President Trump Has Temporarily Boosted Unemployment -- but There Are Strings Attached
Americans desperately need relief in light of the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent recession it's spawned. One such relief measure is boosted unemployment -- something jobless workers were privy to earlier on in the year under the CARES Act.
Signed into law in late March, the CARES Act allowed laid-off workers to receive an extra $600 a week in their unemployment benefits, and it was that very boost that enabled so many people without jobs to replace their lost paychecks in full and keep up with their bills. But the CARES Act only called for that boost through July 31, which means it's now expired. And so far, lawmakers have not managed to come to an agreement on a follow-up boost.
Democratic lawmakers really want to see that extra $600 a week extended through the end of the year. But Republican lawmakers insist that an additional $600 a week is too high, and that retaining it will give workers a disincentive to return to a job once that opportunity becomes available. As such, they've instead proposed a $200 weekly boost to unemployment through September, after which benefits would replace 70% of workers' lost wages.
Source Fool.com