Sen. Rick Scott: "The moment we go back to work, we cannot create an incentive for people to say, 'I don't need to go back to work because I can do better someplace else.'"
Just over a decade ago, when the Great Recession hit and millions of workers lost their jobs, out-of-work Floridians could count on modest help from the state’s unemployment insurance system: Up to $7,150 over 26 weeks.
But the thousands of workers suddenly losing their jobs right now amid the coronavirus pandemic can expect far less help from the state: No more than $3,300 over 12 weeks.
The thinner state safety net is the result of changes made in 2011 under former Republican Gov. Rick Scott in response to lobbying from some of the state’s biggest businesses, who wanted to cut the taxes they were paying to finance jobless benefits. Those changes further weakened what national experts say was already an exceptionally poor state unemployment program for workers.
Florida, for example, caps benefits payments at $275 per week — a ceiling that hasn’t been raised in 22 years.
Right I feel like it’s an easy way to guarantee someone makes at least $15/hour, since as your post points out, standard benefits vary and suck shit
Nobody earns $0.00 in UI. Back of the envelope, with the additional $600 I'd be just shy of breaking even if I get let go. I make $60k. So people earning less than that will actually be getting a slight boost in income for those 4 months.
Sen. Rick Scott: "The moment we go back to work, we cannot create an incentive for people to say, 'I don't need to go back to work because I can do better someplace else.'"
Just over a decade ago, when the Great Recession hit and millions of workers lost their jobs, out-of-work Floridians could count on modest help from the state’s unemployment insurance system: Up to $7,150 over 26 weeks.
But the thousands of workers suddenly losing their jobs right now amid the coronavirus pandemic can expect far less help from the state: No more than $3,300 over 12 weeks.
The thinner state safety net is the result of changes made in 2011 under former Republican Gov. Rick Scott in response to lobbying from some of the state’s biggest businesses, who wanted to cut the taxes they were paying to finance jobless benefits. Those changes further weakened what national experts say was already an exceptionally poor state unemployment program for workers.
Florida, for example, caps benefits payments at $275 per week — a ceiling that hasn’t been raised in 22 years.
Adjusting for inflation would put that at $440/ week in today's dollars. (Which is still less than IL)
I was laid off last year and had to apply for FL UI for a couple of months. I qualified for $246/week.
There's also a requirement that you have to have made 5 different job contacts every 2 weeks before they disburse the funds. You log into the website and log that you have attempted to apply for 5 different jobs before they give you the weeks UI.
I think they're waiving that requirement during this coronavirus crisis now.
The bill as written sucks shit and I applaud the Congressmen and women showing some spine on that point.
I'm not sure what, specifically, you want the bill to have, but I strongly suspect there's no possible universe in which you get it in this bill with this congress.
The correct response to these GOP assholes is to call their bluff and drag the entire Senate in there to vote, then rail against the Republicans for dicking around when people need money and aid. Not to showboat alongside them.
A meaningful amount of money for workers and no blank check slush fund for Trump do raid at his leisure at a minimum. The democrats are perfrctly capable of getting this.
They ARE capable of getting that! As evidenced by the fact that already did!
You can quibble about the definition of "meaningful" but the amount they get was negotiated upwards from what the GOP wanted, and there's no reason there can't be additional aid delivered later. This isn't the last coronavirus bill we're going to see.
Maybe. There's only so much panic available to force Congress to actually act. At some point this is all just gonna run out of steam and Congress will start doing nothing again.
This is also why brinksmanship is dangerous. Because Congress is very good at not doing anything and holding the line can easily end up with both sides just glaring from their trenches at each other and nothing happening.
Unemployment numbers get released tomorrow and the markets will fucking lose their goddamn minds. Which means their donors will be in their ear screaming to pass the stimulus.
The first vote to pass the relief bill back in 2008 failed.
Yeah, and then the exact same bill passed, like, six hours later
Which rather proves my point
Nope. The market took an enormous panic shit, the Senate didn't pass something till like 3 or so days later and then the House passed it a few more days after that. It took like almost a week and one of the biggest drops in the market just to get enough people in Congress onboard to do something.
