America's Talking - Episode 7: Home prices and jobless claims on the rise

Episode Date: July 23, 2021

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden touted the country’s economic growth since he took office, but the latest economic data show that progress may not be as sturdy as experts would like. The Department of Labor released new unemployment data Thursday showing a major spike in new jobless claims, meaning more Americans are filing for unemployment for the first time even as concerns grow over the Delta variant of COVID. The jobless increase came as a surprise to many experts, who hoped the U.S would continue an overall downward trend as the economy recovers from the pandemic-related economic shutdowns. The troubling unemployment data comes amid continued debate over the efficacy of the $300 federal weekly unemployment payments passed by Congress that are in addition to state benefits. More than two dozen states have announced they will turn away the federal benefits, citing business owners who say they are unable to fill positions despite the elevated unemployment. Meanwhile, home prices increased at a rapid rate in the last year. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median existing-home sales price increased by 23.4% from June 2020 to June 2021, the second highest recorded since January 1999. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/america-in-focus/support Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to America in Focus, powered by thecenter square.com. I'm John Spittaro, and this is the 29th week of 2021. Coming up, we'll take a quick look at one of the top stories from thecentersquare.com, and later, executive editor of the center square, Dan McAulb, and DC reporter Casey Harper, will take a deeper dive into some of the top stories of the week, including rising home prices and rising jobless claims across the country. country, a new report on wasted unemployment dollars from the federal government, and the latest on President Biden's massive infrastructure bill. Coming up right after this on America and Focus, powered by

thecenter square.com. Hi, this is Chris Krug, publisher of the Center Square. Our team produces the nationally read and recognized news stories at thecenter.com, the country's fastest growing, nonprofit, nonpartisan, state-focused news and information site. We deliver a central, information with a taxpayer sensibility through reporting that's easy to understand and easy to share with your friends and family. We know that you need information that allows you to understand what the governor and your local legislators are doing. Get the news that you need to know at thecentersquare.com. That's thecenter square.com. Thecenter square.com. Welcome back. Here are the top stories of the past week on the center square.com.

Railroad industry experts are worried a new executive order may reduce competition and increase costs. President Biden signed the order last week, which calls for something called forced switching, which requires railroads to open up their lines to competitors. Last fall, hundreds of state officials and business executives signed a letter to the independent Surface Transportation Board urging the federal government not to pursue forced switching. A recent analysis by Forbes found that since 1980, the amount of goods shipped via rail has doubled and would have cost nearly $70 billion more if the same goods had been shipped by truck. To read more about this story and many others, visit thecenter square.com. Now for a closer look, over to Dan McAulb and Casey Harper.

Thank you, John. Welcome to American Focus, powered by the center square.com. I'm Dan McAulb, executive editor of the center. Square Newswire service. Joining me this week and every week is Casey Harper, Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief of the Center Square. We are recording this on Friday morning, July 23rd. Casey, as we're recording this, the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics are

underway live from Tokyo, Japan. Are you an Olympics fan, and will you be watching? I'm a U.S. of a fan, Dan, and I'm also a fan of winning, and those things tend to go hand in hand when the U.S. is at the Olympics. So I definitely like to check in. I like that you never know what's going to be on. And, you know, there's always some sport, often sports you never even heard of. But I'm looking forward to it.

Is there a sport in the Olympics that you never watch, three and a half years out of four, but during the Olympics you might tune into for a little bit? Pretty much every Olympic sport is that. way, yeah. You know, I know this is a winter Olympics, but I'm fascinated by curling, where they have the little brush and they're brushing the ice. Have you seen that one? I'm familiar with curling, but this is the summer Olympics. We're not in the winter Olympics. Swimming, track and field events, cycling, anything, anything, no? Yeah, it's okay. I feel like swimming is kind of not as,

now that Michael Phelps isn't just 15 gold medals every time has kind of fallen out of favor. But yeah, and I also like basketball. Wow, of course, that's a sport you probably watch year-round, year-in and year-out. Sure. All right. Well, why don't we move on into the news out of Washington, D.C. this week, Casey. A couple of new reports released this week, one on. on home prices soaring, the other on unfortunately unemployment, new unemployment claims increasing

as well. Why don't we start with the home prices? What did we learn this week? Yeah, we learned that you should have bought a home a few years ago. So the National Association of Realtors just released data on Thursday that said the median existing home sales price increased by, wait for it, 23.4.4. percent from June 2020 to June 2021. So that's the second high it's recorded since 1999. So, you know, how farce? 23% in one year. That's pretty safe. Correct. Yeah, that's a great investment.

