Tag Archives: Economics

President Joe Biden is raising federal firefighter pay to $15 an hour and giving retention incentives. The raise comes as western states battle with deadly heatwaves and wildfires. “Because of climate change, woodland firefighting is no longer a seasonal endeavor,” a White House fact sheet said. The President met virtually …

Democratic Congress members are pushing for an increase in funding for high-speed rail in President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure package. The current proposal includes an $80 billion investment in rail projects, although experts say most of that would go to update existing Amtrak lines versus new investments in rail. …

Vice President Kamala Harris is discouraging migrants from traveling to the United States. The Vice President took a trip to Guatemala on Monday, her first official foreign visit. Harris has been tasked to lead the administration’s effort to stem the flow of migrants at the border. “I want to be …

Republican states that are withdrawing early from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program are stirring up trouble for gig workers. Selina Smedly, who owns a clean business in Dallas, says she will be cut off from the jobless aid without being prepared. She believes that she will have a hard time …

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan will lower the average individual tax rate to zero or less for families earning $75,000 or less. According to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation, middle-class taxpayers earning $50,000 to $75,000 will have an average tax rate of -1.9%. Low-income families will get …

President Joe Biden is signing an executive order to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors. The executive order states that federal agencies will have to include the $15 wage in new contracts by March 30, 2022. In 2014, the minimum wage was increased to $10.10. …

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that the state of Florida filed a lawsuit against the federal government. Florida is looking to get cruise ships back on the waters immediately. “We don’t believe the federal government has the right to mothball a major industry for over a year based …

President-elect Joe Biden may nominate Janet Yellen to serve as Treasury secretary, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal. Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chairwoman will be the first woman to serve as head of the Department of Treasury. In 2014, Yellen became the first woman to head the …