Washington, December 28: Unemployment benefits reserved for millions of Americans lapsed overnight and outgoing President Donald Trump refused to sign and end-of-the-year Covid relief funds that have been long considered a done deal before he came up with his new ideas.
Trump’s refusal to sign the dotted lines for the bipartisan package as he continues to demand a larger relief check of coronavirus and grumbles about “pork spending” can also force shutting down of the federal government when the money runs out during a pandemic.
Unemployment Benefits and its Implementation
Citizens are not only in a state of shock, some are even complaining about governance and policy implementation. Many of them feel that are “just pawns” in the hands of the authorities. Several such citizens, many of them who happen to be single parents, are at a complete loss of words.
The state of Washington has been heavily reeling under pressure since Trump ended up throwing the package into a state of limbo after it has received approval from both the houses of Congress; upon the approval, even the White House had assured the Republican leaders that the relief funds would be supported by President Trump.
Implementation of Covid Relief Funds
However, when it came to the actual implementation of the relief funds, Trump took a u-turn and the current state of the relief fund continues to be in a state of limbo, which has shaken America’s ‘unemployed community’ badly. He has assailed the bill’s plan and demands that the amount be increased to $2000 from the current $600. Tweeting about the episode, Trump stated, “I simply want to get our great people $2000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in the bill; also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork.’”
Economics and insurance experts believe that 11 million Americans will be immediately affected owing to the sudden discontinuation of the unemployment relief fund. Needless to say, that not only citizens but also economists and several within the authorities are also worried about the consequences that would follow owing to Trump’s decision to freeze unemployment benefits.
Source: New York Times
