The current crisis that has the United States and many nations around the world in a state of standstill has crippled the economic productivity of many communities. More importantly, the workers of the country are hurting in what may be one of the worst economic downturns in history. During this all, an old political rivalry between the President and the… Post Office?

Show Notes

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1. House Democrats Close In on New Stimulus Proposal https://www.wsj.com/articles/<wbr />house-democrats-close-in-on-<wbr />new-stimulus-proposal-<wbr />11588851736

• The bill being drafted by Democratic leadership is expected to include more than $750 billion in aid to state and local governments, as well as another round of direct support to Americans, according to interviews with lawmakers and aides. Leaders also say they are interested in extending enhanced unemployment benefits, but haven’t provided specifics.

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) has taken a wait-and-see approach on new funding, after Congress passed more than $3 trillion in aid in a matter of months, responding to deep layoffs across the economy. He has called liability protections for businesses his central demand in new talks. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump is seeking payroll-tax cuts and other tax relief, an idea panned by members of both parties in Congress.

• She is calling for guaranteeing workers’ wages for three months, up to an annual salary of $100,000 a worker.

2. Claims Data Point to Record Wave of Unemployment https://www.wsj.com/articles/<wbr />unemployment-benefits-weekly-<wbr />jobless-claims-coronavirus-05-<wbr />07-2020-11588813872

• WASHINGTON—U.S. workers have filed nearly 33.5 million applications for unemployment benefits in the seven weeks since closures were put in place to combat the coronavirus pandemic, showing a wave of layoffs that likely pushed April job losses to record levels.

• Recent layoffs are expected to cause nonfarm payrolls to fall by 21.5 million and the unemployment rate to climb to 16% in the April jobs report

• Thursday’s unemployment benefits data raise the possibility that the worst of virus-related layoffs are in the past, and that job losses will ease in May. Benefits applications filed for the week ended May 2 were less than half the peak of 6.9 million touched in late March. Before March, fewer than 700,000 claims were filed weekly in records back to 1967.

3. The Daily Shot: Nearly a Decade Worth of Job Gains Wiped Out in a Month https://www.wsj.com/articles/<wbr />the-daily-shot-nearly-a-<wbr />decade-worth-of-job-gains-<wbr />wiped-out-in-a-month-<wbr />01588844292

• According to the ADP private payrolls report, nearly a decade worth of job gains have been wiped out in a month.

• As we saw last week (#6 here), the US fiscal response to the pandemic has been much larger and faster than it was after the financial crisis.

4. North Carolina Businessman Tapped to Head the Postal Service https://www.wsj.com/articles/<wbr /><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-carolina-businessman-tapped-to-head-the-postal-service-11588818025" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-carolina-businessman-tapped-to-head-the-postal-service-11588818025&source=gmail&ust=1589914523213000&usg=AFQjCNGy_HMjShI