As the talks between the Republicans and the Democrats proved to be unsuccessful regarding the new stimulus package, President Trump decided to take the matter into his hands. Saturday, the president signed a series of executive orders. One provision of these orders makes workers displaced by the pandemic eligible to receive $400 a week of unemployment benefits.
According to the president, states will cover 25% of the new benefits, after the federal government entirely funded the previous $600/week. But given the current situation where states are facing budget shortfalls, the amount given to people will be of only $300/week. From the president's point of view, the new amount will work as an incentive, and people will have to go to work.
Besides the $400 unemployment benefits, Donald Trump also signed measures made to halt evictions by providing a tax holiday and deferring student loan payments.
This set of measures came in after the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic left more than 56 million people unemployed. Nearly 10 million jobs have been recovered, as per the last non-farm payrolls report with the unemployment rate currently at 10.1%.
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Sources: bbc.com, cnbc.com