User_Name13 OP t1_iujk3q0 wrote
Reply to comment by Keinichn in Editorial: Better bet: Despite turbulent Senate race, Oz better prepared to lead by User_Name13
> If the relief bills were the sole cause of the issue, other countries wouldn't be having inflation issues as well.
Those countries also passed massive spending bills in response to Covid.
>Which they are not doing any longer. They printed three checks. It wasn't enough money per person to keep someone afloat longer than a few months, much less two years.
Did you forget the federally enhanced Covid unemployment payments people got? It was $600 a week by itself, and that was on top of whatever your state unemployment was.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/11/us/how-covid-stimulus-money-was-spent.html
$740 billion went to unemployment benefits.
Businesses had to compete with the government for hiring workers.
The government paid people to sit on their asses and it contributed to a massive labor shortage. If you give someone the option of either sitting at home on their ass and getting money for doing nothing or going into work and busting their ass to earn it, people will choose the free lunch.
Keinichn t1_iujl6tk wrote
From your source:
>Workers received nearly $700 billion in unemployment benefits, including an extra $600 per week from March to July 2020
The $600 per week lasted 4-5 months and ended over two years ago. You can rightfully blame it for hiring issues in the summer/fall of 2020, but it's absolutely not the cause for current and ongoing labor/inflation issues in 2022 as that money is long gone. Do you have a source that those payments are still ongoing or are you going to admit it's a more complex issue?
PhillyPanda t1_iuk7g6j wrote
Federal pandemic aid lasted through September 2021.
The $600 was reduced to $300 after a few months but the government was still paying people on top of unemployment.
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