Nearly half of U.S. small business owners reported unfilled job openings in May, marking the fourth consecutive month of record-high readings as finding qualified applicants remains a lingering challenge, a trade group said on Thursday. The National Federation of Independent Business said in its monthly jobs report that 48% of small business owners reported unfilled job openings in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 44% in April. “Small business owners are struggling at record levels trying to get workers back in open positions,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a statement.
Ohio v. Yellen: Limits on Congress’s Spending Power?
The Monroe News
Congress has the power to tax and spend: the first delegation of power, Article I, Section 8, states: “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes…. to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States…” The Biden Administration is proposing to spend $1.9 trillion on a “stimulus” as a response to the damage done to the economy by COVID-19. The statute is the American Rescue Plan of 2021.
In our federalism, Congress preempts the taxing base by taking the lion’s share in the income tax. It will give some of that money back to the States, but with conditions attached. States need not take the money, but if they do, they also take the conditions in the form of regulations.
(The Center Square) – Small businesses in Tennessee are having trouble hiring employees because of a nationwide labor shortage sparked by continued federal pandemic unemployment benefits.