And Congress has only gotten more dysfunctional since then.
So I just read that the senate passed it but it says it raised the maximum UI by 600 not that it was adding 600
Did Dems cave in this or was it just poorly worded?
tbh that would make sense?
UI that exceeded your previous income would be highly unusual... I really wouldn't expect the Republicans to pass that as some kind of backdoor stimulus.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I tried to read it myself to answer the question and uh...
Well let's say there's a reason I didn't go to law school.
life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
So I just read that the senate passed it but it says it raised the maximum UI by 600 not that it was adding 600
Did Dems cave in this or was it just poorly worded?
tbh that would make sense?
UI that exceeded your previous income would be highly unusual... I really wouldn't expect the Republicans to pass that as some kind of backdoor stimulus.
It's a flat $600 increase (Section 2104)
More thots on relevant sections: 2101, 2104, 2107 (ctrl+f these numbers for easy reference)
- Your UI is extended even if it has been exhausted (all the way back to until before July 1st 2019).
- States cannot lower their base calculations for UI (that is, states can't cheat and lower UI to like $1 and just pay people the $600); this is the "non-reduction rule" that's in like every section
- This $600 increase is not factored into Medicaid and CHIP levels, which is a relief because otherwise there could've been a good chunk of households in the dreaded Medicaid expansion gap
- No waiting week; applicants will get money for that first week (usually there's a waiting period just in case you quickly move on to another job or something; NY has already waived this)
I recommend other people read and double-check that because it's 2am and having to repeatedly read the non-reduction rule has made me remember why I hated law school
Section 2201 starts the $1,200 check details
Eddy on
"and the morning stars I have seen
and the gengars who are guiding me" -- W.S. Merwin
The $600 a week is an unemployment insurance thing right? In other words you have to apply with your state and show them your most recent pay stubs and they make a decision on how much you get per week based on that which is definitely not going to be more then what you were making. Graham and his fellow Republicans are full of shit.
It's $600/week in addition to the UI benefit calculated by your state. Back of the envelope calculation, this should result in half of workers on unemployment making more than when they were employed.
In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,283,000, an increase of
3,001,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the
history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982
The $600 a week is an unemployment insurance thing right? In other words you have to apply with your state and show them your most recent pay stubs and they make a decision on how much you get per week based on that which is definitely not going to be more then what you were making. Graham and his fellow Republicans are full of shit.
It's $600/week in addition to the UI benefit calculated by your state. Back of the envelope calculation, this should result in half of workers on unemployment making more than when they were employed.
And good for them. It’s going to be tough finding a job for the next few months at least. I feel like there may be a few perverse incentives with people close to retirement, and workers who aren’t getting paid well (and some other edge cases). But whatever, this bill is as good as it could possibly be. Good job Congress. Words that up until now have never left my mouth, and I doubt ever will again.
The $600 a week is an unemployment insurance thing right? In other words you have to apply with your state and show them your most recent pay stubs and they make a decision on how much you get per week based on that which is definitely not going to be more then what you were making. Graham and his fellow Republicans are full of shit.
It's $600/week in addition to the UI benefit calculated by your state. Back of the envelope calculation, this should result in half of workers on unemployment making more than when they were employed.
And good for them. It’s going to be tough finding a job for the next few months at least. I feel like there may be a few perverse incentives with people close to retirement, and workers who aren’t getting paid well (and some other edge cases). But whatever, this bill is as good as it could possibly be. Good job Congress. Words that up until now have never left my mouth, and I doubt ever will again.
Will be interesting to see if this drives wages up or down on the recovery.
I'd bet on the latter, first because employers tend to be assholes, and second a lot of people more desperate to work flood the market.
But I can see it being the former if companies see this being a way to get a jump on their competition. If they're able to offer a slightly better wage, they'll be able to pick from a better pool of candidates.
Obviously, some industries (ones that see most of their jobs as purely menial) won't bother. But ones that rely on skilled labor, even if that skill is easily trainable, I could see trying to get the jump.
