The Monday Memo

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The people who told me Obama was a Muslim are now telling me Trump is a Christian. –John Fugelsang

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

  • Unemployment Assistance
  • Battleground States
  • 99 Days
  • One More Thing

UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE:

NBC News reported that pandemic unemployment assistance payments, which were approved in March as part of the government’s fiscal stimulus package, known as the CARES Act, are set to expire July 31 (Friday). The last payments went out this past weekend (July 25/26).

I don’t personally receive the checks, but I know people who do.

Some say the $600 weekly check eliminates the incentive to work. That’s true in some cases.

The problem is that Congress and the Trump administration knew this from the beginning back in March. They should have started working on and compromising on another plan in case it was needed. Now we are at crunch time (end of July) and assistance payments are still needed.

To give credit where it’s due, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the House Democrats passed a $3 trillion relief package a couple of months ago.

The AP reported that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — spent a few hours at the Capitol later Sunday working on a plan with the U.S. Senate.

The good news from the AP report is this:

Both Mnuchin and Meadows said earlier Sunday that narrower legislation might need to be passed first to ensure that enhanced unemployment benefits don’t run out for millions of Americans. They cited unemployment benefits, money to help schools reopen, tax credits to keep people from losing their jobs, and lawsuit protections for schools and businesses as priorities.

The bad news is the AP reported Pelosi opposes approving a relief package in piecemeal fashion.

If people wait very long for assistance it will look bad for the Republicans – that is if the Democrats play it right.

Whether you like to hear it or not, it is a game. The big election is November 3, 2020. The scores count more now because voters will remember at the polls what their elected officials did for them during the last few months.

BATTLEGROUND STATES:

Here are the recent Real Clear Politics averages in the six battleground states:

Source: RealClearPolitics.com

99 DAYS:

If my “days between dates” program is working correctly, today there are 99 days left until the November 3, 2020, General Election.

Make sure you are registered to vote. Click HERE to find out how.

ONE MORE THING:

The virus is winning. Wear a mask! #MaskUp

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