Equitable Growth: Twenty-one policy resources to combat the coronavirus recession [feedly]

Follow these links, and not activist will come up short with in-depth proposals in almost every policy area.

Twenty-one policy resources to combat the coronavirus recession
https://equitablegrowth.org/twenty-one-policy-resources-to-combat-the-coronavirus-recession/

Policymakers learned late last week that the U.S. economy registered a stunning 9.4 percent contraction in the second quarter of this year, a drop not experienced since the Great Depression more than eight decades ago. And that extraordinarily bad news came in late July—following weeks of the novel coronavirus becoming "extraordinarily widespread" across most of the country, leading a number of states and municipalities to restrict or re-restrict economic activity to stem the pandemic and rising number of deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. U.S. economists are mildly to extraordinarily concerned that our economy is moving toward further contraction and a possible return to the record unemployment numbers posted this past spring.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth launched a new web page dedicated to policy resources for the coronavirus recession. Nearly every day since, we've posted new analysis and policy recommendations backed by evidence-based research on the ways the federal government can help our economy recover and ensure that recovery is broad-based and equitable. Much of this policy work is based on our Vision 2020 project, a resource designed to provide policymakers in Congress and the federal government with detailed policy recommendations on a wide array of issues.

Together, these two resource pages on our website point to workable solutions to the multitude of interconnected economic travails besetting the country. Some of these ideas are immediately relevant to economic growth for the remainder of the year, particularly the need to deal with the spread of the coronavirus itself as the first order of business. Other ideas on these resource pages point to ways policymakers can ensure the recovery from this recession is different from past ones. Here is a list of some of these most relevant posts.

Jobs and Unemployment Insurance

"Factsheet: Unemployment Insurance and why the effect of work disincentives is greatly overstated amid the coronavirus recession"

"Fool Me Once: Investing in Unemployment Insurance systems to avoid the mistakes of the Great Recession during COVID-19"

"Coronavirus recession layoffs require reforms to the Unemployment Insurance program now to fully protect all U.S. workers"

Child care

"Child care is essential for working parents, but is the industry ready and safe to reopen?"

"The coronavirus pandemic requires a wartime commitment for essential workers' access to child care"

"How the coronavirus pandemic is harming family well-being for U.S. low-wage workers"

Paid leave

"New analysis shows state paid leave programs cushioned the blow of COVID-19, sparking important new questions"

"The economic imperative of enacting paid family leave across the United States"

Small businesses

"Did the Paycheck Protection Program work for small businesses across the United States?"

"More resilient small U.S. restaurants and their workers can exit the coronavirus recession and sustain an equitable economic recovery"

"Rescuing small businesses to fight the coronavirus recession and prevent further economic inequality in the United States"

The coronavirus and structural racism

"A feminist economic policy agenda in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the quest for racial justice"

"The coronavirus recession is an opportunity to cancel all U.S. student loan debt"

"New congressional reports underscore structural inequalities driving U.S. racial disparities in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths"

The coronavirus and the environment

"Americans want green spending in federal coronavirus recession relief packages"

"Green stimulus, not dirty bailouts, is the smart investment strategy during the coronavirus recession"

The coronavirus and data collection

"The coronavirus pandemic highlights the importance of disaggregating U.S. data by race and ethnicity"

"Data will provide accountability to ensure the U.S. economic recovery is shared broadly"

Social insurance

"Broken plumbing: How systems for delivering economic relief in response to the coronavirus recession failed the U.S. economy"

"New research finds enhanced U.S. social insurance will be necessary until the coronavirus recession recedes"

"The coronavirus recession highlights the importance of automatic stabilizers"

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Chinese FM speaks of need for clear-cut framework for China-U.S. relations [feedly]

Chinese FM speaks of need for clear-cut framework for China-U.S. relations
http://www.ecns.cn/news/politics/2020-08-06/detail-ifzysytt8796799.shtml

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday spoke of the need to put in place a clear-cut framework for China-U.S. relations amid the most complex situation since the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 1979.

China's U.S. policy is always consistent and stable, and in the meantime, China is also prepared for possible bumps and storms ahead, Wang said during an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"The U.S. move to turn China into an adversary is a fundamental, strategic miscalculation. It means that the United States is funneling its strategic resources in the wrong area," he said.

"We are always ready to develop a China-U.S. relationship featuring no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation based on coordination, cooperation and stability," he added.

In the meantime, China will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, because this is a legitimate right inherent in China being an independent sovereign state, Wang stressed.

