Trump’s Trillion-Dollar Choice: Another Pelosi-Mnuchin blowout isn’t needed and will divide the GOP.

As negotiations for another giant spending bill proceed in Washington, President Trump faces a choice. Does he do another deal giving Speaker Nancy Pelosi most of what she wants, perhaps splitting the GOP in the process? Or does he press his own economic agenda and, if the Speaker blocks it, take that to the voters in November?

On present trend Mr. Trump is headed for the first choice. Mrs. Pelosi’s House passed her $3 trillion spending bill in May, and the President is moving toward her step by step. Even if the final number ends up somewhere between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, the Speaker would get most of what she wants.

That includes more money for profligate Democratic-run states, more money for income-transfer payments, more payments to schools whether or not they reopen for classroom instruction, and perhaps even an extension of $600 weekly federal jobless payments that subsidize unemployment by paying workers more not to work than they earn on the job.

*** Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seems to have convinced Mr. Trump that this is necessary to get a grand deal and help the economy through Election Day. We’d say the opposite is closer to the truth. The jobless payments will keep unemployment higher than it would otherwise be, as University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan has shown. If schools stay closed, fewer parents will be able to return to work.

Another $300 billion or more for the states would be counterproductive in encouraging more states to keep their economies locked down for longer. Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants $30 billion from the feds to fill his rising budget gap but is still keeping New York City largely under wraps.

I’m in the boat who’s saying if you’re even considering extending the PUA ‘bonus’ money, also grant it to those who become fully employed. I think you’d see an explosion of people taking jobs when they aren’t dancing around the $223 income limit per week. Earn $224, that’s all you get that week. Earn $223, you get a dollar from the state and $600 from the feds.

Right now that’s a huge hurdle: lower income folks sit around and get given $768 a week PUA benefits for doing nothing, get a job, get $500 a week from working, $268 a week cut in ‘income.’

Make it $300 a week ‘bonus’ if you get a full time job and I bet a whole lot of people would suddenly find full time employment.

My wife thankfully has a job that she can still do from home earning over 100K. There is no way I would ever qualify for unemployment. I am not looking for a handout, I want compensation for my business losses. Also, my business isn’t completely shut down, we are currently limited to 50% capacity, and still are making “some” money. If the government hadn’t literally forced our closure for months, and then restricted our actions after allowing re-opening I would of been fine. The government should just do the right thing here and send out another check to all tax payers like they did a few months ago.

As others have said, a simple extension of the unemployment benefits for six months is probably the best solution. The benefits are popular and it does not spend on propping up states and cities. Hard for the Democrats to fight that or call Republicans mean. Six months takes us past the election.

If the worry is that the payments discourage taking work then make the first $600 of earned income per week tax free (but leaving the benefit taxable) for all people. This would provide a benefit to taking work and reward those in ‘essential’ businesses who are working and so not getting the benefit.

Yeah, yeah, I know, the deficit, but if the government is going to throw around so much money it may as well help people (instead of banks and larger corporations).

This whole thing is a cl*ster **** of truly epic proportions. Here in rural Indiana things are bad, but no where near as bad as places near the bigger cities.

I haven’t had a decent quote come across my desk now in weeks, normally this time every 4 years it slows down while companies start hesitating because of a possible change in the administration, but this year is beyond anything we have experienced ever.

As a business owner I truly don’t know what I will do if Biden is elected, especially if he has some ultra progressive VP that will take the reins a few days after the election. I am lucky that I owe nothing right now, my building, land, every piece of equipment, vehicles, the works are 100% clear, even my payables are 0 here. If it does go that way I think I will just let everyone go, stay here and just go it alone. I have a skill-set that is always in demand, just run the place to keep it going until I see a chance to let it go and retire.

No matter what, I weep for my kids and especially my grandkids, this whole shift in our national identity will guarantee they never have the chances most of us here have enjoyed our whole lives.

I own my own business which has been forcibly shut down by the government more or less. I have built this business from nothing over the last 15 years and have had my bottom line devastated by the forced closure of it.

I feel for you. What governors have done is outrageous. Really, outrageous is not an adequate enough to describe what they have done.

I am in the middle of starting a business, with several years of preparation prior to the shut downs. I had 90% of the what I needed to start the business before the economy was shut down. I changed my entire life - downsized everything so I could start a business that in a year or two would gainfully employ people, pay taxes, and of course being the evil capitalist that I am, eek out a profit.

I'm still going forward with it. There is little else I can do at this point. I've had to radically change my business model, but I still think I can make it work. I'm going to be tremendously selfish and take another $1,200 if it comes my way. I've paid hundreds of thousands in taxes over the years so I am going to be a little entitled and accept some of that back. All of that $1,200 will be put into the business, just like the first $1,200.

As for unemployment, I have been working all my life, some 41 years and not once have I held a position where I could receive unemployment. As an owner of previous businesses, I've had to pay for unemployment for the salary that I paid myself. But as an owner you can't lay yourself off and collect. That may seem trivial to those in government, but when you are starting out every penny matters.

If my business becomes successful, and if I am able to hire employees in a year or two, I will only hire people who do not have gaps in their employment history because they choose to collect an extra $600 instead of going back to work when they could. Note the latter condition. I am understanding if they were not able to go back to work because the government shut down their employer. However, if they could have worked, they missed out on work experience. There will be someone more qualified because he worked and they didn't.

With that said, I'd love to see unemployment insurance reform. Put it in the hands of individual employees. Employees should purchase an unemployment insurance policy from a private sector insurance company with their own paychecks. That's if they want. It's a risk that they can take. Just like the risks business owners take.

And now for my little rant. Get the government the eff out of business. These lazy ass government employees and politicians don't know jack-schiff about capitalism and what it takes to run a business. They are takers, not makers. They lack real world experience and the moment they start taking any real world experience that they may have had becomes irrelevant. Their motivations for their livelihoods have changed and that supersedes all their experience.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.