Trump calls America a 3rd world nation in tantrums

Trump showed his contempt for the majority of voters who voted against him in the elections by calling America a third world country.

Video:

Trump calls America a third world country because he lost the election and claims that “great things are going to happen in the next few days,” which means to Trump that I have nothing. pic.twitter.com/ZsfORoiGjo

– Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) December 7, 2020

Trump said, “The case was made if you look at the polls. It was a rigged choice. It’s a shame on our country. It’s like being in a third world country. These ball games pour in from everywhere with machines that nobody knows about. They have what they call mishaps. Glitches. Breakdowns are not breakdowns. You were caught sending thousands of votes. By the way, everything against me. Well this was from a third world nation. I think the case was made and now we’re figuring out what to do about it. A lot of great things are going to happen in the next few days. “

Trump appeared to be pointing to his unfounded hope that the Supreme Court would step in and overturn the election, but tomorrow is the safe haven deadline for election results. All legal challenges need to be resolved before tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter what Trump does after today, the election is over.

Donald Trump gets a fit of anger and holds on to his conspiracy theories to the bitter end. The president also shows his contempt for democracy and the free and fair electoral process, which has firmly opposed him.

For more discussions on this story, join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC groups.

Follow and like PoliticusUSA on Facebook

Mr. Easley is the Founder / Executive Editor, White House Press Pool, and a Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public order with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and professional memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association

Ray J found a kiss on Sarah from the Dangerous Ladies Membership

Ray J Sarah Bad Girls Club

Chile! The video of Ray J and Sarah from the Bad Girls Club, who were pretty friendly, surfaced Monday morning and fans couldn’t help but question the status of his marriage as Ray and Sarah were close together in the video.

As we previously reported, Princess Love has filed for divorce from Ray J. They pulled back after he asked them to keep working on their marriage and then Ray J hit Princess with his own divorce papers. They seem to have had decent terms since then.

A source close to Princess tells us that although she and Ray J are producing the show for the set that Ray and Sarah were seen on, Princess was absent and “was at home with the kids like [she] is always “. The source added that there is “no relationship” between Princess and Ray and they are “still about to get a divorce”.

According to the source, Princess Ray J told him to “live his life”. Princess and Ray were only seen walking together the other day, but the source tells us this was only for one Couples Therapy Show You turn for VH1.

Peep tea on it below.

I give up the job as CEO for 21 days to make movies. Right here is the Hollywood ending

CEO Ravin Gandhi (R) and stars of his film Heidi Johanningmeier (C) and Colin Egglesfield (L). “100 Days to Live” was named Best World Premiere and Best Director for the first time at the San Diego Film Festival.

Ravin Gandhi

As CEO, I find it healthy to have hobbies that distract you from everyday stress. My hobby is writing. I spend a lot of time on flights writing corporate articles and commentary for CNBC and other media outlets. But here’s a secret: over the years I’ve also written a lot of (bad) scripts, usually dark thrillers or comedies. As a lifelong movie buff, making a real movie has always been a dream, but for many reasons (I have a very busy job and have never made a feature film) everyone I shared about that goal said it would be impossible.

Like many entrepreneurs, someone who assures me there is nothing I can do adds rocket fuel to make this happen. Last year I made the decision to turn this bucket list dream into a reality in the hopes that the skills I acquired would help build and sell businesses.

Plans versus reality

In Chicago, I found a casting director and producer to help me plan. I would have to take three weeks vacation, and according to the rules of the SAG union, we could shoot from Sunday to Thursday so that I can catch up on regular work on Fridays (unfortunately there is no non-working vacation.)

After hiring a lot of people over the years, I loved the casting process: the ability to measure auditions (i.e., interviews) but also to understand who the person really is. I was enthusiastic about my cast and amazed that I was able to attract top-class talent who trusted me creatively.

“When the 40-strong film crew showed up in front of my skyscraper with a fleet of trucks … my wife and two children had to move to a hotel because of the shocking amount of equipment and people Health questioned, “says CEO at Day and Filmmaker at Dream Ravin Gandhi.