The United States should honor the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the UN Charter, learn how to get along with different systems and civilizations and adapt itself to peaceful coexistence, and accept the reality that the world is moving toward multipolarity, said Wang.

Wang expounded on the clear-cut framework for the relationship.

First, steer clear of red lines and avoid confrontation. For China-U.S. relations to develop soundly, the most critical thing is mutual respect, Wang noted.

China never intends to and will never interfere in U.S. elections or other U.S. internal affairs. Likewise, the United States must abandon its fantasy of remodeling China to U.S. needs. It must stop its meddling in China's internal affairs, and stop its irrational cracking down on China's legitimate rights and interests, he said.

Second, keep the channels open for candid dialogue. Dialogue is the prerequisite for addressing problems, and without dialogue, problems will only pile up and even get out of control, he said.

"China's door to dialogue remains open. We are willing, in the spirit of equality and open-mindedness, to talk and interact with the United States, and resume dialogue mechanisms at all levels and in all fields," said Wang.

Third, reject decoupling and uphold cooperation. The interests of the two countries are deeply entwined. Forced decoupling will inflict a lasting impact on bilateral relations, and endanger the security of international industrial chains and interests of all countries, Wang said.

With COVID-19 still raging across the world, China is prepared to have mutually beneficial cooperation with the United States on epidemic control and economic recovery, learn from each other and share experience on containing COVID-19, and join together with the United States the global response and multilateral cooperation in fighting COVID-19, he said.

Fourth, abandon the zero-sum mentality and stand up to shared responsibilities. "Our world still faces many global challenges. Traditional and non-traditional security challenges are intertwined. Almost all regional and international hotspot issues require a coordinated response from China, the United States and other countries," he said.

China and the United States must always bear in mind the well-being of mankind, live up to their responsibilities as two major countries, coordinate and cooperate as needed in the UN and other multilateral institutions, and work together for world peace and stability, said Wang.

 -- via my feedly newsfeed

5 Million Essential and Front-line Workers Get Health Coverage Through Medicaid [feedly]

5 Million Essential and Front-line Workers Get Health Coverage Through Medicaid
https://www.cbpp.org/blog/5-million-essential-and-front-line-workers-get-health-coverage-through-medicaid

With millions more Americans now jobless or experiencing sharp income losses due to the COVID-19 economic crisis, the need for Medicaid coverage is growing. Meanwhile, a major state budget crisis has already driven some states to cut Medicaid and other health programs. With states beginning to exhaust their options to avoid budget cuts, more states will likely make harmful Medicaid cuts unless federal policymakers provide additional Medicaid funds for them and maintain strong protections for Medicaid enrollees. Some 5 million Medicaid enrollees who work in essential or front-line industries would be among those who stand to lose if states cut Medicaid or if beneficiary protections are weakened, our analysis of Census data shows.

Medicaid is a crucial source of health coverage for workers in essential or front-line industries — people with jobs that may require them to show up for work during the pandemic regardless of stay-at-home orders or other restrictions, such as hospital workers, home health aides, food manufacturers, grocery store workers, farm workers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy workers, bus drivers and truck drivers, and warehouse workers. Many low-income workers in these jobs are not offered job-based coverage or can't afford the premiums for it.

Using Census Bureau data, we estimate the number of workers in these types of jobs enrolled in Medicaid in 2018, the most recent year for which data are available. As explained in more detail here, we categorize people as working in an essential or front-line industry if they work in specific industry categories. The definition is imperfect in that it undoubtedly includes some workers who were furloughed or are working remotely while excluding others who have been required to be physically present at work during the pandemic. But, we believe, it provides a reasonable window into health coverage for workers in jobs that potentially put them on the front lines of the pandemic.

About 5 million people in essential or front-line industries are enrolled in Medicaid, we estimate, including nearly 1.8 million people working in front-line health care services and 1.6 million in other front-line and essential services including transportation, waste management, and child care. (See figure.) Nationwide, 10 percent of all — and nearly 1 of every 3 low-income — essential or front-line workers are enrolled in Medicaid.

These workers are more than twice as likely to have Medicaid coverage — and 42 percent less likely to be uninsured — if they live in one of the 37 states and the District of Columbia that have expanded Medicaid to low-income adults. (See table.) Another 650,000 essential or front-line workers who are currently uninsured would be eligible for Medicaid coverage if the remaining states adopted the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion, we estimate.