Yeah. So if you, if you're currently a homeowner, that's, that's not necessarily bad news. You, you just made some money on your investment. If you're, however, if you're looking to buy a home right now, that can be, that can be tough. Yeah. And I think we all. remember, you know, another time when home prices skyrocketed and it didn't in well for everyone. Right. Yeah. Hopefully we're not in the midst of a new bubble. Of course, if you're in high property tax states, when your home values go up, your assessed values go up, you're going to pay more on property taxes. So there's also that. What I'm hearing is what part of what's describing this is that just demand for new home demand for homes is up inventory is way down um so people are

out are having their bidding wars essentially on homes across particularly um in in states that are seeing significant growth in population um anything more about that report uh before we move on unemployment well i'll add on that uh i think inflation is playing a role in this too you know we've talked a lot in this podcast about how uh inflation has really increased in the last 12 months. And when you see that inflation, some parts of the market respond. Bankers, different people, they know this is happening and they adjust things accordingly. So, you know, not only is the home prices are going up, but it takes, you know, the money that pays for it is worthless. Not worthless, but worth less. And then, you know, the other thing that we

mentioned was that, let's see, I have it right here. The Department of Labor showed that basically 419,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment claims through last week, which is up, like, 51,000 people from the previous week. So what that really means is 51,000 more people filed for unemployment, which kind of goes against the grain of what economists we're seeing at Hopey for, which would be a downward trend in unemployment. But we saw a big spike in people filing for new unemployment. It's even more interesting as, you know, we, there's kind of new fears around this Delta variant.

Are we going to go back into another dip? What's going to happen with that? But that seems to run contrary, too, to, you know, businesses across the country have been struggling to find workers to come back to work. many have blamed it on these enhanced unemployment pandemic-related unemployment benefits, that the federal government, $300 a week on top of state benefits, that the Congress essentially approved and President Joe Biden signed. Why are these, why does unemployment new claims continue to spike when there's so many open jobs out there?

Do we know that? Yeah, that's a great question, Dan. It's kind of a riddle or puzzle that people are trying to solve. Republicans would say that these federal unemployment benefits, which are $300 a week that you alluded to, are just too generous. And in a lot of states, when you combine that with state unemployment benefits, which people will also be receiving, and other unemployment, like food stamps and different things like that, that really people's needs are being met. And they can do just as well on unemployment as they are, as they can do, as they can do. going back to work. And we covered a morning consult survey, which found that 1.8 million Americans, 1.8 million Americans just said on the survey that they had turned down a job, even though

they were unemployed, because the unemployment they were receiving was so generous. They didn't want to go back to work. So the data's kind of backing this up. But I mean, you can kind of, and now if you add in these new child tax credits, I don't know if you know anyone, Dan, started getting these payments but i know a couple of families that you know one's getting you know eight hundred dollars a month and one's getting i think 1200 yeah around 1200 a month in these payments so you just try getting child tax credits you get weekly unemployment payments you get state um unemployment payments you have uh you know medicaid or some other uh benefits and all the sudden you know you can go back to work we'll go back to work we'll take those away from you so and that's a big

problem um we need to get america back to work now the 419,000 new claims from last week, it's certainly down from the height of the pandemic back in late March and April and May of last year when we were seeing more than a million new claims, but it's still significantly higher the new claims filed pre-pandemic. So it's certainly a story we'll be following at the Center Square, the Center Square.com in the weeks ahead. anyone who's rooting for the American economy. I'll admit I'm rooting for the American economy want to see those claims start coming back again, but it's kind of concerning that they come back down again. It's kind of concerning that they haven't yet.