Numbers are the language of entrepreneurship and investing, so budgeting was a breeze. However, there is an epic difference between line items in a table and the real thing. When the 40-person film crew showed up with a fleet of trucks in front of my skyscraper (where I shot much of my film), my wife and two kids had to move to a hotel because of the shocking amount of equipment and people. Although I looked confident on the outside, I was definitely questioning my sanity inside.

Direction and leadership

On the set, I was besieged with literally hundreds of questions every day. While all executives and CEOs are used to making non-stop decisions under tight time constraints, I’ve learned that directing a movie is especially stressful and mentally demanding (especially if you stay up for 24 hours on a night shoot, which we some Times have done.)

I had a detailed plan, but as the days blurred I was reminded of Mike Tyson’s wise wisdom: “Everyone has a plan until they are slapped in the mouth.”

It’s true in the companies I’ve built, and it was true when we were filming in our Chicago neighborhood, in the offices of friends, GMM customers, and our favorite Italian restaurant, Pelago. What’s the answer? Find out, deal with it, don’t complain, keep focus and move on.

While I’m used to managing people (my company has almost 300 employees), a movie set can be hugely stressed and people sometimes lose it. This certainly happens in companies, and my experience has helped cool the emotions and set a positive tone, even when I was really frustrated. A more important peacemaker? Good food around the clock.

Despite all the adversities we will have the film in the can in 21 days and I (happily) went back to work. While my editor was putting the film together, I told almost no one about this project because, on the one hand, I was sure that no one would see the film, and, on the other, the idea of ​​a “businessman” doing art is a Hollywood cliché that made me insecure – was that a hobby or a midlife crisis?

Unexpected success

However, the film “100 Days to Live” was one of 107 films selected from over 3,000 entries for the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival. It was surreal for me and the cast to see our little film on huge screens with a full audience.

Even more shocking is that we won the best world premiere, one of the best festival awards, and best director for the first time, and beat “real Hollywood” films with big-name actors and big budgets. When I went on stage, Laurence Fishburne (whom I met earlier that evening) got up and hugged me, and this lifelong “businessman” felt like Neo taking the red pill and giving a speech as a “filmmaker”. “”

CEO Ravin Gandhi (L) was named first-time director award winner by actor Laurence Fishburne (C) at the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival on October 18, 2019 in San Diego, California. Actress Amy Smart (on stage).

Vivien Killilea | Getty Images for the San Diego International Film Festival

Like many startups that get a little traction and enthusiasm, our story gets even crazier.

Our festival success led to a number of interested buyers and surprisingly culminated in the acquisition of the film by Cinedigm. The US premiere is planned for the beginning of 2021 on all major streaming platforms and will be available in over 50 countries shortly afterwards.

You can click on the video below to see the trailer for 100 Days to Live or go to the movie’s IMDB page:

Spoiler alert: it’s definitely not The Silence of the Lambs or Se7en – and if you think it’s the worst psychological thriller ever, it’s probably because the writer / director runs a nonstick coating company during the day. But the film becomes profitable, which is a Hollywood twist that I wouldn’t have believed in from the start.

So are there any business or lifelong lessons in this story?

1. Always be ready to fail

Any business venture (even a self-funded film) has to be prepared to fail, perhaps very publicly. There’s no way around it. You need to have confidence in your hard work and let the experience be your reward no matter what.

2. Waxing requires stretching

As a CEO or any type of executive, you are likely only doing tasks that you are already really good at. As I get older (I’m 47) I see tremendous value in stretching in new directions outside of my comfort zone. I was humiliated every day on the movie set with what I didn’t know and it was so refreshing not to be seen as an expert and to learn so much from people much younger than me.

3. New struggles lead to new ways of thinking

Third, I believe that a little (or, in my case, a lot) fighting activates parts of our brains that help you see the world in new ways. I’ve become a better CEO after having this crazy artistic experience because I feel smarter, more confident, and less judgmental. And like all “crazy” ideas, absolutely no one is going to believe you can until you actually do it.