In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,283,000, an increase of
3,001,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the
history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982
To be honest, with a possible supply shock coming, some extra cash will help with the corresponding price inflation.
I’m already hearing rumours of stores raising prices to both account for the panic buying and the supply chain shortages
When I went shopping yesterday, I didn't so much see price rises (at least not in a noticeable way), but I did see a lot of removals of discounts. The store I normally shop at typically has stuff like an item at $6, or 2 for $10. They were still there for $6, but the 2 for $10 was gone. Noticed it across several of my staple purchases.
Note, those discounts weren't a daily/weekly thing. They'd been pretty much a standard for at least several years.
In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,283,000, an increase of
3,001,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the
history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982
In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 3,283,000, an increase of
3,001,000 from the previous week's revised level. This marks the highest level of seasonally adjusted initial claims in the
history of the seasonally adjusted series. The previous high was 695,000 in October of 1982
Tweet is from Director of Policy at the Economic Policy Institute, but the chart is the point.
In spoilers for the non-twitter types:
I thought that last observation was the chart border for a minute....
+11
Options
HakkekageSpace Whore Academysumma cum laudeRegistered Userregular
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
$25bn loans set aside for airlines
SecTreas given discretion to set Loans terms & rates
Any business receiving loans is prohibited from stock buybacks or paying dividends for a year after, and has to maintain employees as of March 24 at least until Sept. 30 (they can reduce up to 10%; some wiggle room; the late start date also doesn't super help the millions laid off in the two weeks prior to March 24, but this is the big corp loan bucket)
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Loans are available to mid-sized businesses (incl nonprofits) who will maintain at least 90% employment & restore workforce all the way back to Feb 1, also until Sept 30 (that's p good); restrictions on stock buybacks & dividends, and also not offshoring jobs or messing with collective bargaining/union agreements for 2 yrs after the loan is repaid
Loan forgiveness is prohibited (can't turn the loan into a gift)
Cap on highly-paid execs getting paid/severance
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery created within the Treasury Dept., appointed by Pres + Senate Confirmation, some restrictions on expertise * nonpartisan affiliation, standard IG removal restrictions,
SIG Supervises loans & tracks SecTreas' loan activities, including in report a justification for each loan/decision made.
SIG is entitled to any information demanded from any agency (limited to extent practicable); if refused, SIG must report the refusal to Congress right away
SIG will make regular quarterly reports to Congress and gets $25m to set up the office. SIG in place for 5 years
Conflict of Interest provision: No business where a member of the Pres' family (or VP, Exec officer, or congresscritter; extends to spouses, children, and daughter/son-in-laws, KUSHNER) owns >20% stock eligible for any of the loans
Congressional Oversight Commission: Will make regular reports of SecTreas' activities. Made up of 5 members, 4 appointed by maj/min leaders of House & Senate, and one that McConnell and Pelosi agree on, fucking somehow. Exists for 5 years. Can demand any info from any agency "as necessary" to do its job.
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
3DS: 2165 - 6538 - 3417
NNID: Hakkekage
+15
Options
zepherinRussian warship, go fuck yourselfRegistered Userregular
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
$25bn loans set aside for airlines
SecTreas given discretion to set Loans terms & rates
Any business receiving loans is prohibited from stock buybacks or paying dividends for a year after, and has to maintain employees as of March 24 at least until Sept. 30 (they can reduce up to 10%; some wiggle room; the late start date also doesn't super help the millions laid off in the two weeks prior to March 24, but this is the big corp loan bucket)
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Loans are available to mid-sized businesses (incl nonprofits) who will maintain at least 90% employment & restore workforce all the way back to Feb 1, also until Sept 30 (that's p good); restrictions on stock buybacks & dividends, and also not offshoring jobs or messing with collective bargaining/union agreements for 2 yrs after the loan is repaid
Loan forgiveness is prohibited (can't turn the loan into a gift)
Cap on highly-paid execs getting paid/severance
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery created within the Treasury Dept., appointed by Pres + Senate Confirmation, some restrictions on expertise * nonpartisan affiliation, standard IG removal restrictions,
SIG Supervises loans & tracks SecTreas' loan activities, including in report a justification for each loan/decision made.
