A Stimulus Syllabus #108

Deepnews Digest #108
A Stimulus Syllabus
Editor: Christopher Brennan As the vaccine campaigns take hold and prove their effectiveness, countries around the world are looking into how to weather the rest of the pandemic and prepare for after it. From negotiations over the American Rescue Plan in the US to COVID relief money in the EU, there is a lot to read about how current efforts are working and what to do next. This week’s Digest covers all things stimulus and getting the economy moving again, creating a sort of syllabus on all the different angles. As you might have noticed last week, our Digest now features our scores and confidence for each of the articles included.

Published every Friday

The Telegraph (UK) ($)

Exclusive: New wave of £7,500 grants for self-employed – but scheme may be scrapped as restrictions end

Telegraph understands people who meet criteria can claim 80 per cent of average monthly profits up to maximum £2,500 a month

Score: stars image Confidence: 90%

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Bloomberg

Merkel Is Leaving and Macron Is Flailing, But the EU Has a New Heavyweight in Draghi

As Germany’s September vote is set to bring down the curtain for Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron gears up for a tough election in France, Italy’s Mario Draghi is stepping into the spotlight.

Score: stars image Confidence: 51%

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WRAL

Meant to offer ‘HOPE,’ state rental assistance program has been slow to pay

RALEIGH, N.C. — A state program to cover unpaid rent and utilities for people affected by the pandemic has paid out just over 30 percent of $167 million earmarked to help people since it opened in mid-October, despite massive demand.

Editor’s Note:

I’ve mentioned it in previous newsletters, but one thing I love about doing the Deepnews Digest is seeing excellent local pieces that have broader implications. Here WRAL looks at difficulties with a state relief program in North Carolina using federal relief money, and how those problems impact people’s lives. – Christopher Brennan, Editor

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Marketwatch

“It feels predatory”: 6 million people are not eligible for a COVID-19 payment pause on student debt even if they work in public service

One student-loan borrower is slated to pay off her debt when she’s 87, despite a career in public service.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Nikkei Asian Review

Pandemic widens gap between South Korea’s haves and have-nots

Chaebols rebound on export growth, while small domestic businesses suffer

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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HuffPost

Jobless Americans Face Surprise Tax Bills On Unemployment Benefits

In an absurd twist, many say they might be forced to use the next round of government-provided stimulus checks to pay the government.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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American Banker

In this crisis, White House and banks are on same team

WASHINGTON — During the last Democratic administration, the financial crisis and subsequent regulatory reforms often put banks and government officials on opposing ends of policy debates.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Chalkbeat

Why a Biden stimulus probably won’t make schools compete for cash

Tucked inside Joe Biden’s $130 billion proposal to help K-12 schools deal with the pandemic was an intriguing — and, apparently to some, alarming — tidbit.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Green Bay Press Gazzette

Falling through the cracks: PPP reforms help some small businesses but others are still ineligible for relief

Help could be coming for small businesses that have been unable to tap the millions of dollars in aid that were made available through federal stimulus programs, even as they struggled through the pandemic.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Foreign Policy

Stimulus Is an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen

A public jobs guarantee is the only way to provide economic recovery without endangering the climate.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Crosscut

Low-income college students are struggling without jobs

Students who depend on part-time jobs to help pay tuition and other expenses are making difficult choices during the COVID-related economic downturn.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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CNET

How coronavirus stimulus funds helped one state create a ‘broadband miracle’

When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and lawmakers in the Mississippi legislature got $1.2 billion in federal money from the first stimulus bill in March, they decided to do something different. They used a portion of the funds to supercharge the rollout of high-speed broadband to the most underserved areas of the state in an effort to close the digital divide.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Nature

How Europe’s €100 billion science fund will shape 7 years of research

As Horizon Europe issues its first call for grants, Nature reviews some big changes — from open science to goal-oriented ‘missions’.

Editor’s Note:

In the EU, the massive COVID relief package has been tied to certain goals. Here Nature looks at the billions going to Horizon Europe, the EU research program, and its priorities. – Christopher Brennan, Editor

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Louisville Courier Journal

The eviction crisis is here: Loopholes let landlords force renters from their homes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sari Easley knew the sheriff’s deputies were coming. She just didn’t know when. So for several days last fall, she awoke at 7 a.m. and got to work packing up the house her family rented in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Canadian Press

Pandemic increased direct aid to fossil fuel producers, new study shows

OTTAWA — A new report suggests the economic impact of the pandemic led to a massive increase in federal aid to Canada’s oilpatch.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Financial Times ($)

Is inflation back from the dead?