Let's stick with unemployment, Casey. Another new report out shows that across America we've been overpaying unemployment benefits to the tune of at least $12.9 billion. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, another day, another $12.9 billion wasted by the federal government. I mean, this may not come surprise to some people, but the government accountability office,

which is a federal watchdog that, you know, it's a federal group that is in charge of auditing and inspecting these kind of things and releasing these kind of reports. They, as you said, found that $12.9 billion, had been overpaid in a small window, basically from March of last year to April of this year. So roughly a one-year window that's very recent. $12.9 billion had been overpaid by the states in federal unemployment, or not federal, just by state, you know, unemployment payments.

So, and even worse than that, GAO said that the actual numbers are going to be higher because, you know, seven states haven't even reported yet what they're, you know, their overpayment was. So it's actually $12.9 billion is going to very likely increase. That's the low end, right. Right. So it's probably billions more than that. Now, what can you, is this, is this, are these fraudulent payments?

Are these mistakes made by governments? Is it a combination of both? What's, what's driving the, the overpayments? You know, is it they're saying that never chalk up to malice, what can be explained by competence. So less than 10% of these payments are fraudulent. And the vast majority is just good old fashioned federal bureaucracy putting an extra zero on there or something like that. It's just overpayment, waste and abuse, not fraudulent. So I don't know about you. I was not fortunate enough to receive one of these extra little checks. Some, you know, did you get one day? Did you get some of the

village from this? I did not get one of these, but I will say that I and I know many others also who had claims filed fraudulently in my name. Maybe about six months ago I heard from our human resources department, yes, saying someone had filed for unemployment benefits in my name. And of course, then you have to go through all the bureaucracy to report it. And, say I'm not unemployed. I don't need unemployment benefits. This is incorrect and you have to go through the credit checks and make sure that someone hasn't fraudulently, fraudulently use my Social Security number for other things or whatever. So it's a bit of a pain. And I know I'm not the only one. I know plenty of others who've had the same thing

happened to them. Yeah, sorry, I thought you wouldn't mind. But You better be careful. Big Brother Michael Leslie. I know. No, just, yeah, don't put that on the transcript, FBI and whoever. So it's the end of July, Casey, moving on. Summer seems to be flying by pretty soon. We're going to be in back-to-school mode. Parents across the country are going to be back-to-school mode, depending on where you live.

Some schools are opening in just a couple of weeks here in August. One of the big stories in states across the country have been this push by some groups to adopt critical race theory in education programs across the country. Well, there's a new poll out this week about that, how parents feel about that. What can you tell us about this? Right. If you've been paying attention a little bit, you've seen just ongoing debate about critical race theory. A lot of people are upset about it. you've seen probably the footage of parents at town halls getting very agitated, you know,

yelling. I've seen where people were arrested protesting parents at, you know, like parent teacher, town hall kind of events, getting arrested. And, you know, this poll is kind of showing why. So we're seeing a pretty large percentage of parents who are just so upset about critical race there. They're even talking about taking their kids out of school, running for school board. So according to the to the polling, 31 or 38.1 percent. So nearly 40 percent of

Republican voters say parents who oppose critical race theory should remove their children from public school if critical race theory becomes part of the curriculum. Now, you may say, though it's not even the majority, but it's hard to imagine the impact that it would have on the public school system if 40 percent of parents, Republican parents took their kids out of schools. I mean, the schools can't even, that would be a seismic shift. I mean, that would be, if this really, even half of those parents really did that in one or two years, there would be, that would be the largest shift away for public schools that probably have ever seen. That number goes down for Democrats, it's 20.9% of Democrats and 22.9% of independence.

