Newsletter Mar 10, 2021

President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has been his top priority since taking office, and he is poised to check it off his to-do list today.

3 Things

House call: The House is set to vote on the final version of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan today, and Democrats appear to have the votes to deliver much-needed relief to millions of Americans and the first big political win.for the president.
Dems won a procedural vote 219-210 on Tuesday and appear only a final vote and Biden's signature from passing the sweeping relief package. The most popular program at a whopping 78% public approval rating (who knew people like free money?) is the third round of stimulus checks -- the largest to date at $1,400 per person, although 17 million fewer taxpayers will qualify this time around.
There are lots of useful programs in the bill, including funds for vaccinations, unemployment, and struggling small businesses, states and cities. But the stimulus checks seem to be as much as a political tool as a way to help those most impacted by the virus.
By painting Republicans into the corner of opposing stimulus checks and other relief efforts, Dems scored political points with voters and helped bolster the economy. But are the checks smart fiscal policy?
HERE'S WHAT ECONOMISTS SAY ABOUT STIMULUS CHECKS

Big Tech alert: Now that his relief bill appears signed, sealed and delivered and the COVID vaccination process is gaining traction, Biden should finally find time to turn his attention to other problems. It seems one of those issues will be how to handle Big Tech firms.
On Tuesday, reports surfaced that Biden plans to nominate Lina Khan, an outspoken advocate of breaking up Big Tech, to head the Federal Trade Commission. If confirmed, Khan's position at the FTC would signal an aggressive antitrust stance by the White House.
Khan, a Columbia University law professor who has claimed antitrust laws could support breaking up tech firms, sends chills down the spines of tech titans like Apple, Facebook and Google. She would have authority over mergers and antitrust policy, including the right to split up those tech giants that have been cornering the market.
SEE WHAT KHAN'S NOMINATION WOULD MEAN FOR BIG TECH

Doggone shame: First dogs Champ and Major, the Biden's German Shepherds, have been temporarily removed from the White House following an unspecified "biting incident" that took place Monday.
Although details of the incident are spotty, it seems Major, the 3-year-old shelter rescue, had a run-in with a member of the president's security detail. Perhaps the dog was just letting the guy know that protecting the president is his and Champ's job.
The injury was considered minor and treated by the White House medical staff, and the canines are staying with pet-sitters at the Biden's home in Delaware pending a resolution (can you say obedience school?). But apparently the incident was serious enough to warrant the removal of the president's best friends from the White House. It's a tough place for humans to acclimate, much less dogs.
WILL THE FIRST DOGS GET TO LIVE IN THE WHITE HOUSE?

Markets

DJIA	31,832.74	0.10%
S&P 500	3,875.44	1.42%
Nasdaq Composite	13,073.82	3.69%
Japan: Nikkei 225	29,036.56	0.03%
UK: FTSE 100	6,730.34	0.17%
Crude Oil Futures	63.31	-1.09%
Gold Futures	1,710.20	-0.39%
Yen	108.80	0.29%
Euro	1.19	-0.18%
* As of market close

Social insecurity

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on elderly Americans, who account for more than 80% of the deaths from the disease. It's also hitting them hardest in the bank account as federal programs like Social Security and Medicare are starting to run dry.

Already navigating the pandemic on a fixed income and with a slowly unraveling safety net, seniors are facing the added pressure of the uncertainty of Social Security and Medicare in the post-pandemic, when budget deficits threaten to drain the programs even sooner than projected.

Even before the costly coronavirus relief programs, both programs were expected to run out of funding in the near future without action by Congress. Medicare is projected to run out of funding by 2024 to 2026, while Social Security is expected to be insolvent by 2034 to 2035.

While the loss of more than 373,000 elderly Americans might put a temporary dent in the spending, they account for only 1% of the total number of the programs' beneficiaries. And the lost contributions from the unemployed and employers threaten to hasten the need for more funding.

WHAT FACTORS THREATEN SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE?

Taking it to the streets

Google-owned Waymo is again making a big push to bring its driverless vehicles to the open road, and now it claims to have the data to back it up.

Waymo studied traffic accidents in Arizona for nearly a decade and created models showing how its AI-operated minivans would have fared under the same scenarios as other mishaps. Its conclusion: computer-automated drivers are much safer at navigating traffic than humans.

â€œIn total, the simulated Waymo Driver completely avoided or mitigated 100% of crashes aside from the crashes in which it was struck from behind, including every instance that involved a pedestrian or cyclist (20 simulations in total),â€ Waymo director of safety research Trent Victor said.

â€œWeâ€™re not saying that we will eliminate all fatalities, but we are saying that the best way to reduce the chances of a serious injury would be to take an evasive maneuver when thatâ€™s possible," he continued. "And in all of these crash simulations, the Waymo driver took evasive maneuvers.â€

Waymo plans to use the study and other supporting data to appeal to states to allow the driverless minivans on the road in the near future.

SEE HOW WAYMO'S MINIVANS FARED IN SIMULATED SCENARIOS

Royal response

The British royal family finally broke its silence on the damning claims made against it by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, including charges of institutional racism over question's about their son Archie's skin color and a failure to give support to the duchess during a time of personal crisis.

The couple's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired Sunday night in the U.S. on CBS, finally aired in the U.K. on Monday. News of the claims had already crossed the Atlantic Ocean and sparked more trouble for the embattled royal family, which eventually issued a statement:.

â€œThe whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,â€ Queen Elizabeth II said in the prepared statement. â€œWhile some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.â€

The queen, whom Markle praised in the two-hour interview, said she wants to address the issue internally with the couple and the royal family. But citizens are growing weary of the distractions and embarrassments..

FIND OUT THE FALLOUT FROM THE CLAIMS IN THE ROYAL FAMILY