump Springs Into Executive Action Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images On Saturday, President Trump fired off a series of measures to juice the economy after congressional efforts sputtered.  The backstory: Democrats have pushed for a $3.4 trillion aid package; Republicans countered with a $1 trillion alternative. On Friday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Republicans had rejected an offer to split the difference.  So Trump took the ball and started his own game  He signed an executive order plus three memoranda that include:  An additional $300/week in unemployment benefits drawn from the federal government’s Disaster Relief Fund, plus another $100 to be provided by the states (the $600 in extra benefits provided by the CARES Act expired July 31).  A temporary deferment of the payroll tax for employees earning less than $100,000/year. Workers would still have to pay up eventually, but Trump is asking the Treasury to look for ways to wipe the debt away entirely.  Extend a moratorium on some evictions and foreclosures and push off student loan payments.  The big speedbump: The president can’t spend money unilaterally—only Congress can write checks for the U.S. government. So the additional unemployment benefits are probably headed for a courtroom.  That’s also probably why Trump didn’t extend aid to small businesses or to local and state governments. He doesn’t have that power.  You’ll never believe it: Dems don't like it  Speaker Pelosi said yesterday that states can’t cover the $100 in added unemployment benefits because of their perilous budget situation from the pandemic. Democrats have demanded relief for states and cities in their aid package proposals.  Trump's actions were criticized by members of his own party, too, for being non-workable. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse called the measures "unconstitutional slop."  Bottom line: The presidential election is 85 days away, and both Trump and the Democrats are keenly aware of how the economy’s health can shape the outcome.