SIG is entitled to any information demanded from any agency (limited to extent practicable); if refused, SIG must report the refusal to Congress right away
SIG will make regular quarterly reports to Congress and gets $25m to set up the office. SIG in place for 5 years
Conflict of Interest provision: No business where a member of the Pres' family (or VP, Exec officer, or congresscritter; extends to spouses, children, and daughter/son-in-laws, KUSHNER) owns >20% stock eligible for any of the loans
Congressional Oversight Commission: Will make regular reports of SecTreas' activities. Made up of 5 members, 4 appointed by maj/min leaders of House & Senate, and one that McConnell and Pelosi agree on, fucking somehow. Exists for 5 years. Can demand any info from any agency "as necessary" to do its job.
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
If the senate can't meet or vote, then nothing happens in regards to the SIG. The senate very cleverly made it so that their recess is less than 30 days so this doesn't count as a recess for appointment purposes.
And that's fine, this pandemic is likely going to last a year or more. We shouldn't just be throwing a body into the position.
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
$25bn loans set aside for airlines
SecTreas given discretion to set Loans terms & rates
Any business receiving loans is prohibited from stock buybacks or paying dividends for a year after, and has to maintain employees as of March 24 at least until Sept. 30 (they can reduce up to 10%; some wiggle room; the late start date also doesn't super help the millions laid off in the two weeks prior to March 24, but this is the big corp loan bucket)
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Loans are available to mid-sized businesses (incl nonprofits) who will maintain at least 90% employment & restore workforce all the way back to Feb 1, also until Sept 30 (that's p good); restrictions on stock buybacks & dividends, and also not offshoring jobs or messing with collective bargaining/union agreements for 2 yrs after the loan is repaid
Loan forgiveness is prohibited (can't turn the loan into a gift)
Cap on highly-paid execs getting paid/severance
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery created within the Treasury Dept., appointed by Pres + Senate Confirmation, some restrictions on expertise * nonpartisan affiliation, standard IG removal restrictions,
SIG Supervises loans & tracks SecTreas' loan activities, including in report a justification for each loan/decision made.
SIG is entitled to any information demanded from any agency (limited to extent practicable); if refused, SIG must report the refusal to Congress right away
SIG will make regular quarterly reports to Congress and gets $25m to set up the office. SIG in place for 5 years
Conflict of Interest provision: No business where a member of the Pres' family (or VP, Exec officer, or congresscritter; extends to spouses, children, and daughter/son-in-laws, KUSHNER) owns >20% stock eligible for any of the loans
Congressional Oversight Commission: Will make regular reports of SecTreas' activities. Made up of 5 members, 4 appointed by maj/min leaders of House & Senate, and one that McConnell and Pelosi agree on, fucking somehow. Exists for 5 years. Can demand any info from any agency "as necessary" to do its job.
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
If I'm being honest, that last point really seems to be an illustration that Pelosi and Co have learned the lesson and aren't fucking around on the norms & handshakes front. This is the authority we're granting the committee and by the way the leash is as long as they need it to be.
All opinions are my own and in no way reflect that of my employer.
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
$25bn loans set aside for airlines
SecTreas given discretion to set Loans terms & rates
Any business receiving loans is prohibited from stock buybacks or paying dividends for a year after, and has to maintain employees as of March 24 at least until Sept. 30 (they can reduce up to 10%; some wiggle room; the late start date also doesn't super help the millions laid off in the two weeks prior to March 24, but this is the big corp loan bucket)
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Loans are available to mid-sized businesses (incl nonprofits) who will maintain at least 90% employment & restore workforce all the way back to Feb 1, also until Sept 30 (that's p good); restrictions on stock buybacks & dividends, and also not offshoring jobs or messing with collective bargaining/union agreements for 2 yrs after the loan is repaid
Loan forgiveness is prohibited (can't turn the loan into a gift)
Cap on highly-paid execs getting paid/severance
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery created within the Treasury Dept., appointed by Pres + Senate Confirmation, some restrictions on expertise * nonpartisan affiliation, standard IG removal restrictions,
SIG Supervises loans & tracks SecTreas' loan activities, including in report a justification for each loan/decision made.
