A new study found that Trump and Senate Republicans will kill 3.4 million jobs next year by cutting unemployment benefits.
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.
These are huge numbers—but they are driven by the fact that the support this extra $600 has given tens of millions of working families is huge. The economic shock of COVID-19 was enormous, but the large expansions to the UI system included in the CARES Act of March were incredibly effective in blunting the effect of this shock. The only problem with these expansions was that they begin running out next week—while the job market remains fundamentally damaged.
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People can’t find a new job, because there aren’t new jobs out there, so the idea that unemployment benefits can be cut and people will just “find something new,” represents a fundamental ignorance about the economy and where the labor market stands during a pandemic.
Unemployed workers are spending the additional $600/week and pouring it back into the economy. Republicans are going take that money out of the economy, and the result will be more layoffs and job losses.
By lowering unemployment benefits, Trump and his party are going to create more unemployment. Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are about to unleash an economic disaster on the American people that has the potential to equal the Trump created public health crisis that is swallowing up the nation.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