And then the poll also found that 29% of just American voters say parents who have opposed critical race theory should teach their use at home without interfering. So that's kind of the opposite side of it. But just to see that there's 40% of Republican parents who are, you know, talking about taking their kids out of public school if this becomes mainstream, would just have a huge effect on local districts, on funding, on the number of private schools. I don't think public schools would I recover from. Let's come to come back to that point in just a second. But critical race theory, it's a very complex issue, I don't think the mainstream media has done a great job explaining what critical race theory is.

I don't know that I've seen a definitive definition of critical race theory. Can you just briefly describe what critical race theory is? Yeah, you're right. It is harder to find and define. And part of the problem for that is that every time someone defines it, there's someone who kind of correct your definition. So just with that kind of disclaimer, you know, there's probably someone out there who will contradict this definition because there's not exactly an agreed upon. Correct. Yeah, you know, society-way thing.

But it's basically, it reframes American history around the idea that racism is a core, really, you go like a core value of America from the beginning, that America is fundamentally racist today, and it always has been. and that racism should be considered as a driving factor for major events like the American Revolution, right? And it's closely tied to the 1619 project, which is the New York Times project. Right, the New York Times project. And the reason it, you know, it's called the 1619 project because that's what African slaves were first brought to the American continent. And so the idea is that America's birth should be framed around 1619.

1919, not 1776, because they would say that 1619, when African slaves were first brought to the continent, is when American history really began. And so it really is a, it's a very radical shift away from how we would understand history before, how history's been taught in American schools. It really views everything in American history through the lens of racism, seeing racism as a primary motive. it really emphasizes that. So opposed to the themes of liberty and independence and self-government that were probably emphasized in, you know, your history classes growing up and my history classes growing up. You know, the racism of not just the founders, but of people all throughout history would be highly elevated. And that's kind of the lens that things you've viewed through in critical race. So I can understand why it would be a very contentious issue with parents and students across the country.

So going back to the poll, where 40% of Republicans said they would pull their students out of public schools. Separate from that, since the beginning of the pandemic, because many public schools stayed closed for months, closed, I should say, to face-to-face learning and went to 100% remote learning early during the pandemic, even into the fall of last year, even into the new year, January 21, many schools didn't get back to either, like a hybrid model where they're in school two days a week. They're learning remotely two or three days a week or whatever. That dramatically, not 40%, but many parents got so frustrated with that that they took their kids out of public school, chose private schools, chose homeschooling or whatever. And that's just a few percent. Yeah, if you get to 40% of people, and I don't expect, I certainly don't expect numbers anywhere near that,

but even a fraction of that, that would have a dramatic impact on public school systems across the U.S. Yeah, and you probably know more about this to me, Dan, but the funding is affected by how many students you have. I mean, so if you lose a significant portion of your funding, that's really going to affect the budget. Right. Well, certainly this looks like it's going to be a hot topic for the next, several weeks until students do get back in the classroom. I would just urge parents, you know, your school boards meet on a regular basis. If you have a strong feeling one way or the other about the teaching of critical race theory,

and that's a topic at your school district, attend your local school board meetings and have your voice be heard. Why don't we move on to our final topic of the week, Casey? And actually, we're going to bring in a guest. Yes. Yes. Jack Burley is going to join us. Jack has been an interning with the Center Square since the beginning of summer, working with Casey in Washington, D.C., and all things, U.S. government. Jack, welcome to American Focus. Thank you for having me. Yeah, so just a little background by myself. I'm a senior at Villanova University, and this summer I've been covering the global minimum corporate tax, some Supreme Court decisions, along with this bipartisan. an infrastructure package.

And that's what we brought here to talk about, Jack, the infrastructure package. There was a procedural vote this week on the infrastructure deal. There have been bipartisan groups working behind closed doors on a compromise. We're talking about President Joe Biden scaled down. Is it $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill now? Tell us what happened in the vote this week. Yeah, so this is the 1.1.4. $2 trillion infrastructure package that was agreed upon by a bipartisan group of senators,

Chuck Schumer decided to put it to a vote. Republicans have been saying they didn't want to put it to a procedural vote yet because the details have not been finalized for it. He kind of wanted to do a similar thing they did with the AA IP bill and others where they open debate on the bill before the details are finalized. Ultimately, the vote failed. 5149, Senator Schumer changed his vote to know so that he could, so that they could go back to the drawing board.

