The U.S. lost a stunning 22 million jobs in March and April at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, with only about half of those numbers returning in the following seven months. With weekly jobless claims remaining high, voters might want to know more about what former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump intend to do on the issue of labor.
Biden has pledged to do whatever it takes to help jobs recover through direct stimulus payments. His plan includes funding for state and local governments to keep essential workers on their payrolls and federal payouts to supplement state unemployment checks.
Meanwhile, Trump favors tax cuts and deregulation to stimulate the economy but concedes that another infusion of cash stimulus is likely needed. The president also extended federal unemployment benefits for six weeks after they were set to expire in July but at a lower rate of $300 a week, half the amount of the earlier benefit.
Both candidates support tax incentives for manufacturers to keep jobs at home. Biden even proposes tax penalties for those businesses that ship manufacturing jobs overseas with the intention of selling finished products back into the U.S.
Whoever wins the election in November faces a daunting task, with millions still out of work, consumer spending slowing down, and a resurgence in coronavirus cases adding to the economic woes.
Read More on Trump and Biden's Plans:
Trump vs. Biden on Raising the Federal Minimum Wage
Biden vs. Trump on Student Loans and Higher Education
Elon Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. T
President Donald Trump is threatening to cut Elon Musk’s government contracts as their fractured alliance rapidly escalated into a public feud.
President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be singed into law by Independence Day. And he’s pushing the slow-rolling Senate to make it happen sooner rather than later. Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the White House early this week and has been dialing senators for one-on-one chats, using both the carrot and stick to encourage them to act. But it’s still a long road ahead for the bill. Senators want to make changes to protect Medicaid and to make sure some tax breaks become permanent. Elon Musk called the whole bill a "disgusting abomination.”
China has blasted the U.S. for issuing AI chip export control guidelines, stopping the sale of chip design software to China, and planning to revoke Chinese student visas.
Would U.S. companies go back to Russia if there’s a peace deal over Ukraine?
The explosive growth of the data centers is eliciting some pushback.
President Donald Trump’s doubling of tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum could hit Americans in an unexpected place: grocery aisles.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed the president to temporarily continue collecting the tariffs under the emergency powers law while he appeals the trade court’s decision.
President Donald Trump wants the world to know he’s no “chicken” just because he’s repeatedly backed off high tariff threats.
Wall Street is rallying after President Donald Trump delayed a 50% tariff on goods coming from the European Union.
