Tag Archives: USA

Biden Plans Messaging Blitz to Sell Economic Aid Plan

Still, Biden administration officials are mindful that political opposition could easily fester and grow if they do not clearly explain the contents — and direct benefits — of a bill that will be the second-largest economic aid package in American history, trailing only the initial bill that lawmakers approved under Mr. Trump last year as […]

Paper Source Files for Bankruptcy, Frustrating Cardmakers

“Hell hath no fury like a stationer scorned.” That was the opening salvo of an Instagram post last week from Lisa Krowinski, founder of Sapling Press, a letterpress design and print shop in Pittsburgh. Ms. Krowinski was reeling after Paper Source, the stationery chain with 158 stores, abruptly filed for bankruptcy on March 2. Her […]

Photographer Captures Economic Impact of Covid on New York

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Last year, as the coronavirus began spreading in New York, I worked closely with Renee Melides, a photo editor on the Business desk, on a photo essay that visualized the city as it became a […]

Move Over, Nerds. It’s the Politicians’ Economy Now.

It is in distinct contrast with the experience after the 2008 financial crisis. There was a large 2009 fiscal stimulus action, but a mix of legislative politics and deficit concerns by some officials in President Barack Obama’s inner circle reined in its size. Many of its components were relatively invisible to the average voter. And […]

How Bad Was the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tourism in 2020? Look at the Numbers.

Numbers alone cannot capture the scope of the losses that have mounted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Data sets are crude tools for plumbing the depth of human suffering, or the immensity of our collective grief. But numbers can help us comprehend the scale of certain losses — particularly in the travel industry, […]

How Bad Was 2020 for Tourism? Look at the Numbers.

Numbers alone cannot capture the scope of the losses that have mounted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Data sets are crude tools for plumbing the depth of human suffering, or the immensity of our collective grief. But numbers can help us comprehend the scale of certain losses — particularly in the travel industry, […]

Child Tax Credit, Proposed in Stimulus, Advances an Effort Years in the Making

Welfare critics warn the country is retreating from success. Child poverty reached a new low before the pandemic, and opponents say a child allowance could reverse that trend by reducing incentives to work. About 10 million children are poor by a government definition that varies with family size and local cost of living. (A typical […]

To Juice the Economy, Biden Bets on the Poor

But unlike Mr. Biden, Mr. Trump pursued a top-down approach to reinvigorating economic and wage growth. He cut taxes for corporations and other businesses, alongside cuts in individual tax rates up and down the income spectrum. His advisers predicted that the moves would significantly accelerate business investment and generate a sustained economic boom that would […]

Biden Presses Economic Aid Plan, Rejecting Inflation Fears

As investors look for a pickup in growth and slightly faster price increases, watchers of the Federal Reserve have begun to expect that it might begin to slow its big bond purchases, which it has been using to bolster growth, and raise interest rates sooner than had been anticipated. The central bank has promised to […]

When Amazon Raises Its Minimum Wage, Local Companies Follow Suit

Many small-business owners do not welcome the pressure. Tad Mollnhauer, who runs two printing and shipping retail stores near Orlando, Fla., said entry-level workers typically earned about $10 to $12 an hour. But these days, anyone paying that rate risks losing workers to Amazon. (The state’s minimum wage is under $9 an hour but will […]