4. Life is short, dreams are important

Many successful and ambitious people have big goals that have nothing to do with their existing careers. If you have the dream of running a marathon, writing a book, selling your artwork, starting a nonprofit, attending medical school, finding an elected position, coaching a team, playing in a band – anything outside of your existing identity that requires hard work and dedication, I encourage you to pursue these passions. Life is short.

BTW, I still love my day job – our business grew by over 25% in 2019, and in September 2020 GMM had the highest monthly turnover in the company’s history. Will I ever do a movie again? I have no idea, but it was an amazing experience.

Ravin Gandhi and Camila Morrone attend the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival on October 18, 2019 in San Diego, California.

Vivien Killilea

Ravin Gandhi is the founder and CEO of GMM Nonstick Coatings, one of the largest suppliers of nonstick coatings to the household goods industry, valued at $ 9 billion. As a VC investor, Gandhi is involved in KeyMe, Hester Biosciences, Ka-Pop Snacks, SenSanna, Apptronik, Amber Agriculture, Ampsy, Throne Labs, Tred and Lettrs.

Kevin O’Leary of ‘Shark Tank’ breaks the restrictions of Patchwork State Covid

Kevin O’Leary on Monday tore up the patchwork approach to coronavirus restrictions in the US, stating that locale-to-locale variation puts a significant strain on business operators.

The “Shark Tank” investor, featured in CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” admitted that measures are needed to curb the spread of Covid-19. “My question is very simple: Who decides? Is it at the city level, at the state level, at the federal level? Tell me the rules so that I can make economic decisions on behalf of my employees.”

“There are no rules. They are not the same. It’s total chaos out there. It’s obvious that this is the situation and it’s totally unfair,” added O’Leary, whose anger is particularly directed towards Los Angeles County Concentrated in California, where public health officials closed the site late last month and ate at al fresco restaurants. He said he had investments in food service companies that were negatively affected by the order.

On Sunday, shortly before midnight, Southern California, which includes LA County, was put on a home stay order after ICU capacity in the area dropped below 15%. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s regional ordinance calls for retail store capacity to be limited to 20% and a ban on alfresco dining, with restaurants offering takeout and delivery only. The new restrictions also apply to the San Joaquin Valley.

The San Francisco Bay Area was closed on Sunday evening, and health officials said they didn’t want to wait for the intensive care unit capacity to get this bad.

“If we need a national policy on masks, go ahead,” said O’Leary. However, he said he objected to policies banning al fresco eating after companies spent tens of thousands of dollars buying heaters and creating other accommodations to serve food in parking lots or alleys.

“I don’t even say open it inside,” said O’Leary, who is referred to as Mr. Wonderful on “Shark Tank”. However, he questioned the reason why LA County’s local grocery operations must be suspended while they can continue elsewhere. “How can I be open in Miami on the same chain?” he said.

O’Leary, also co-founder and chairman of O’Shares ETFs, said he was frustrated having to lay off LA County employees for the third time during the pandemic.

Eating outdoors carries a lower risk of coronavirus transmission than eating indoors, according to public health experts. For example, on Monday, former Commissioner for Food and Drugs Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, told CNBC that he avoided eating in restaurants during the pandemic but did eat outside.

“In many cases, people who eat inside speak loudly, and here too they do not wear a mask. They are in a very small space,” said Gottlieb. Because of this, there is “no question” that eating indoors poses a higher risk for coronavirus transmission than shopping in a large store where customers and employees are wearing masks.

While Gottlieb Capitol Hill applauded the apparent progress on yet another major relief package from Covid, O’Leary believes the focus should be on giving money directly to employees rather than under the burden of business restrictions and shutdowns to the company.

The proposed $ 908 billion bipartisan coronavirus bill, released last week and undergoing definitive language enhancements, would provide around $ 300 of additional weekly unemployment benefits, but not another round of $ 1,200 checks direct to Americans include. The relief would come with a major year-end spending measure needed to avoid a federal government shutdown this weekend.

“These are the decisions we need to think about. This March PPP program was a blunt tool and a failure for me,” said O’Leary, referring to the Paycheck Protection Program. The compromise discharge proposal would also include the financing of additional PPP loans to be granted.

“Stop funding the companies and at that point pass it on to the actual employees,” O’Leary repeated, a position he has been campaigning for months.

