4 stimulus passes the senate, india slides towards authoritarianism

we were on a morning zoom call, and as usual, most of our colleagues had their cameras off, but one guy forgot - and clearly was still in bed. none of us said anything, but we do kinda feel bad about it. do us a solid, and let us know if this newsletter is the equivalent of zooming in our PJ’s. email us your suggestions!

big idea: show me the money

1. senate dems passed the latest $1.9 trillion stimulus bill yesterday, which now goes to the house for its expected approval.

2. it extends the $300 unemployment benefit to September, sends $1.4k checks to those earning less than $75k, expands the child tax credit to $3k, eliminates taxes on any student loans Joe decides to forgive in the future, sends $350 billion to state and local governments, grants $130 billion to schools, and funds vaccine distribution efforts.

3. notably, it does not include the $15 minimum wage hike we discussed in last week’s issue, with eight senate dems voting against the amendment, once again lending credence to the idea that dems should’ve had a better plan to fulfill that campaign promise. 

4. progress on the vote was stalled for nine hours as Joe Manchin, the most conservative dem aka the senate #meangirl, demanded and received substantial reductions in stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, demonstrating the power that every single senator has in a 50/50 split senate. Manchin was only convinced to vote for the bill after a personal call from Joe. 

5. because of Manchin’s shenanigans, about 12 million fewer adults and 4.6 million fewer children will be eligible for stimulus checks compared to the December stimulus bill that was signed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (the Donald). progressives are calling this move an own goal as it is the most popular element of the stimulus bill and is most tangibly felt by everyday ‘muricans. 

story to watch: india’s slide towards authoritarianism 

1. Freedom House has downgraded the status of india from “free” in 2019 to only “partly free” in 2020, reflecting prime minister Modi’s increasingly authoritarian rule. Modi has been in power since 2014 and his right-wing hindu nationalist party is using the tools of government to cement its control.

2. two american companies have been dragged into Modi’s antics. twitter was recently forced to block activists on its platforms supporting nationwide farmer protests against Modi, after the government threatened to arrest indian twitter employees. last week, india also published new rules social media companies must follow in order to operate in the country, including requiring some posts to be removed within 24 hours of publication if requested by regulators.

3. Amazon was also pushed into apologizing for a movie published on its prime video service which “allegedly offended” hindus, after its top movie exec in the country was hauled in for questioning by local police.

4. these are all distressing developments in the world’s largest democracy, especially given there is no real organized opposition to Modi’s party. as we have seen in other nations recently, power hungry leaders often begin their tyranny by controlling the flow of information through society, and that is what is happening in india now.

this week’s image: grandma knock-out

• (Reuters) a 75 year old grandma with Parkinson’s boxes three times a week. better hope you don’t get on her bad side.

this week’s number: 379k jobs created last month

1. business is roaring back in ‘murica, with companies hiring 379,000 people in February as restaurants and hospitality begin to recover. we’re at a 6.2% unemployment rate and still 9.5 million jobs in the hole compared to pre-covid.

2. the recovery continues to be uneven and slow. the Black unemployment rate increased last month, unemployment applications increased last week, and state/local governments continued laying off their workforces last month.

what we’re reading: “Show Your Work!”

1. a 224-page NYT bestseller by Austin Kleon, this is a manual to solve the age old starving artist problem: how do I get others to notice my work?

2. Kleon provides creatives with ten principles for sharing their work (like “share something small every day”) and getting noticed in the digital world without seeming desperate #thirstyforlikes

reader mailbag:

1. reader O.J. took issue with our characterization of the fight between T-Mobile and Verizon in issue 3’s story to watch. to clarify, we weren’t making any arguments about the average consumer experience - if you have great Verizon reception at home, T-Mobile offering better 5G speeds won’t make you switch providers.

2. however, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs (does it count if we’re not getting paid for this?) if we didn’t point out that Consumer Reports found both T-Mobile and Verizon had average reception across the nation. we can all agree that AT&T sucks though, right O.J.?

and, in case you missed it:

• china hacked into india’s electricity supply during its border skirmish this summer, causing mumbai to lose power

• Joe is in favor of revising the post-9/11 authorization of military force which has given presidents carte blanche to bomb middle eastern nations

• a doctor zoomed into a traffic court hearing while in surgery #healthcareheroes

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!