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Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

forbes.com

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Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#41
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any sense of how people are managing? I sort of assumed that people _must_ be receiving money because there's no way Americans in the lower deciles of savings would be able to pay their bills consistently without work or stimulus. If there's no stimulus and no work, how are they paying bills? Is it on credit? Was there actually some savings?

Roughly 1 in 3 american households are behind on their housing payments. Most states (and all federally backed mortgages) have temporarily suspended evictions so the short answer is that people in financial distress dropped that expense, which is usually the single largest on most people's budgets (for low-income people this can often be 50% or more of take-home depending on the city - yes, the rule of thumb is that…

> The 3-month timer is still running and as soon as the moratorium on evictions is lifted, they can kick you out immediately.

Homeowners shouldn't rely on the moratorium. They should have contacted their lender to get on a 3-month forbearance plan which can be extended for another 3 months when it expires.

I'm not sure how many times lenders are going to permit forbearance extensions, but once people are able to get back to work and start making mortgage payments, they need to call their lender for a loan modification. This brings their account back to current.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The government is injecting tons of cash into the market. This props prices up and causes inflation, or at very least avoids deflation.

The economic data ( https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPILFESL#0 ) is showing deflation. The quantitative easing has so far been deflationary. The Fed can lower interest rates, but it cannot make people spend. People are unemployed and scared, they are not borrowing money, and it shows in the lending data as well ( https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h8/current/default.h... ) where we can see falling numbers in…

I am speaking anecdotally here but.. Deflation? I can’t think of a single product that has gone down in price and numerous things are more expensive.

In particular, virtually every single food item at the grocery store is more expensive than it was in March. Am I the only one who has experienced this? It seems like basic staples (milk, eggs, flour) are substantially more expensive than a few months ago.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#43
This source kind of sucks for good info. To put this number in perspective:

- It's almost exactly the same as new claims last week (1.31 million)

- Total continuing claims not including this week are at 17.4M (dropping weekly, somehow)

It's worth noting that the PPP plan for employers was extended to a 24-week period rather than the initial 8 weeks, which to me has some interesting implications and loopholes. States re-locking down due to surges in cases will probably have a bad impact on employment as well. The supplemental unemployment payments have not yet been renewed and will end at the end of July.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#44

Our government has failed in their response at local, state, and federal levels. The other thing we're going to be seeing soon is that these Unemployment programs have failed to do what they're ordained to do. This is an anecdote, but my brother was furloughed and has been waiting on any money (including the first stimulus) for literally months

> any money (including the first stimulus) for literally months I got mine almost immediately. What is the difference between me and your brother, I don't understand.

This is the same question I have. Other family members and friends have all received theirs. He's much younger than me, working entry level jobs, filed all of his taxes, etc. I just looked up some news about it, apparently about 30-35 million(estimated) checks have not been sent out.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#45

"Government doesn't work. Elect us and we'll prove it!" --One of the two major political parties in the US. We get the government we voted for, so I guess that's the one we deserve.

The majority didn't vote for this government. We do not deserve this.

That is by design. I wish our state (Oregon) was of similar design so that all interests are represented. As it is now the populous centers, mostly Portland and Eugene, dictate their values to the rest of the state.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#46
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People are coasting on tiny savings, eviction freezes, not paying bills, and moving in with their friends or families. Or at least my friends anyway. The fall/winter is going to be an absolute disaster because you can’t fix anything about the economy without getting the pandemic under control, which a large percentage of our leaders in the US have decided they have no obligation to do.

Please remember to vote based on candidates’ record not FB/Youtube ads

[deleted]

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#47
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how many of those are occupied by renters.

I'm not sure. I posted that to point out the danger of these statistics. We have to be careful. People can tell whatever kind of story they want to tell (at either extreme) and cite the same statistics. Mark Twain made this quip widely known, and it is relevant: "Lies. Damned Lies. And statistics"

Benjamin Disraeli made it famous; he said it first. Mark Twain made it famous with Americans.

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know what this is supposed to mean, but this failure extends across both parties in the United States. The refusal by politicians to take on Capital owners is pushing people into homelessness, loss of healthcare, or danger in low wage jobs, all of which further exacerbate the pandemic. The mainstream of the Democratic Party has advanced little that would address any of this, mostly quibbling over means testin…

This is what boggles my mind. We had progressive candidates running this cycle that were outright commiting to trying something different. Yet the majority of the voter base ran towards people promising the same strategy as previous administrations. Either this crisis is magnified on HN and the majority of the voter base is unaffected by the pandemic or something else is going on.

The Democratic party made the correct bet that they could use their media apparatus to discredit progressive candidates, get away with cheating in Iowa, and use Obama to get the other moderates to concede with promises of internal advancement. It was corrupt and repugnant, but a strategically sound approach to make sure they're headed on the ticket by a center right leader (which their donor base demands).

Re: Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

#50
post #32

Can UBI(Universal Basic Income) scheme help to overcome Unemployment crisis ?

> Can UBI scheme help to overcome Unemployment crisis ? @varbhat You realize that UBI requires monies, right? The US Federal government, and most states, are bankrupt. There is no money for this years bills. There was no money for last years bills, and we keep borrowing at exorbitant interest rates. Our deficit (shortfall for this year) is -more than- 2.7 trillion dollars. Our debt (shortfall for previous years) is -…

We could try taxing the rich a bit more. They're doing just fine.
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