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to Shark Tank, which is co-hosted by Kevin O’Leary. Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and a member of the boards of Pfizer, who started genetic testing -up Tempus and the biotech company Illumina. Gottlieb is also co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean’s Healthy Sail Panel.

Dow, S&P can climb the market’s wall of concern, the story goes

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell on Monday when it opened after breaking another new high last week. Post World War II market history suggests that any decline early in trading this week could be followed by further gains before year end.

There are many reasons for investors to worry about the next big share price after a big November that saw the S&P 500 index gain 12%. Covid-19 cases are on the rise, and a senior White House virus advisor said this winter’s weekend “will be the worst event this country will face”. Coronavirus lockdowns are on the rise, and last Friday’s monthly job report was a major disappointment, reminding the nation of the severity of the economic fallout that erupted during the pandemic last spring.

For Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, that Friday job number was the perfect example of this market “climbing a wall of worry” time and time again.

“I kept connecting my iPad to CNBC and saying, ‘OK, update’ because I was sure the future was going to fall as the number of new hires was 200,000 lower than expected. But no. … That says Wall Street doesn’t pay much attention to the present at all, but focuses on the future, “said Stovall.

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

This view of the future is supported by the history of the bullish US stock market years.

From the start of the year to the end of November, the S&P 500 rose 12.1%, according to CFRA data, despite a setback in the bear market of 34% at the beginning of the year. There have been 36 years that the S&P 500 has seen a 10% increase or more in 11 months since World War II. In December of those years, the price of the S&P 500 rose 75% of the time, with an average increase of 1.8%. This gain was above the average for all December since 1945.

This also applies to the Dow trading pattern. Whenever the S&P 500 was up 10% year over year through November, the DJIA rose an average of 1.8% in December and rose 78% of the time.

The Dow was up 3.9% through November and history shows that this is a bullish indicator for the final month of the year as well. In the 43 trading scenarios since World War II, where the Dow rose 4% through November, it rose an average of 1.9% in the last month of the year and rose 78% of the time, according to the CFRA.

“It shows that the chances are pretty good that we will continue to see positive returns in December,” said Stovall.

Recent market history suggests that investors are also keeping an eye on small-cap stocks. Since 1979, there have been 23 times the Russell 2000 Index, up to November 30th, has grown by more than 9% year-to-date, as it was this year. The following December, the Russell 2000 was 2.7% and 87% higher, compared to an average of 2.2% and a 76% increase for all December since 1979.

The economic stimulus is seen as even more optimistic for small capitalization stocks that are closely related to the US economy compared to large capitalization stocks with an overall more global business mix.

Stimulus-free optimism could lead to further market gains

But there are reservations in the data too. December is typically one of the strongest months of the year for stocks, regardless of the level of earnings since the start of the year – called the Santa Rally – but the Dow and S&P returns in these specific trading scenarios were above December averages.

According to CFRA data, huge November histories have tended to lead to December gains. That said, if the uptrend continues, overall earnings levels this year could be less significant in the last month of trading, and by early December trading stocks were up around 1%.

“We need to know that a lot of fuel has already been used and the upward path, the angle of ascent, is being reduced,” said Stovall.

However, it’s not just the vaccination promise that could move herds beyond short-term concerns.

Also bullish is the recent discussion in Washington DC that an economic stimulus package, even a smaller one, is getting closer. As the situation in Covid worsens and employment growth slows, it seems like politicians are more likely to agree on a financial aid package. If there’s a “stimulus-less” package, as Stovall put it, and comments from both sides of the aisle are encouraging, it could mean that more stimuli are in the pipeline once Biden is in office, Stovall said.

“A bipartisan incentive is the injection the economy needs, and efforts at overload suggest that more may be ahead,” he said. He added that the spike in Covid numbers will also increase the likelihood that the market will be confident that the Federal Reserve will not hike interest rates anytime soon and become more accommodative in other ways, such as through repurchase agreements.

For short-term traders, a lot of optimism is already built into the stock market. According to CFRA data, 95% of the S&P 1500 subsectors are trading above their 50-day moving averages and 97% are trading above their 200-day moving averages.

