Personal account. CEA Member for President Biden. Follow @hboushey46
Nov 17, 2020 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
I talked to @kairyssdal@Marketplace about misplaced concern over #austerity—and why handwringing about deficits now will prolong the economic suffering of millions of Americans.
A thread.
The risk of doing too little to support families & businesses will far outweigh the risk of doing too much
We need to continue to pump money into the economy if we are going to avoid a coronavirus recession that makes the Great Recession a fond memory heatherboushey.medium.com/beware-of-aust… 2/
Nov 15, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Mulling this article over this morning: nytimes.com/2020/11/14/bus… A thread ...
Our economy is in trouble. Why? The virus has roared back. With COVID-19 cases again overwhelming hospitals, leaders across the country are, for the sake of us all, limiting large gatherings and activities that cause the disease to spread – like indoor dining. 1/8
Oct 2, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
New employment data -- some quick reactions ... 1/n
From the BLS Commissioner's Report: "Employment in public- and private-sector education declined in September [relative to August]. In the public sector, employment in education fell by 49,000 in state government and by 231,000 in local government." bls.gov/news.release/j…
Aug 30, 2020 • 11 tweets • 8 min read
I've been overwhelmed by the kind words I’ve gotten in the last 48 hours over this piece by @LedererLedes on my work with @EquitableGrowth and beyond.
A big reason I’ve been fortunate enough to have this career?
1/10
I kick off my book Unbound with one of the slogans of the labor movement: For the Many, Not The Few. I was able to get the good education that enabled me to write this because my father was a member of @IAM751@MachinistsUnion, who fought like hell for their members. 2/10
Aug 22, 2020 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
Let’s be clear: We need to provide relief to families and small- and medium-sized businesses hit hard by the closures caused by the pandemic. We must ensure relief goes to communities of color hit so hard by this crisis. The way to do this is to borrow at today's low rates 1/18
Unemployment remains in double-digits. & the official rate a likely under-estimate. “True” unemp rate for July closer to 13.8% than the reported 10.2% b/c of misclassification due to pandemic, while rates remain very high for Black & Latino workers
As the Hutchins Center Fiscal Impact Measure @BrookingsInst shows, the #coronavirus recession has wiped out years of growth, and were it not for government fiscal stimulus, its effects would have been even worse. brookings.edu/interactives/h… 2/
This Friday, BLS will release new data showing how many jobs were gained—or lost—in July. This data is critical for understanding whether the economy is in recovery or if it’s stalling.
The forecasts are mixed.
1/
We expect weak data on the jobs front because of the rise in covid cases across the country, which has led consumers to stay home and policymakers to enforce more social distancing and closures. nytimes.com/interactive/20…
2/
Aug 4, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
Thanks for asking @rothstein_jesse! Check out our write up of analysis that shows state paid leave programs cushioned the blow of COVID-19, sparking important new questions equitablegrowth.org/new-analysis-s… 1/n
Here's the link to the *super interesting* paper by @ChantelBoyens finding a "finds a surge in new claims for own medical and family caregiving leave" post-COVID urban.org/research/publi… 2/n
Jul 24, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
As small businesses across the US fight to survive the coronavirus recession, the political system has produced far greater support for big businesses, and this will have painful long-term economic consequences.
My latest @Medium medium.com/@heatherboushe…
There’s no question that the recession is hitting small businesses harder than large companies, and especially hard-hit are minority- and women-owned businesses. nber.org/papers/w27309
Jul 1, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
An economy where growth is strong, stable and broadly shared needs institutions capable of ensuring that the rules are fair and fairly enforced
Our institutions have failed Black Americans, and that failure poses a fundamental challenge to our nation medium.com/@heatherboushe…
In addition to inflicting trauma on generations of Black Americans, @drlisadcook shows how lynching and other acts of violence also reduced “the level, direction, and quality” of U.S. productivity and growth. link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Jun 16, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I, along with @benbernanke, Cecilia Rouse @WilsonSchool and over 130 of my fellow economists, implore Congress to act now to pass more relief.
