Business

Republicans have raised concerns that the enhanced unemployment benefits could discourage people from returning to work, because in some cases they are making more than their original wages. Stephen Moore, a conservative economist and outside adviser to President Donald Trump, said Friday that the topline number of jobs being created could have been higher for May if the unemployment sweetener were not in place. “We need to go back to the old unemployment insurance system as quickly as possible now,” Moore said. But others say the higher level of aid is bolstering consumer confidence and keeping demand closer to normal levels as businesses begin to reopen. “Every dollar in unemployment insurance churns in the community, keeping it afloat in recessions,” Michele Evermore, a senior policy an...

But they were wrong. And Trump pounced. He was ready to declare victory. Victory over the coronavirus. Victory over a slumping economy. Victory over racial inequality. He had his solution: jobs. At 10:30 a.m., Trump marched his top economic advisers to the White House Rose Garden for an unexpected news conference to celebrate the surprisingly positive jobs report — 2.2 million jobs added after months of historic, precipitous declines; an unemployment rate that had fallen to 13.3 percent after weeks of unimaginable rises. The numbers had him ebullient, gleeful that the upswing indicated all of America’s ills were on the mend. It was a great day, he said, for American workers. It was a great day, he said, for the fight against the coronavirus. It was a great day, he said, for “equality” and ...

And with the economy in such solid shape before Covid-19 struck, plenty of states and localities look like they’ll be able to muddle through the next fiscal year — which for most of them starts in July. “This crisis is still in its very early stages,” said Carl Davis of the liberal Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Davis noted that the last recession began in December 2007, about nine months before the global financial system really imploded. And yet, many state tax increases didn’t happen until 2009 or even later as they dealt with the fallout. “There’s a bit of lag, with state lawmakers often waiting to raise taxes until they’re confronted with having to enact terrible budget cuts,” Davis said. In fact, some states right now aren’t even leaning that heavily on their rainy ...