The short-term rotation of growth stocks into names that came after the worst first wave of Covid-19 wore off could cause earnings to trend back towards growth once the locks are reinstated and until a vaccine is widely available.

“I’d say that makes stocks vulnerable to some sort of digestion of recent gains,” said Stovall.

The Nasdaq was the only major US stock index that was higher on Monday morning.

For longer-term investors ready to look into the second half of 2020, however, there is one more reason to be optimistic: While stocks continue to rise, Wall Street’s S&P 500 earnings growth estimates have not looked anywhere near this strongly moved.

Earnings growth of 24% was expected for the S&P 500 in the third quarter of 2020, but it’s only declining about 8% right now, according to CFRA. That has made Wall Street analysts more optimistic, but not enough to fuel S&P 500 earnings growth for the second half of next year. Analysts are reluctant to place a big bet until a vaccine is distributed, according to Stovall, but doing so could ultimately add more fuel to stocks.

“The feeling is that the second half of 2021 will be a time for the economy and profits as we ultimately emerge from the lockdown,” said Stovall.

That view is borne out by other technical market strategists, who are looking at what history has to say about the recent Dow and S&P trade spurts, as well as looking beyond the current Covid-19 trendline.

The world’s largest money manager, BlackRock, issued an upbeat forecast for stocks for 2021 on Monday: “The big change in the outlook itself is to improve overall risk-weighted assets and see 2021 as a very constructive year for risk-weighted assets,” said Mike Pyle , Global from BlackRock chief investment strategist.

Katy Perry exhibits off her Spanx four months after giving delivery to her daughter

All new moms need a little extra support, just ask Katy Perry.

On Sunday, December 6th, the “Smile” singer, who welcomed her first child in August, went to her TikTok to show off the secret weapon under her clothes. In the video she shared with her 5 million followers, the American Idol judge walked up to the camera in a bright blue trench coat as the words “power,” “attitude,” “style,” “confidence,” and “sex.” “appeared around them.

As she approached the camera, Katy put her hands in the pockets of the coat, revealing a pair of naked Spanx just before the camera panned to the label on the floor.

The video shows the song “Whatever Lola Wants” by Abbe Lane & Tito Puente and his orchestra.

In October, two months after the daughter was greeted daisy with fiance Orlando Bloomthe new mother returned to work with her fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

A dreary winter awaits small companies amid Covid’s aid efforts

Juanmonino | E + | Getty Images

It will take more than a second paycheck protection program draw to get the most vulnerable small businesses through the winter, tax experts say.

Congress is back to work out new relief measures this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Chairman Chuck Schumer backed a bipartisan $ 908 billion stimulus plan on Wednesday while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed ahead with his $ 500 billion package.

Both plans allow the stricken business owners to draw another draw from the Paycheck Protection Program – a forgivable credit program designed for battered businesses.

Typically, applicants under the program are eligible for loans if they use at least 60% of the proceeds towards payroll expenses. Those who fall short can be partially forgiven.

According to the Small Business Administration, more than 5 million PPP loans have been approved, which is $ 525 billion.

However, tax experts and entrepreneurs say these efforts are falling short – especially for bars and restaurants that again face the prospect of closing their doors on rising Covid-19 cases.

“If you turn on the TV and hear that by the end of the vaccinations, the pandemic will be under control in the second or third quarter, you will have to survive for more than six months by 2021,” said Ed Zollars. CPA and partner at Thomas, Zollars & Lynch in Phoenix and trainer at Kaplan Financial Education.

“How do you pay the six month bills if you are a restaurant that has little or no revenue?” he asked.

PPP and another loan program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, have come under fire due to the risk of fraud, abuse by bad actors, and the fact that large, well-established companies with lender links have received millions of dollars.

Further attempts to fund small businesses with emergency funding need to be revised to ensure that funds go to companies that really need them.

“We had to close, reopen, and close – we are constantly building inventory that costs money that is unforgivable,” said Kevin Boehm, co-founder of the Independent Restaurant Coalition and co-founder of the Boka Restaurant Group in Chicago.

