Latest news with #AmericanRecoveryandReinvestmentActof
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's new statistics chief is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's new numbers guru is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
The Age
3 days ago
- Business
- The Age
Trump's new numbers guru is not qualified to do the job
The internet has been quick to dig into the professional history of EJ Antoni, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. It doesn't take long. Now the chief economist for the Heritage Foundation, he got his doctorate just five years ago and has no publications or citations of note. He has no experience with large public surveys, no research about survey methodology, and no history of managing large organisations such as the 2000 people who work at the bureau. Unusually for an economist, he appears not to have a strong grasp of how recessions work. Ultimately, however, Antoni himself is uninteresting. He's just another unqualified Trump nominee. His nomination is worth paying attention to, however, because it illustrates the twin perils facing the economy: the coming slowdown, and a party that refuses to acknowledge it. If anyone needed further proof of that slowdown, it came in the jobs numbers that got the last bureau commissioner fired. The US economy added an average of just 35,000 jobs over the last three months. This came on the heels of a GDP report that showed both household spending and business investment growing at half the pace of last year. Meanwhile, prices are still rising above the target rate of 2 per cent. This is a historically dangerous combination, brought on by tariffs. There is no nightmare for the modern economy quite like slow growth and rising prices – the dreaded stagflation. And the US is closer to stagflation now than it has been in 40 years. But that's only half the problem – the less scary half, in fact. After all, it's not uncommon for economies to slow down or even go through recessions. When they do, a machinery of co-ordinated policy is put into gear to provide relief to suffering citizens. The goal is to prevent an acceleration of the downturn. Congress has expanded unemployment benefits during every recession since 1957. As the financial crisis was approaching, it passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. During the pandemic, there were the Cares Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Separate from this immediate relief, Congress also tries to address root causes. So, after the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, there was the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, while the Troubled Asset Relief Program of 2008 was aimed at the causes of the Great Recession. The vaccine efforts for Operation Warp Speed were included in the Cares Act.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CNN Hires Rahm Emanuel as Senior Political, Global Affairs Commentator
Rahm Emanuel is headed to CNN. The news network announced Thursday its hiring of the career Democrat as a senior political and global affairs commentator. The former White House Chief of Staff and Chicago mayor most recently served as the Biden administration's ambassador to Japan. As mayor from 2011-2019, Emanuel focused on educational gains, quality of life and the city's economic competitiveness on the global stage. And as Obama's top advisor and first chief of staff, Emanuel is credited with securing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. CNN touted the hire Thursday by citing Emanuel's over three decades in Democratic politics, saying he will bring 'his extensive knowledge of American politics and international affairs to CNN's on-air programming.' Prior to his time in the Obama White House, Emanuel represented Illinois's fifth congressional district in the House of Representatives for six years from 2003-2009. During his congressional tenure, he served as the chairman of the House of Democratic Caucus and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Prior to that, he was a top advisor for President Bill Clinton. Emanuel's CNN hiring came amid larger strategic shifts and newsroom shakeups at the network post-election, which saw 200 staffers laid off — approximately 6% of the company — and a wider pivot toward digital under CEO Mark Thompson. Thompson said at the time of the restructuring that the network also expected to fill 100 new jobs in the first half of 2025. 'The changes we're announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,' Thompson shared in a Jan. 23 memo to staff. Of a forthcoming streaming service under Thompson, he added: 'It's early days, but we've already established that there's immense demand for it not just in America but across much of the world … [It will] develop a new way for digital subscribers at home and abroad to stream news programming from us on any device they choose.' How Emanuel's hiring fits into this strategic shift remains to be seen. The post CNN Hires Rahm Emanuel as Senior Political, Global Affairs Commentator appeared first on TheWrap.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Agencies sought to use emergency food, shelter funds
Local agencies are being sought to use a federal $18,245 grant for emergency food and shelter programs. McLeod County has been awarded the money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. A local board was charged to distribute funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high-need areas around the county. The board is made up of representatives of United Way, Red Cross, churches, organizations and government agencies. Under the terms of the grant, local agencies chosen to receive funds must: 1) be private, voluntary nonprofits or units of government, 2) are eligible to receive federal funds, 3) have an accounting system, 4) practice nondiscrimination, 5) have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency food and /or shelter programs, and 6) if they are a private voluntary organization, they must have a voluntary board. Qualifying agencies are urged to apply. McLeod County has distributed emergency food and shelter funds previously with Heartland Community Action Agency and McLeod Emergency Food Shelf participating. These agencies were responsible for providing meals and emergency rent/mortgage payments. Public or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for the funds must contact person Janet Vacek, HCAA 218 Main St. S., Suite 108 Hutchinson, MN 55350 for an application. The deadline for applications to be received is June 22.
