Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio 13th District) said on Friday that the $1 trillion stimulus package currently being negotiated by lawmakers won't be nearly enough to make Americans whole again.
"Quite frankly I think the package that we're seeing coming out of Washington, DC is not even close to meeting the big need that we have," Ryan told Cheddar. "I think we need to be talking more like $2 trillion than $1 trillion, and at least a trillion for the workers."
The former Democratic primary candidate also advocated for bolstering unemployment insurance to ensure that people are making the same amount they did before their jobs.
"These are really essential things to keep the workforce safe, so when we go to kickstart things back up again, they're ready to slide back into the jobs that they lost," he said. "We need to be thinking much, much bigger and in much more innovative ways."
One important thing to keep in mind about this economic crisis, Ryan added, is that federal investment, in this case, won't grow the economy but merely keep it solvent, which may be difficult to swallow for those seeking a return on their investment for any kind of stimulus.
"This isn't like the Great Depression where you put money in people's pockets and then they go out and buy stuff," he said. "Now you're giving people money and basically saying pay your rent, pay your mortgage, pay your auto loan, and then buy food because you can't go anywhere."
The representative also believes the current package is skewed toward companies rather than workers and doesn't want to bail out companies without specific conditions banning stock buybacks or corporate bonuses.
"This is revealing the kind of corruption and rotting of the supply-side economic theory," he said. "The same people that just got the huge tax cuts are coming to the taxpayer to ask us to bail them out. So they get all the profits, and then they socialize the losses."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined Cheddar to discuss the latest push to get rid of Daylight Savings Time. A practice where several say can cause havoc on one's sleeping schedule and cause disruptions to our economy.
The past decade or so has been a has seen massive change-- usually good-- for the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex marriage has seen broader acceptance, and there's been increased conversation about the reality of gender identity. Now, folks who don't identify as male or female can travel while staying true to their more authentic self.
The Biden administration has issued the first passport with a gender-neutral designation "X." the passport was issued to Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado, after a long legal battle with the state department in which Zzyym argued they shouldn't be required to lie about their identity on their passport. Advocates for such changes have applauded the move, saying it will allow people who don't identify as male or female to travel the globe in a more safe and visible way.
Paul Castillo, counsel at Lambda Legal and Zzyym's attorney in this case, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The Biden Administration has announced its latest plans to support veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits. According to several veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of them were exposed to hour-long periods of burn pits. As a result, many of them say they have suffered from severe life-long side effects. Co-founder at Burn Pits 360 Le Roy Torres, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Ballots have been sent to workers at three different Starbucks locations in Buffalo, NY to decide whether they will unionize for the first time ever. Wilma Liebman, former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board and Michelle Eisen from the Starbucks Workers United Organization, which is behind this vote, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The parent company of North Face, Vans and Supreme, VF Corp, released its fourth annual "Made for Change" sustainability and responsibility report. It details the company's ongoing efforts to tackle social and climate related issues. This comes as climate experts continue to warn about the dangers of fast fashion and its impact on global CO2 emissions. Sean Cady, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Responsibility and Trade at VF Corporation, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A jam-packed Freitag pod with Carlo and Baker: new Covid hotspots, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Belarus making trouble for Europe, red-hot housing market, and how to manage a PR crisis the right way.
Damian Mason, a farm owner, Agricultural Economist and Author of 'Food Fear,' joined Cheddar to discuss the rising prices of food as we approach the holiday season.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, turned heads on Tuesday when it announced it will block some ad-targeting, specifically those of a political and religious nature.
This is one of the most direct moves the company has made in order to minimize ad-targeting by advertisers on its platforms. Hastie Afkhami, Head of Digital at S-3 Group, joins Cheddar News to discuss the impact of this move.