“”[Restaurants] were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, but we are the ones who haven’t received the PPP loans for most of the time, “he said.

About two months of funding

SDI Productions | E + | Getty Images

With the introduction of PPP under the CARES Act on April 3, applicants were able to take out two and a half months of payroll or $ 10 million in loans.

This was a major issue for small businesses, especially bars and restaurants, as much of the land was under lockdown and there was no certainty when the restrictions would be lifted.

“That is the fundamental flaw in the program when it started,” Zollars said. “‘We pay two and a half months of wages and after eight weeks everyone would be back to normal.’ That was enough to get us through. “

Entrepreneurs faced with reopening restrictions used PPP funds to pay workers to stay home or work fewer hours.

The CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q4 2020 has broad support for another round of Covid-19 incentives and relatively high support from small business owners from both political parties for more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.

Q4 2020 CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey

The entrepreneurs also had eight or 24 weeks to use the proceeds, but some ran out of funding well before the end of the period

“With the CARES Act, the theory was that eight weeks would solve the problems,” Zollars said. “It didn’t. We’ve been playing around there ever since.

The future looks even worse as the cases of Covid-19 cases spin and the prospect of being at home restrictions resurfaces.

“Winter is coming literally and metaphorically for many businesses in America, and those businesses focus on a few sectors – mostly food and lodging are high on the list,” said Brett Theodos, Senior Fellow and Director of Community Economic Development Hub at the Urban Institute.

Not just loans

Phynart Studio | E + | Getty Images

Rather than just having access to a second line of credit, experts believe a combination of tax credits and employer grants will be required to help the hardest hit businesses in the months ahead.

For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday a three-month extension for taxpayers paying less than $ 1 million in sales tax as well as $ 500 million in small business grants.

The relief comes precisely when many districts of the Golden State reinstate the strictest restrictions.

In the meantime, there are legislative efforts to provide grants for pub bars and restaurants.

The 2020 Restaurants Act made it into the previous home pandemic relief act, the Heroes Act. However, it is missing from the bipartisan framework proposed this week.

More from Smart Tax Planning

“It’s like they took us into the desert with no water and wondered why we were thirsty,” said Boehm of the Independent Restaurant Coalition.

“There’s no indoor dining in Chicago,” he said. “We have definitely led, and we still cannot get a specific bill for our industry.”

Tax professionals also target tax breaks for employers with sick or paid workers.

The law that introduces these loans, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, expires later this year – just as Covid-19-related hospital stays hit new highs.

“I think it’s still 30 days, but if they let that go – even if it’s reintroduced retrospectively – it’s going to cripple people across the country,” said Adam Markowitz, registered agent and vice president of Howard L Markowitz PA CPA in Leesburg, Florida.

Individuals also need relief, including the $ 1,200 stimulus testing that was noticeably lacking in the recent proposals.

“If consumer spending falls, it will have an impact on companies that are not directly affected by Covid, but whose consumers are affected and stop spending,” Zollars said.

Biden’s plan to cancel pupil debt may have restricted financial advantages and dangers

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden shows reporters as he arrives to announce candidates and candidates for his economic policy team at his interim headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., December 1, 2020.

Leah Millis | Reuters

If President-elect Joe Biden keeps his campaign promise to provide student loans to many borrowers, he will tick an important box for his constituency.

However, as a boost to the weak US economy, the move may not have much of an impact and will generate significant resistance early in his presidency.

What to do about the burgeoning $ 1.6 trillion education debt has been a sensitive issue for government officials. Half the debt has amassed in the last decade when effective nationalization of the process opened a barrage of tuition hikes and college loans that made it difficult for many graduates to pay bills, buy houses, and raise families.

The most likely path Biden will follow is a $ 10,000 forgiveness plan at a time when the average charge per graduate is just under $ 30,000.

According to many estimates, this would result in total savings of more than $ 400 billion.

However, this would raise a number of sensitive questions that the new administration may find difficult to answer. These include questions about wealth inequality, as higher income borrowers owe a greater share, the moral risk of wiping out loans to a select group, and whether forgiveness is even the most effective way to address the problem.

