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.
Georgina Bulkeley serves as a Managing Director of Global Financial Services and an Industry Leader at Google Cloud. In her role, Georgina works with Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets clients around the world and regularly acts as a spokesperson for Google Cloud.
Georgina brings more than 24 years of experience in the Financial Services Industry. She most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at NatWest Retail Bank, having previously been the Director of Risk and Compliance and the Head of Financial Strategy. While at NatWest she delivered a number of award-winning Banking innovations in the areas of Voice Banking and Biometric Debit and Credit cards. Prior to NatWest, Georgina was the Director of Structured Finance at Standard Life Investments and she started her career at Goldman Sachs in the Investment Banking and Capital Markets Divisions. She has also served as a Board Member at both FreeAgent, the award-winning Cloud based SME accounting platform and the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.
Georgina holds an LLB in Law from Durham University and Diplomas from Oxford University, London Business School and Singularity University in Silicon Valley. She is also a Fellow of the Salzburg Global Finance Forum, an Associate at the Edinburgh Futures Institute and a mentor on the FTSE100 Mentoring Foundation Executive Programme.
Eric Joost is President of Artificial, where he leads the company's U.S. expansion and works with specialty brokers and carriers to modernize how placement and underwriting get done. He has extensive experience across brokerage, underwriting, operations and technology in the commercial insurance market.
Before joining Artificial, Eric held senior roles at WTW, Aon, Allianz and CAC Group, where he worked hands-on with insurers and brokers to modernize legacy processes, build new distribution channels and translate emerging technology into measurable business outcomes.
David studied Accounting and Economics at Loyola University Chicago and later deepened his expertise at MIT, focusing on Data and Economic Policy. He was the innovator behind Deloitte Cortex, Deloitte's flagship analytics platform, and previously led software innovations at both Deloitte and Synchrony Bank. With a strong technical background in machine learning and large language models (LLMs), David drives the development of Abacus' products and infrastructure. Today, he guides the company's vision, product strategy, and enterprise AI innovation across regulated industries.
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.
