UNCLE SAM: RUNNING OUT OF CRUTCHES
Out of Howard Penny's wheelhouse this morning: 99 weeks of unemployment benefits running out and no jobs. This is the scenario facing many Americans heading into year-end.
Whatever your view on the role of government in today’s economy, it is undeniable fact that government intervention is having a dramatic impact on current conditions as well long term prospects. With the creation of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in 2008, the government provided income for thousands, then millions, of Americans who would have otherwise been left with no source of income. The result has been a propping up of consumer spending and the chart below shows that story. The beneficiary, struggling to make ends meet, will spend a large portion of the check he/she receives. That has helped stimulate consumer spending as more and more people joined the program.
These benefits expiring (in the absence of legislative action), will provide a year-over-year headwind for consumer spending. As of the most recent data points, there are ~500,000 people receiving benefits under the Tier 4 category of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.
Howard Penney