SIG is entitled to any information demanded from any agency (limited to extent practicable); if refused, SIG must report the refusal to Congress right away
SIG will make regular quarterly reports to Congress and gets $25m to set up the office. SIG in place for 5 years
Conflict of Interest provision: No business where a member of the Pres' family (or VP, Exec officer, or congresscritter; extends to spouses, children, and daughter/son-in-laws, KUSHNER) owns >20% stock eligible for any of the loans
Congressional Oversight Commission: Will make regular reports of SecTreas' activities. Made up of 5 members, 4 appointed by maj/min leaders of House & Senate, and one that McConnell and Pelosi agree on, fucking somehow. Exists for 5 years. Can demand any info from any agency "as necessary" to do its job.
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
If the Senate is putting oversight in the hands of @So It Goes I feel much better
The only thing that gripes me about the oversight bit is that we’l have MANY examples of Congressional oversight, even when it’s been strictly coded into law, meaning absolutely nothing without the cooperation of the executive, since congress has no methods outside the Department of Justice to actually enforce said oversight.
And weirdly the market is up this morning. I mean..we've got 6 hours to go before they close for the day, but I'm frankly shocked it's not tanking even more this morning. My guess is that this was expected and was already "priced" into the previous drops.
The only thing that gripes me about the oversight bit is that we’l have MANY examples of Congressional oversight, even when it’s been strictly coded into law, meaning absolutely nothing without the cooperation of the executive, since congress has no methods outside the Department of Justice to actually enforce said oversight.
Congress does the have the power to charge with contempt on its own. If they ever used it. And that still ends up a mess in the courts.
And weirdly the market is up this morning. I mean..we've got 6 hours to go before they close for the day, but I'm frankly shocked it's not tanking even more this morning. My guess is that this was expected and was already "priced" into the previous drops.
Also the Senate passing the Bill.
+8
Options
HakkekageSpace Whore Academysumma cum laudeRegistered Userregular
SIG could still be appointed so all is not yet lost folks
Also, if you're smart there's no actual reason this overnight cultural shift has to totally fuck everything up for you. We just have to do a few things and you can actually still turn profits and make working products. The big first one is you just have to rip the bandaid off, stop denying reality, and admit, "okay all of this is happening, and we're not going back to the before times", and then make a fuckin plan for the new normal. Figure out solutions to your new problems and act on them rather than insisting those problems will just magically go away and you won't have to change your operation. There's actually a bunch of potential here so long as you stop not responding to the crisis and the changes it forces directly.
+12
Options
No-QuarterNothing To FearBut Fear ItselfRegistered Userregular
Can anyone show me a summary for this thing that breaks it down for my feeble prole-brain?
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
$25bn loans set aside for airlines
SecTreas given discretion to set Loans terms & rates
Any business receiving loans is prohibited from stock buybacks or paying dividends for a year after, and has to maintain employees as of March 24 at least until Sept. 30 (they can reduce up to 10%; some wiggle room; the late start date also doesn't super help the millions laid off in the two weeks prior to March 24, but this is the big corp loan bucket)
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Loans are available to mid-sized businesses (incl nonprofits) who will maintain at least 90% employment & restore workforce all the way back to Feb 1, also until Sept 30 (that's p good); restrictions on stock buybacks & dividends, and also not offshoring jobs or messing with collective bargaining/union agreements for 2 yrs after the loan is repaid
Loan forgiveness is prohibited (can't turn the loan into a gift)
Cap on highly-paid execs getting paid/severance
Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery created within the Treasury Dept., appointed by Pres + Senate Confirmation, some restrictions on expertise * nonpartisan affiliation, standard IG removal restrictions,
SIG Supervises loans & tracks SecTreas' loan activities, including in report a justification for each loan/decision made.