The stakes are high for Medicaid as the President and Congress negotiate another economic relief bill. Unfortunately, the Senate Republican proposal doesn't include additional increases in the federal share of Medicaid costs (the federal medical assistance percentage, or FMAP), which states need to avoid harmful cuts. And Republicans may seek to weaken important maintenance-of-effort protections, enacted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March, that prevent states from cutting Medicaid eligibility or taking away people's coverage during the public health crisis.

A final relief bill that weakens these protections or doesn't provide additional Medicaid funding could hurt millions of essential and front-line workers who are sacrificing to help the nation through the pandemic.

Millions of Essential or Front-Line Workers Are Enrolled in Medicaid

% of all essential/front-line workers enrolled in Medicaid% of low-income essential/front-line workers enrolled in Medicaid

6%

11%

14%

23%

37%

State did not expand Medicaid by 2018

n/a We do not report estimates that are based on an unweighted sample of fewer than 40 people.

Source: CBPP analysis using the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey. Estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred and the nearest percent. "Low-income" is defined as family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. "Essential/front-line workers" are defined as those currently working in any of the following industry categories: essential food production, essential manufacturing (including medicine), essential public services (including civic and public safety), essential transportation, essential utilities, essential warehousing, front-line health care services, front-line retail, and front-line services (including transportation and child care).

CENTER ON BUDGET AND POLICY PRIORITIES | CBPP.ORG

TABLE 1
Millions of Essential or Front-Line Workers Are Enrolled in Medicaid
State	Essential/front-line workers enrolled in Medicaid	% of all essential/front-line workers enrolled in Medicaid	% of low-income essential/front-line workers enrolled in Medicaid
United States	5,009,800	10%	29%
Medicaid expansion states	4,175,500	12%	37%
Non-expansion states	834,300	5%	15%
Alabama	28,100	4%	13%
Alaska*	14,200	11%	33%
Arizona*	110,900	11%	32%
Arkansas*	56,900	11%	30%
California*	950,100	16%	42%
Colorado*	93,000	11%	34%
Connecticut*	75,100	14%	48%
Delaware*	21,500	15%	38%
District of Columbia*	17,700	19%	59%
Florida	175,000	6%	15%
Georgia	66,700	4%	12%
Hawai'i*	13,500	7%	25%
Idaho**	12,100	5%	11%
Illinois*	204,400	10%	34%
Indiana*	69,400	7%	23%
Iowa*	57,800	10%	34%
Kansas	17,800	4%	10%
Kentucky*	84,100	13%	36%
Louisiana*	105,300	16%	37%
Maine**	19,700	8%	26%
Maryland*	106,800	12%	39%
Massachusetts*	179,000	16%	54%
Michigan*	180,400	13%	38%
Minnesota*	130,500	13%	45%
Mississippi	22,700	5%	13%
Missouri	47,700	5%	16%
Montana*	20,100	12%	30%
Nebraska**	17,700	5%	16%
Nevada*	35,200	10%	26%
New Hampshire*	17,400	8%	38%
New Jersey*	133,200	9%	32%
New Mexico*	57,600	22%	47%
New York*	553,700	18%	49%
North Carolina	85,600	6%	16%
North Dakota*	7,300	5%	21%
Ohio*	218,400	12%	38%
Oklahoma**	27,700	5%	13%
Oregon*	74,600	12%	33%
Pennsylvania*	228,600	10%	36%
Rhode Island*	23,200	14%	48%
South Carolina	46,300	6%	18%
South Dakota	9,000	5%	14%
Tennessee	82,300	8%	23%
Texas	166,700	4%	10%
Utah**	19,200	4%	12%
Vermont*	15,500	14%	40%
Virginia**	50,000	4%	16%
Washington*	134,400	12%	37%
West Virginia*	39,300	15%	41%
Wisconsin	82,600	8%	27%
Wyoming	3,500	4%	n/a

n/a We do not report estimates that are based on an unweighted sample of fewer than 40 people.

* These states adopted the Medicaid coverage expansion to low-income adults no later than 2018.

** These states adopted the Medicaid coverage expansion after 2018 and so the data are not reflective of current Medicaid participation among essential or front-line workers.

Source: CBPP analysis using the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey. Estimates are rounded to the nearest hundred and the nearest percent. "Low-income" is defined as family income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. "Essential/front-line workers" are defined as those currently working in any of the following industry categories: essential food production, essential manufacturing (including medicine), essential public services (including civic and public safety), essential transportation, essential utilities, essential warehousing, front-line health care services, front-line retail, and front-line services (including transportation and child care).

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