The prospect of rising inflation is preoccupying policymakers and investors on both sides of the Atlantic this week.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Haaretz

Israel fails to solve data chaos that caused $300m in jobless aid to be paid by mistake

Panel proposed solutions that have yet to be implemented because of election, lack of government synchronization and surging unemployment

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Governing

Does Every State Really Need a Big Biden Bailout?

The president’s plan would send tens of billions in unrestricted aid to states, including those holding up well. Aid from Washington should target preserving basic services and fighting the pandemic.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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The Diplomat

Why Isn’t China’s COVID-19 Stimulus Going Directly to Workers?

But unique among the world’s largest economies, China has largely refrained from providing direct financial support for its citizens, rather focusing its COVID-19 relief almost exclusively on private businesses and government investment. For instance, the $500 billion stimulus package China revealed in May 2020 was overwhelmingly focused on infrastructure spending to create more jobs, as well as new loans and repayment deferrals for businesses.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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ABC Australia

We fact checked Josh Frydenberg on welfare dependency. Here’s what we found

The Coalition Government has reassured Australians that the nation is well placed to emerge strongly from the coronavirus crisis in large part because of its handling of the economy in the years leading up to the pandemic.Street protests rarely bring about political change in isolation, actual change usually comes from self-interested elites. COLLEGE PARK, MD. — In a text message, a radicalized Trump supporter suggested getting a boat to ferry “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River into the waiting arms of their members in time for Jan. 6, court papers say.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Politics Home

People Claiming Universal Credit Doubles Since Start Of Pandemic, New Figures Show

The number of people claiming Universal Credit has risen by 98 per cent since the start of the pandemic, new figures have shown.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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Vox

The best stimulus idea Democrats are leaving on the table

Maybe early in the pandemic, you first postponed your 2020 vacation to July, and then from July to March. Now, you know you should just wait and see, but you can’t help yourself and went ahead and booked for August.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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WTVF Nashville

Charter schools receive more per student in federal COVID aid

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When it comes to how federal education relief money was distributed during the pandemic, an analysis by NewsChannel 5 Investigates found charter schools were able to get a larger share than traditional public schools.

Editor’s Note:

One section of stimulus support in the US has been to schools. Here the reporters at WTVF did an analysis on public schools versus privately run charter schools who received money to cover cuts in funding that didn’t happen. – Christopher Brennan, Editor

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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ABC Action News (Florida)

‘We are falling apart’: Year review of Florida’s faulty unemployment system and its future

“This is daunting — I was on a phone call with other states and they’re facing the same type of increase,” said Ken Lawson, the former Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, during an interview early last year.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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WSJ ($)

Rich Countries Borrowed $18 Trillion in 2020. Few Seem Worried About Them Paying It Off.

Rich countries’ governments borrowed $18 trillion from bond markets in 2020—more than ever before—but their borrowing costs hit a record low, due to a big rise in bond purchases by central banks, as well as a lack of concern about public debt levels among private investors.

Score: stars image Confidence: 99%

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A Stimulus Syllabus

Exclusive: New wave of £7,500 grants for self-employed – but scheme may be scrapped as restrictions end

Merkel Is Leaving and Macron Is Flailing, But the EU Has a New Heavyweight in Draghi

Meant to offer ‘HOPE,’ state rental assistance program has been slow to pay

“It feels predatory”: 6 million people are not eligible for a COVID-19 payment pause on student debt even if they work in public service

Pandemic widens gap between South Korea’s haves and have-nots

Jobless Americans Face Surprise Tax Bills On Unemployment Benefits

In this crisis, White House and banks are on same team

Why a Biden stimulus probably won’t make schools compete for cash

Falling through the cracks: PPP reforms help some small businesses but others are still ineligible for relief

Stimulus Is an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen

Low-income college students are struggling without jobs

How coronavirus stimulus funds helped one state create a ‘broadband miracle’

How Europe’s €100 billion science fund will shape 7 years of research

The eviction crisis is here: Loopholes let landlords force renters from their homes

Pandemic increased direct aid to fossil fuel producers, new study shows

Is inflation back from the dead?

Israel fails to solve data chaos that caused $300m in jobless aid to be paid by mistake

Does Every State Really Need a Big Biden Bailout?

Why Isn’t China’s COVID-19 Stimulus Going Directly to Workers?

We fact checked Josh Frydenberg on welfare dependency. Here’s what we found

People Claiming Universal Credit Doubles Since Start Of Pandemic, New Figures Show

The best stimulus idea Democrats are leaving on the table

Charter schools receive more per student in federal COVID aid

‘We are falling apart’: Year review of Florida’s faulty unemployment system and its future

Rich Countries Borrowed $18 Trillion in 2020. Few Seem Worried About Them Paying It Off.

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