[BostonCard]

As I understand it, the biggest stumbling blocks were aid to states, liability protections for businesses, and expanded unemployment provisions.  Despite evidence that the $600 expanded benefits did not dis-incentivize working, there is a strong current of belief that it does, and enough anecdotal stories of people not going back to work because they were making more money on unemployment to support those beliefs.  To my mind, this was the most easy to solve; the two sides could have compromised on the amount of expanded unemployment and the speed of a taper.

Aid to states also seemed to me like it should have been amenable to splitting the difference between the two sides.

I don't think liability protections are that big a deal, but also they are probably the most difficult one to find a solution "in between" shielding businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits and not doing so.

BC

[BostonCard]

As I understand it, the biggest stumbling blocks were aid to states, liability protections for businesses, and expanded unemployment provisions.  Despite evidence that the $600 expanded benefits did not dis-incentivize working, there is a strong current of belief that it does, and enough anecdotal stories of people not going back to work because they were making more money on unemployment to support those beliefs.  To my mind, this was the most easy to solve; the two sides could have compromised on the amount of expanded unemployment and the speed of a taper.

Aid to states also seemed to me like it should have been amenable to splitting the difference between the two sides.

I don't think liability protections are that big a deal, but also they are probably the most difficult one to find a solution "in between" shielding businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits and not doing so.

BC