“There is growing evidence that student loan debt has macroeconomic consequences,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “Outside of mortgage debt, this is the largest household debt outstanding and it’s still growing rapidly.”

In fact, at the beginning of 2006, outstanding education loans were only $ 480 billion. However, two pieces of legislation that effectively guaranteed access to college, and the funding required to do so, caused that number to climb 67% over the next four years to $ 800 billion, and since then that figure has grown over the past ten years Years more than doubled.

Studies have linked the burden to lower household education, higher crime rates, and lower borrower confidence in the future.

But whether it would really help just wiping the slate clean is an open question.

Even if Zandi insists that the idea benefit the middle class, he sees significant weaknesses.

“I think I would focus more on earnings-related repayment plans to provide relief to stubborn student loan borrowers,” he said. “If you are really trying to meet our long-term educational needs, which I believe are critical to long-term economic growth, we need to think more deeply about offering higher levels of education at a much lower cost.”

He added that direct debt relief begs the question, “Are we really going to subsidize tuition? You do. You give students money to give to universities that have raised tuition … and it doesn’t.” really help someone. “

Tie debt to income

The bigger lending effectiveness question was researching a working paper released last month by the University of Chicago’s prestigious Booth School of Business.

Researchers Sylvain Catherine of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and Constantine Yannelis of the Booth School compared the benefits of forgiveness to those of the income-related payment plans Zandi mentioned. They found that the latter offered better benefits, especially for lower-income borrowers.

Those with higher debt burdens, the study found, tend to be students in postgraduate programs who also make more money. Thus, they would benefit more from forgiveness and increase growing inequality between income classes in the United States

“We find that universal and limited forgiveness guidelines are very regressive, with the vast majority of the benefits being given to high-income individuals,” the authors say. “On the other hand, more borrowers to enroll in [Income-Driven Repayment] Plans that combine repayment with income result in borrowers forgiving in the middle of the income distribution. “

Current IDR plans, as they are called, would provide payments of 10-15% discretionary income for borrowers with incomes 150% above the poverty line. Remaining credits will be awarded after 20-25 years. The regulations mean that low-income borrowers may still pay nothing or very little over the life of their loans.

“Forgiveness would benefit the upper decile as much as the lower three deciles combined,” wrote Catherine and Yannelis. “Blacks and Hispanics would also benefit far less than the balances suggest. Registering households that would benefit from income-based repayment is the most cost-effective and advanced policy we are considering.”

Political issues

Selling these industries, however, could be difficult at a time when debtors and progressive politicians on Biden’s side of the aisle are demanding immediate relief.

The president-elect made populist issues like student loan relief a centerpiece of his campaign, and he’s being pushed to get through with some members of his party advocating $ 50,000 forgiveness.

“It will be transformative and empower Biden’s approval among borrowers, who will benefit, and further bring educated millennials and other X-age cohorts into the democratic coalition,” said Beacon Research in a recently released policy note on the latter Theme .

Beacon expects the topic to be part of Biden’s first 100-day agenda.

The opposition is likely to be substantial, however, and will allow the new president and Republican lawmakers, who might still control the Senate, to meet early.

The Responsible Budget Committee feared it would reignite the country’s $ 27.4 trillion in debt and said the $ 115 billion to $ 260 billion economic benefit would “yield a much lower return than other options available to policy makers “.

The organization said government spending in the form of direct payments such as expanded unemployment benefits, which is part of the stimulus packages discussed in Congress, would be more beneficial.

There will also be general moral hazard political backlash from those who see folly in rewarding students for incurring huge debts that they could not afford to colleges that took advantage of the government’s generosity for the sake of it Increase costs.

The government has “allowed universities to go down this insane path of increasing costs with no added benefit to students,” said Carol Roth, director of Intercap Merchant Partners.

“The colleges have a lot of responsibility, and they basically took over the government-provided dollars in a predatory fashion,” she added.

While recognizing the bigger economic troubles, Roth said it was wrong for taxpayers to do the bill for some borrowers rather than others.

“We have to move away from the governments that choose winners and losers,” she said. “The government shouldn’t do that, and it’s not fair to have people who choose not to go to college, directly or indirectly, and who shoulder the burden of the situation they didn’t matter.”