And it looks like they will be sending it back to a procedural vote next week. As early as Monday, some Republicans have indicated. But it seems like next week, they'll have the details worked out and they'll be able to move it to a procedural vote. And it will probably pass based on what senators like Senator Mitt Romney have been saying, but they have at least 10 Republicans supporting it. which is what would be required to get past the 60-vote filibuster. Okay.

And so there's, of course, there's 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats in the U.S. Senate. Senator Schumer, all 50 Republicans in this first procedural vote voted against it. Senator Schumer, a Democrat, decided to switch his vote so he could bring it back. So it's not that he's against the infrastructure bill. It's just that he wanted to be able to bring it forward. and by voting against it, he would be able to bring it forward again. Am I accurate in saying that? I believe so.

I'm not sure if it's necessarily actually that he had to change his vote, but I think it might have been more just a kind of vote of confidence that this isn't the end. Republicans who have been part of the bipartisan agreement have made clear that just because the first vote did fail does not mean the package is dead by any stretch of the imagination. It is still very much alive. and once they agree to the terms of the bill, once they get the details worked out, and they vote on it probably next week, if it fails there, then that's when the bill could be in serious jeopardy. So I'm going to throw this question out there to whoever wants to jump in, Casey or Jack.

Why should Americans, why should American taxpayers care about the fight and the ongoing negotiations over the infrastructure bill? Who wants to jump in on that one? I'll start in the jack. You can weigh in. I mean, well, first thing is this bill is going to be several trillion dollars. And so there's a lot of American taxpayer dollars is going to be spent. And I think everyone has a vested interest in knowing where your money is going. And that's why we like to cover it.

The other reason is it's still not entirely, you know, it's probably off the table, but nothing is official as far as if there's going to be any kind of tax increases to pay for this. I mean, they've said there's not going to be, but believe it or not, politicians lie or change their minds. And so we'll see if they actually have to raise taxes on you, the listeners, to pay for this. And then the last thing would be there could be something built in your neighborhood because of this. There could be some kind of roads. There could be some kind of new program that could be directly impacting you. And that's why we've been covering it. I'm not sure if you, Dan, or Jack, you'd add anything to that.

Yeah, so the, the, the, um, the, the, Payfers was actually one of the things they're still working on how they're going to pay for. That was one of the details of working out. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio did say on an appearance on one of the Sunday morning shows last week that the additional IRS authority have been negotiated out. They were going to allow the IRS to go after people who have been evading taxes a little more stringently to raise some money for this bill. But now that that's out, it's kind of a big mystery how they're going to get a lot of that money. And as you mentioned, yeah, this is a very traditional infrastructure kind of package, very roads, bridges, trains, the traditional definition of infrastructure, unlike the reconciliation package, the Democrats are going to try to pass as well.

And what Biden's initial framework was when he initially released it a couple months ago. So pushing the conversation forward, Jack, you said earlier, you expect that it could be taken up again, is the infrastructure deal as early as next week? Yeah, so some Senate Republicans have been saying as early as Monday they could vote on it again. This is definitely contingent on whether or not they get the details fully worked out. Because the main issue Republicans had with this initial vote was that details had not been worked out, and they were kind of voting on just a framework, not an actual concrete agreed to bill. So once everything gets worked out, they will definitely, Republicans will probably support it, at least some Republicans will support it.

And that is expected to be next week. Senators Rob Portman and Mitt Romney, who I mentioned earlier, have both indicated they expect negotiations to wrap up by next week. Thank you, Jack, and I'm sure between you and Casey will, you'll be on top of the news and any developments there. You can read Jack Burley and Casey Harper at thecenter Square.com to follow news out of Washington, D.C. That's all the time we have this week.

Jack, thank you for joining us. Casey, as usual, thank you for your time. And we'll see you next week on American Focus.