SIG is entitled to any information demanded from any agency (limited to extent practicable); if refused, SIG must report the refusal to Congress right away
SIG will make regular quarterly reports to Congress and gets $25m to set up the office. SIG in place for 5 years
Conflict of Interest provision: No business where a member of the Pres' family (or VP, Exec officer, or congresscritter; extends to spouses, children, and daughter/son-in-laws, KUSHNER) owns >20% stock eligible for any of the loans
Congressional Oversight Commission: Will make regular reports of SecTreas' activities. Made up of 5 members, 4 appointed by maj/min leaders of House & Senate, and one that McConnell and Pelosi agree on, fucking somehow. Exists for 5 years. Can demand any info from any agency "as necessary" to do its job.
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
If the Senate is putting oversight in the hands of @So It Goes I feel much better
SIG is fair but lord help any of them that mention the 2016 election
And weirdly the market is up this morning. I mean..we've got 6 hours to go before they close for the day, but I'm frankly shocked it's not tanking even more this morning. My guess is that this was expected and was already "priced" into the previous drops.
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Does this give those committees any veto or corrective power, or can SecTreas show up (or not), spout racist conspiracies and claim exec priviledge?
0
Options
HakkekageSpace Whore Academysumma cum laudeRegistered Userregular
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Does this give those committees any veto or corrective power, or can SecTreas show up (or not), spout racist conspiracies and claim exec priviledge?
No. That would be unconstitutional (see INS v. Chadha)
Standard congressional mechanisms control (subpoenas, information oversight / doc prod, discretionary use of contempt authority)
Senate passed the bill 96-0. Looking now at the "slush fund" language / oversight mechanisms (seems to be Title IV), just noting some things that jump out at me
SecTreas CAN WAIVE any of these terms "upon a determination that such waiver is necessary to protect the interests of the Federal Government" (ugh, vague discretionary grants of authority, is this an "intelligible principle") but if he does so he MUST submit to hearing before the House & Senate Banking Committees
Does this give those committees any veto or corrective power, or can SecTreas show up (or not), spout racist conspiracies and claim exec priviledge?
No. That would be unconstitutional (see INS v. Chadha)
Standard congressional mechanisms control (subpoenas, information oversight / doc prod, discretionary use of contempt authority)
Posts
It's $600 on top of traditional UI. For Illinois that would top out* at $1,180/ week.
*Standard benefits are basically 47% of your pay.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-health-coronavirus-florida-unemployment-insurance-20200320-btwwgumusrha3hzwxvk7bsdlre-story.html
Nobody earns $0.00 in UI. Back of the envelope, with the additional $600 I'd be just shy of breaking even if I get let go. I make $60k. So people earning less than that will actually be getting a slight boost in income for those 4 months.
Adjusting for inflation would put that at $440/ week in today's dollars. (Which is still less than IL)
Just... goddamn, Florida.
There's also a requirement that you have to have made 5 different job contacts every 2 weeks before they disburse the funds. You log into the website and log that you have attempted to apply for 5 different jobs before they give you the weeks UI.
I think they're waiving that requirement during this coronavirus crisis now.
Did Dems cave in this or was it just poorly worded?
Nope. The market took an enormous panic shit, the Senate didn't pass something till like 3 or so days later and then the House passed it a few more days after that. It took like almost a week and one of the biggest drops in the market just to get enough people in Congress onboard to do something.
And Congress has only gotten more dysfunctional since then.
tbh that would make sense?
UI that exceeded your previous income would be highly unusual... I really wouldn't expect the Republicans to pass that as some kind of backdoor stimulus.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
I tried to read it myself to answer the question and uh...
Well let's say there's a reason I didn't go to law school.
fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
It's a flat $600 increase (Section 2104)
More thots on relevant sections: 2101, 2104, 2107 (ctrl+f these numbers for easy reference)
- Your UI is extended even if it has been exhausted (all the way back to until before July 1st 2019).
