{"id":538347,"date":"2021-05-24T12:05:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=538347"},"modified":"2021-05-24T12:05:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:05:56","slug":"obamas-top-economist-unemployment-benefits-not-lack-of-childcare-could-be-harming-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obamas-top-economist-unemployment-benefits-not-lack-of-childcare-could-be-harming-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama\u2019s Top Economist: Unemployment Benefits, Not Lack Of Childcare, Could Be Harming Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobamas-top-economist-unemployment-benefits-not-lack-of-childcare-could-be-harming-recovery%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=538347&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/furman-obama-scaled-e1621867337397.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Harvard University economist Jason Furman suggested in a new study that the American Rescue Plan\u2019s expansion of unemployment benefits could be harming the United States\u2019 post-pandemic economic recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Furman\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piie.com\/blogs\/realtime-economic-issues-watch\/how-much-have-childcare-challenges-slowed-us-jobs-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">study<\/a> argues that a lack of childcare options for working parents of young children is not causing the country\u2019s poor jobs numbers. Instead, he writes in the study, \u201cthe continued concern about the threat of getting COVID-19 at work or expanded unemployment insurance benefits and eligibility\u201d are the key \u201cfactors responsible for the slow employment recovery and depressed labor supply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study was co-authored with Harvard University professor Wilson Powell and University of Maryland professor Melissa Kearney. Furman previously served as the <a href=\"https:\/\/obamawhitehouse.archives.gov\/blog\/author\/jason-furman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">chairman<\/a> of President Barack Obama\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" readability=\"11.002994011976\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Are parents of young kids dragging down employment?<\/p>\n<p>I was surprised by the answer <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasonfurman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@jasonfurman<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kearney_melissa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kearney_melissa<\/a>, &amp; Wilson Powell found when they looked at the data. That is good, because it means I learned a lot from their paper: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/s2TsuLaewO\">https:\/\/t.co\/s2TsuLaewO<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hec3705VTu\">pic.twitter.com\/hec3705VTu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael R. Strain (@MichaelRStrain) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelRStrain\/status\/1394299052485971973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The study provides new evidence for Republicans and conservative economists, who argue that the ARP\u2019s unemployment benefits expansion was a key contributor to April\u2019s poor <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/07\/april-jobs-report-united-states-economy-joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">jobs<\/a> numbers. At least 22 states with Republican governors have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/unemployment-benefits-states-end-federal-aid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rejected<\/a> the expansion. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/10\/joe-biden-confronts-accusation-unemployment-benefits-keeping-america-unemployed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Biden Directly Confronts Republicans\u2019 Accusations That Unemployment Benefits Keep People Unemployed)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hurting our productivity,\u201d Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/13\/georgia-13th-state-reject-unemployment-benefits-extension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said<\/a> of the expansion. \u201cEvery small business owner, and the workers that are currently working, they need more people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe $300 federal unemployment bonus drives unemployment benefits to $687 per week, which is approximately $20 per hour, and more than nearly half of what unemployed workers were making in their previous jobs,\u201d Manhattan Institute economist Brian Riedl <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/15\/analysis-american-rescue-plan-limits-government-spending-common-good-conservatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> the Daily Caller. \u201cSo essentially, millions of workers are making more on unemployment benefits than they would be making at their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The study could provide headaches for Democrats and some <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/26\/josh-hawley-missouri-united-states-senate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Republicans<\/a> who argue that <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/05\/05\/bidens-childcare-plan-disregards-lower-middle-class-families-who-dont-want-daycare-experts-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cost<\/a> is the main reason that young people are deferring family formation and then staying out of the workforce. Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/04\/28\/biden-american-families-plan-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">American Families Plan<\/a> would expand the Child Tax Credit, create universal pre-kindergarten, expand Pell grants, and expand Affordable Care Act tax credits. <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/02\/04\/mitt-romney-350-child-allowance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>(RELATED: Mitt Romney Proposes $350 Monthly Child Allowance In Order To \u2018Promote Marriage\u2019 And Fight Child Poverty)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Democratic Florida Rep. Lois Frankel slammed the findings in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/05\/22\/child-care-study-pandemic-490224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a> with Politico. \u201cThis report is contrary to common sense and real life experience,\u201d she said. \u201cThe child care system was already teetering before the pandemic. It was too costly and in many places not available, keeping parents who want and need to work at home as caregivers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Riedl panned increased spending proposals as likely harmful over the long-term. \u201cOverly generous subsidies can often discourage work. But realistically, policies such as Child Tax Credit expansion are so popular with voters that I think that will override a lot of Republican policy concerns in the long run. The Child Tax Credit is a budget-busting middle class giveaway that is also the key to re-election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Riedl also emphasized the potential for mixed results. \u201cGiving families extra money will somewhat slow work rates a little bit, especially for second parents. It will decrease poverty somewhat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is a large debate right now about whether or not the government discouraging parents from working is actually a bad thing after all,\u201d he continued. \u201cA lot of the same people who say, \u2018we need a child credit to increase birth rates because we need more workers,\u2019 are ignoring the fact that some of the parents may work less, which will offset some of the employment effect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Harvard University economist Jason Furman suggested in a new study that the American Rescue Plan\u2019s expansion of unemployment benefits could be harming the United States\u2019 post-pandemic economic recovery.Furman\u2019s study argues &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2312807,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/furman-obama-scaled-e1621867337397.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Obama\u2019s Top Economist: Unemployment Benefits, Not Lack Of Childcare, Could Be Harming Recovery","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-538347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/furman-obama-scaled-e1621867337397.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Obama\u2019s Top Economist: Unemployment Benefits, Not Lack Of Childcare, Could Be Harming Recovery","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2312807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}