Cheques imbalances: America’s partisan stimulus battle
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 July 2020
⏱️ 21 minutes
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Summary
As Congress reconvenes and covid-19 rages largely unabated, the biggest question is how much to prop up the economy—and how to get past partisan rancour about it. With slumping oil prices and a pile of long-term worries, the oil-and-gas industry is looking to offload its dirtiest, most difficult assets. And international polling data suggest that money really can buy happiness.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:10.5 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:17.9 | Not all oil fields are created equal, some are much more costly to run, both in dollar |
| 0:23.6 | and in carbon terms. This year's oil price crash has added to the industry's pile of |
| 0:29.1 | long-term worries, so companies are thinking about how to shed their riskiest assets. |
| 0:34.4 | And, the saying that money can't buy you happiness is some comfort for those who don't have |
| 0:40.1 | much. But here's the thing, polls from 145 countries suggest that the richer are on average |
| 0:47.0 | happier. Don't despair, money still can't buy you love. |
| 0:56.3 | Next up, though. |
| 1:01.4 | America's legislators return to Congress today as the country struggles to get to grips |
| 1:05.9 | with COVID-19. Last week it shattered its single day record for new cases, and 10 states |
| 1:12.4 | broke daily death toll records, including Florida. On Fox News yesterday, President Donald |
| 1:18.4 | Trump downplayed the grim statistics, saying the state's undeniably dangerous situation |
| 1:23.6 | was no forest fire. |
| 1:33.0 | From today, Congress will be taking up another coronavirus aid bill following the $2 trillion |
| 1:38.7 | CARES Act, which was passed in March. The most urgent question concerns the $600 |
| 1:44.7 | a week unemployment benefit that's currently helping nearly 25 million out of work Americans. |
| 1:50.9 | It's set to expire at the end of the month. Democrats want to extend it. |
| 1:55.7 | People really do need this money. Baby needs a pair of shoes. This is urgent. |
| 2:02.8 | Republicans aren't so sure. Unemployment is extremely important. That is a different |
| 2:07.4 | issue from whether we ought to pay people a bonus not to go back to work. |
| 2:12.2 | And there are more areas of disagreement. |
... |
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