Marketplac‪e‬ American Public Media

Stuck at home during the pandemic and unable to spend on restaurants or travel, Americans have been trying fulfill emotional needs by buying stuff. But you can only buy so many backyard trampolines, and economists are predicting a big shift back to spending on services as COVID-19 cases decline. That’s good news for the United States’ service economy. Also on today’s show: Some credit card limits are going up and a look at challenges health care disruptors face.

The unemployment rate is still high at 10%, and the economic recovery from COVID-19 is going to take a while. But as coronavirus cases begin to trend downward and vaccine distribution continues, people are getting ready for things to open up. On today’ show: Some economists think there will be a whole lot of pent-up demand let loose as things start to look up. Plus, New York’s plans for reopening, the challenges in winterizing Texas’ power grid and an update on how pandemic learning pods are working nearly one year into the pandemic.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order today designed to make U.S. supply chains more resilient and secure. The pandemic exposed problems with the current system, including shortages of personal protective equipment and semiconductors. But the order is about more than face masks and electronics; it’s about the future of U.S. competitiveness. Also on today’s show: what it might take to get back to full employment, the child tax credit proposal explained and a conversation with actor-director Regina King about her directorial debut.

The second round of the Paycheck Protection Program started about a month ago. It’s supposed to help small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic, but this round has stricter eligibility requirements, including that businesses can only apply if revenue dropped by at least 25%. On today’s show: Those restrictions are barring some small businesses that could really use the support. Plus, what the bond market is signaling about recovery, an update on the vaccine supply chain and how small businesses in Texas are dealing with the winter storm fallout.

Lawmakers are taking up President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan this week, and this third round of support is expected to face hurdles. But what if additional federal unemployment benefits didn’t need congressional approval? On today’s show: Some policymakers want to make benefits an “automatic stabilizer,” meaning they would be tied to economic data, similar to how your tax rate is tied to your income. Plus, the impact of a $15 hourly minimum wage, mortgage rates creep up with talk of inflation and how your fitness tracker could detect COVID-19 before a test.

 

At the beginning of the pandemic, essential workers like those in grocery and retail stores were receiving hazard pay for toiling under hazardous conditions, aka the pandemic. Since then, for many workers, it has quietly disappeared. Today, we’ll look at how efforts to grant or replace hazard pay have been going. Plus: inflation in energy, shelter and food, Chinese students are reconsidering coming to the U.S. for college and Joe Biden makes his first international appearance as U.S. president at the G-7 summit.