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You almost have to admire the audacity of Nancy Pelosi’s demands. According to the WSJ, the White House’s final offer was in the range of $1.6 trillion.
Mrs. Pelosi would have none of it.
Think about that. A Republican President was willing to spend an amount that was half the federal budget only a few years ago, and Mrs. Pelosi said no. Some spirit of compromise.
Earn More by Not Returning to Work
Mrs. Pelosi’s biggest demand was more than $400 billion for states, cities and tribal lands. This is a bailout for Illinois, New York, California and other Democratic states that refuse to adjust their budgets to post-Covid realities. It’s an income redistribution play from Florida and Texas taxpayers to blue-state public-union pensions. She also insisted on at least $500 a week in enhanced jobless benefits, which means millions of Americans would earn more by not returning to work.
(Aside) from money for beleaguered industries like airlines, there was very little stimulus at all. Both parties agreed on another $1,000 pre-election payment to millions of voters, but that would have little economic impact beyond a short-term fillip for consumer spending.
The main current economic problem isn’t a lack of demand-side stimulus. It is the continuing restrictions on business and commerce in many states. The state economies suffering the most are those that have continued the strictest lockdowns.
The August Jobless Rates:
- New York (12.5%),
- California (11.4%)
- Pennsylvania (10.3%)
These three states are the highest in the country. Contrast the above three with Utah (4.1%), Texas (6.8%), and Georgia (5.6%).
The solution is to reopen the economy while protecting the most vulnerable from Covid.
The relief debate now moves to the election campaign, and Republicans should educate voters about Mrs. Pelosi’s political extortion play. Her swing-district Members, many of them freshmen, will now return to their districts with nothing to boast about. They’re merely cogs in the Pelosi machine, and voters should know the real reason the relief talks failed.
