USA: Biden plans stimulus aid worth trillions, pushes $2,000 cheques

United States President-elect Joe Biden plans to roll out an economic stimulus package worth trillions of dollars on Thursday that includes relief for unemployed Americans and rent forbearance for tenants.

The president-elect said Friday’s dismal jobs report — which saw the economy shed 140,000 jobs in December — makes it clear that Americans need more immediate and direct relief from the coronavirus pandemic and that taking action now will help the economy even with deficit financing.

Biden, a Democrat, said the bipartisan COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress in December was a very important step, but amounted to just a “down payment” on broader efforts needed to help Americans. The package included $600 cheques, but Biden wants the amount increased to $2,000

Read more at: Biden plans stimulus aid worth trillions, pushes $2,000 cheques | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera

USA - Deficit spending: Financial experts debunk Trump’s tax cut mythology as the national debt explodes

With the national debt hitting record-breaking highs, Axios chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon had bad news for MSNBC on Wednesday: President Donald Trump’s tax cuts would never pay for themselves.

Host Stephanie Ruhle brought up the president’s insistence that his tax cut will generate enough economic growth to pay for itself. “We know it takes time for that to happen,” she said. “But why aren’t we seeing it yet?”

“Because it’s not going to happen,” replied Salmon as Ruhle groaned audibly. “No one believed that when they insisted it. No one believes it now.”

“That’s not true,” she shot back sarcastically. “Republicans did.”

“We have seen actually that national debt increasing much faster than even the pessimists thought it would when the tax cut was passed,” Salmon continued, pointing to “massively” slower corporate earnings.

“All of this amazing new growth we were promised from the tax cuts isn’t happening. It’s like a single one-shot sugar high which increases the debt in perpetuity without really giving us anything sustainable.”

Note EU-Digest :

• The US national debt topped $22 trillion in February, and it's the first time the debt has ever hit that threshold.
• The record follows a year in which the budget deficit was $779 billion, the highest since 2012, and the amount of debt issued topped $1.3 trillion, the most since 2010.
• A debate is growing around how much the nominal amount of government debt really matters to the economy. 
• Spreading out the debt over each US tax payer would put every US taxpayer in debt by $ 134, 838;000

Read more: Financial experts debunk Trump’s tax cut mythology as the national debt explodes | Salon.com