An adequate response must be large, commensurate with the nearly $16 trillion nominal output gap our economy faces over the next decade.
The parallel health & economic crises are especially damaging to many communities of color in the US.
Black, Latinx and Native American families are bearing a greater share of COVID-19 deaths and also face higher rates of unemployment than their White counterparts.
Jun 4, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
At Equitable Growth (@equitablegrowth), we stand with our Black colleagues and Black families across the country who every day shoulder the legacy of White supremacy and systemic violence older than the United States itself.
We condemn the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, David McAtee, and Ahmaud Arbery and so many, many more Black men, women, and children who have died from police violence, unchecked White civilian power, and structural racism over more than 400 years.
May 30, 2020 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Amidst the upheaval & grief, I wanted to make sure we shine some light on a perhaps behind-the-scenes econ policy debate so here's a quick thread on “return-to-work” bonuses. WH, Congress are talking about giving the unemployed $$ when they take a job. 1/n
Sen. Portman recommends $450 a week for several weeks, which he says, “represents the amount that would be needed to make a person making the average minimum wage better off in the workforce than on unemployment.” portman.senate.gov/newsroom/press…
2/n
May 8, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Flags from today's report on the employment situation: (1) There's been an uptick in hourly wages of $1.34 per hour. Why would that happen in a recession? Because the people left with jobs earn so much more than those who lost their jobs. 1/n
The second thing that popped out for me is that while the unemployment rate for workers who are white or Hispanic is at all-time highs, that's not the case for black workers, indicating they are more likely to be still at work in essential jobs and in need of protective gear 2/n
Apr 23, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The legislation that passed the Senate is a small, but wholly insufficient, step in the right direction.
This is not a moment for small measures or early declarations of victory.
Congress must get to work immediately on additional legislation. equitablegrowth.org/press/think-ta…
I stand with other think tank leaders as we call on Congress to adhere to the following principles to ensure that workers and families are prioritized so that we can protect lives and livelihoods, and rebuild our economy stronger than it was before--
(A short thread)
Apr 17, 2020 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
Historically high economic inequality has created fragilities in our economy that have made us less resilient to economic shocks, like the one we are facing.
I talked to @SlateGabfest about what policymakers can do to pull the economy back.
A thread slate.com/podcasts/polit… 1/
We need to remember that our economy doesn’t just happen to us.
It's the result of choices policymakers have made—only gov't can implement policies to reduce inequality, ensure every worker has a good job, or establish equitable & effective healthcare medium.com/@heatherboushe… 2/
Apr 3, 2020 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
The economic model of allowing economic inequality to fester has failed & over the next year we will all see why.
My 5 predictions & what we can do:
1. The US economic crisis will be deeper and more protracted than that of our economic competitors. 1/ medium.com/@heatherboushe…
It doesn’t have to be this way, and there may still be time to ensure this is not the outcome.
But the reality is that our nation has made a series of decisions over the past 50 years that has created underlying fragilities in our economy. 2/
Apr 3, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Getting ready to hear new numbers on how many people are at work and are unemployed in the United States. Wanted to lay out a few things I'm watching for this morning ... 1/n1. The household survey that tells us who has a job was conducted the week of the 12th. That feels like a lifetime ago--that week, we went out to dinner w/ friends! As you're looking at today's data, remember that in coronavirus time, it's ancient history 2/n
Apr 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
This is 100% true. We've been looking at the timeline of the virus and response ... a sensible economic policy would have been to ensure that the virus would not spread among the US population and cause economic destruction.
That would have meant ensuring all those who might be sick weren't economically active -- they could get test, had paid sick days, & could access affordable health care
Apr 1, 2020 • 5 tweets • 4 min read
A4: We have seen many states and cities step up and enact legislation in the wake of COVID-19 that focuses on #jobequity and #workforcedev. #JobEquityCOVID 1/n