US inventory futures fell barely after Friday’s report session

Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NYSE

US stock futures were slightly lower early Monday after a record session as Wall Street searched for evidence of additional tax aid.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures traded 74 points, or 0.25%, lower. The S&P 500 was lower 0.25% and the Nasdaq 100 futures were trading near flat.

The key averages posted intraday and closing highs on Friday, with the Dow hitting more than 200 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.

Those gains came even after disappointing US employment data was released. The Department of Labor reported that 245,000 were created in November. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast 440,000 more in the past month.

Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, wrote the job report was “not too bad” as most of the slowdown in the labor market last month came from government agencies.

“The clear message is that while the labor market recovery has lagged the overall GDP recovery, both continued to lose ground during the lockdown recession in March and April,” added Yardeni.

The disappointing pressure also gave stocks a boost by raising expectations for a new stimulus package to be passed before the end of the year.

In a tweet on Friday, Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Senate minority, said the report “shows that the need for strong, urgent relief is more important than ever.” President-elect Joe Biden also said the data suggests a “dark winter”.

Those comments followed a bipartisan group of senators who tabled a $ 908 billion aid proposal early last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suspended the move initially, but a spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later said she and McConnell were discussing their “mutual commitment to complete a bus.” [spending bill] and COVID relief ASAP. “

“At this point in time, the market is anticipating additional stimulus of at least several hundred billion dollars in 2020,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note. But “while Washington has had a tailwind in late November and early December as fiscal progress has been faster than expected, the whole issue is becoming increasingly neutral (and possibly headwinds if Congress doesn’t meet investor expectations).” “

Legislators had been in a stalemate over additional tax subsidies for months prior to last week and raised concerns about the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, more than 14 million Covid-19 cases and over 282,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in the United States. Hospital stays have also reached record levels in the USA. The rising number of coronavirus cases has prompted some states and cities to put in place stricter social distancing measures to contain the outbreak.

“Renewed lockdowns in response to the third wave of the pandemic are likely to weigh on the economy in the coming months, but we do not expect a double decline,” said Yardeni. “The economy could boom next spring if enough of us get vaccinated against the virus.”

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis as well as live business day programs from around the world.

Trump urges Georgia governor to overturn Biden’s election victory

United States President Donald Trump is greeted by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp when he arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on July 15, 2020.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

President Donald Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Saturday asking him to convince state lawmakers to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia and allow signatures to be checked for absentee ballots.

The request is Trump’s latest attempt to disrupt the 2020 presidential election results in a state where two GOP Senate runoff races in January could decide which party controls the Senate. The call was first reported by the Washington Post.

Trump has argued with no evidence that Georgia election officials accepted ballot papers with signatures that did not match the files. A post-election recount in Georgia confirmed Biden’s victory and the results were confirmed.

The president referred to the call in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, calling for a signature verification of the postal vote in Georgia and asserting disagreements.

“I’ll win Georgia easily and quickly if Governor @BrianKempGA or the Secretary of State allows a simple verification of the signature,” Trump wrote. “Wasn’t done and will show big discrepancies. Why do these two ‘Republicans’ say no? If we win Georgia, everything will fit together!”

Kemp, a Republican and longtime ally of Trump, wrote on Saturday in response to the president’s tweet: “As I told the president this morning, I publicly requested signature verification three times (11/20/11, 11/24, 12/3) 3) restore confidence in our electoral process and ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia. “

In another tweet, President Kemp called on “immediately” to request a special session in the state parliament.

The governor reportedly denied the president’s request during the call, an anonymous source told the Post. Kemp’s office has publicly said that state law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections.

Gabriel Sterling, a Republican official in the Georgian Foreign Minister’s office, said Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud put election officials at risk by inciting death threats and harassment.

Kemp spokesman Cody Hall confirmed the president had called the governor, but only said that Trump offered condolences on the death of Harrison Deal, a young aide to Senator Kelly Loeffler. CNBC has asked the Trump campaign for comment.

Trump is campaigning for Sens. Loeffler and David Perdue in the state tonight as they face runoff elections against Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.