- States cannot lower their base calculations for UI (that is, states can't cheat and lower UI to like $1 and just pay people the $600); this is the "non-reduction rule" that's in like every section
- This $600 increase is not factored into Medicaid and CHIP levels, which is a relief because otherwise there could've been a good chunk of households in the dreaded Medicaid expansion gap
- No waiting week; applicants will get money for that first week (usually there's a waiting period just in case you quickly move on to another job or something; NY has already waived this)
I recommend other people read and double-check that because it's 2am and having to repeatedly read the non-reduction rule has made me remember why I hated law school
Section 2201 starts the $1,200 check details
and the gengars who are guiding me" -- W.S. Merwin
It's $600/week in addition to the UI benefit calculated by your state. Back of the envelope calculation, this should result in half of workers on unemployment making more than when they were employed.
Department of Labor <- Is a pdf
Wow.
For reference, the worst of the Great Recession saw weekly claims cap out at around 665,000.
Will be interesting to see if this drives wages up or down on the recovery.
I'd bet on the latter, first because employers tend to be assholes, and second a lot of people more desperate to work flood the market.
But I can see it being the former if companies see this being a way to get a jump on their competition. If they're able to offer a slightly better wage, they'll be able to pick from a better pool of candidates.
Obviously, some industries (ones that see most of their jobs as purely menial) won't bother. But ones that rely on skilled labor, even if that skill is easily trainable, I could see trying to get the jump.
Not counting on it, though.
I’m already hearing rumours of stores raising prices to both account for the panic buying and the supply chain shortages
MWO: Adamski
Chart for reference:
Tweet is from Director of Policy at the Economic Policy Institute, but the chart is the point.
In spoilers for the non-twitter types:
When I went shopping yesterday, I didn't so much see price rises (at least not in a noticeable way), but I did see a lot of removals of discounts. The store I normally shop at typically has stuff like an item at $6, or 2 for $10. They were still there for $6, but the 2 for $10 was gone. Noticed it across several of my staple purchases.
Note, those discounts weren't a daily/weekly thing. They'd been pretty much a standard for at least several years.
Why does that chart have a border on it's right side?
Ohhhhh.
Shit.
That's no moon. It's a space station.
I thought that last observation was the chart border for a minute....
That's as far as I got, I got other things to do. It's not much of a "stick" incentive to not just give $$ away to your best corporate friends, but the two layers of oversight (Congress, SIG) obligated to make regular reports is...something. unfortunately don't think there is any constitutional way to avoid the SIG needing to be appointed by & approved by he Senate, so the biggest danger is that, in keeping with the President's venality, he appoints a hack. Dems don't control the Senate so that's bad, but even worse is, what if the Senate can't MEET or VOTE on the SIG's confirmation because there is no remote voting and they all just fled DC??
NNID: Hakkekage
And that's fine, this pandemic is likely going to last a year or more. We shouldn't just be throwing a body into the position.
If I'm being honest, that last point really seems to be an illustration that Pelosi and Co have learned the lesson and aren't fucking around on the norms & handshakes front. This is the authority we're granting the committee and by the way the leash is as long as they need it to be.
If the Senate is putting oversight in the hands of @So It Goes I feel much better
Congress does the have the power to charge with contempt on its own. If they ever used it. And that still ends up a mess in the courts.
3DS: 0473-8507-2652
Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Moniker beat me to the SIG joke, Javen beat me to the "Yeah, oversight don't matter to this group" point.
Also the Senate passing the Bill.
NNID: Hakkekage
now I can go back to worrying about dying instead of worrying about dying poor!
:wonk:
There should be a CRS summary soonish on Congress.gov but the language was only just finished and they're all working from home too.
SIG is fair but lord help any of them that mention the 2016 election
This looks a lot like a dead cat bounce.
Does this give those committees any veto or corrective power, or can SecTreas show up (or not), spout racist conspiracies and claim exec priviledge?
No. That would be unconstitutional (see INS v. Chadha)
Standard congressional mechanisms control (subpoenas, information oversight / doc prod, discretionary use of contempt authority)
NNID: Hakkekage
Things we've established no longer matter