On election night, Democratic campaign consultants may have been wondering, “Where did all these voters come from?” But unless the next Congress sets a legislative course over the next few months, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may soon be wondering, “Where did all the voters go?”
The incoming Biden administration will need to navigate an extremely rough economic path ahead. Congress has struggled to reach an agreement for another round of stimulus to provide emergency relief for families and businesses. Now they must act before the “dark winter” ahead further deteriorates the economic recovery.
Joe Alim is the VP of Product and Operations at Compt, the number one employee stipends platform that gives people the freedom to choose the lifestyle perks they really want. He is currently focused on ensuring the HR tech startup offers an amazing customer and product experience so that providing and utilizing perks is fun, easy, and gratifying for companies of all sizes and stages. Prior to his current role, Alim co-founded the talent-tech startup, ScholarJet, which he also led as COO. His commitment to building a better future of work begins with improving the employee experience through personalization. He's excited to share his knowledge on scaling benefits and designing successful stipend programs.
With more than 30 years of experience championing causes that inspire social change through sports, entertainment, and pop culture, Lou Raiola is the industry's go-to resource when it comes to uniting stakeholder groups in collective efforts to drive positive social impact. He is also a leading advocate for the adoption of ESG within all types of organizations and is a leading expert on ESG strategy for supply chain stakeholders often speaking on the topic he describes as "The ESG Ripple Effect".
Nicole Stelter, Ph.D., is the director of Behavioral Health at Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan with more than $22 billion in annual revenue serving 4.7 million members in the state's commercial, individual, and government markets.
Stelter plays a key role in implementing Blue Shield's Behavioral Health Reimagined strategy. She is also responsible for providing behavioral health and market/provider expertise across Blue Shield of California's behavioral health initiatives, with a focus on commercial lines of business.
Stelter has more than 30 years of behavioral health experience, most recently serving as Kaiser Permanente's director of National Strategic Customer Engagement, Specialty Consulting for Mental Health, and Health Equity. In this role, she led the company's total workforce health portfolio, including providing internal and external consultation and product development for mental health, occupational health, wellness, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), and disability management services.
Stelter holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a master's degree in Counseling Psychology from California State University-Dominguez Hills and she earned a PhD degree from Capella University in Minneapolis.
Stelter is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a clinical trauma professional, and holds certifications in community/organizational disaster mental health. Her clinical focus has been with the first-responder community (police and fire), and she served as a behavioral health officer in the California Army National Guard (State Guard/Reserves) from 2010 to 2015.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, decreased at an annual rate of 32.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, followed by a surged of 33.1 percent in the third quarter, in part due to earlier rounds of fiscal stimulus when businesses were offered Economic Injury Disaster Loans and forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans, and individuals received direct payments and extended unemployment benefits.
Economic experts believe the current surge is not enough to stop continued losses incurred by various segments of economy.
“While the strong bounce back in activity from the initial devastation of COVID-19 was heartening, the recovery thus far has been highly uneven, and the path ahead is highly uncertain,” said Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard in a speech last month at the Society of Professional Economists annual online conference.
This highly uneven and uncertain bounce indicates the prospect of a K-shaped recovery, where some sectors continue to recover, while others see a steady decline.
The new stimulus package must focus on the sectors facing difficulties ahead to avoid colossal damage and massive layoffs.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, approximately 4 million small businesses — 13 percent of America’s 31 million smallest employers — have now exhausted their PPP loans, and many face permanent closure without further assistance.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry will lose $240 billion. U.S airlines may be forced to furlough 75,000 pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and other workers by the end of 2020 if Congress doesn’t act.
States and municipalities are now on verge of extreme shortfalls due to declines in tax revenues and rises in additional costs. Local governments that fund and operate public school systems will need more funding. “The average school district will face $1.8 million, or $485 per student, in additional costs for disinfectants, personal protective equipment and other preparations to bring students into classrooms this year,” according to the Association of School Business Officials.
The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances indicates that cash-strained households will continue to suffer as a result of continued unemployment and reduced working hours. The CARES Act did support these households either through direct payments or enhanced unemployment benefits this year, but the financial security of these households will depend on whether unemployment benefits will be extended or supplemented next year.
Therefore, it is imperative for Congress to ensure that the recovery reaches those who have been disproportionately affected. A targeted fiscal support can turn a K-shaped recovery into a broad-based, inclusive recovery to eliminate shortfalls in employment and provide a better outcome overall.
