The U.S. economy needs help. Trump and Congress need to stop threatening and posturing — starting right now. What should Congress include in the next bill?

I discuss in my latest Bloomberg column: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-20/coronavirus-economic-relief-trump-and-congress-have-to-agree?sref=QK42wmXj @bopinion

2/ * Reduce the generosity of unemployment benefits and and put them on a glide path to normal levels by the end of the year.

* Offer unemployed workers one-time re-employment bonuses when they get jobs.

* Temporarily increase the tax credit for children.

3/ * Expand the earned-income tax credit.

4/ * Extend PPP & modify it by allowing businesses the flexibility to spend more of the forgivable portion of the loan on non-payroll expenses -- essentially, convert PPP into a true revenue-replacement program -- and take measures to encourage businesses and banks to participate

5/ * Provide block grants to state and local governments for schools and other essential services, but make sure that money can't be spent to shore up pension funds. This would help schools to reopen, support overall economic demand, and...

6/ ...stem the tide of layoffs from state and local governments, which have already laid off 1.5 million workers, including 900,000 school employees, since February.

7/ * Address the $454 billion that the Cares Act appropriated to the Treasury Department in support of Federal Reserve lending programs, making sure it is used to support the economy.

8/ * Protect businesses that make good-faith efforts to follow public health guidelines from frivolous lawsuits.

* Consider including incentives for business investment.

* Fund the virus-related costs childcare centers are facing to help them keep their doors open.

9/ * Provide funding to states for testing and tracing capabilities.

10/ The White House has been publicly conflicted over the past few months on whether additional legislation would be needed at all and, if needed, what should be included in it.

11/ Trump should be made to understand that he has a much better chance to be re-elected if the economy is improving rapidly in the fall. From this political perspective alone, a sensible White House would be pushing Congress for a large economic recovery package.

12/ Instead, the White House is in chaos, reportedly insisting that the bill shouldn’t include money for testing, and signaling last Thursday that the president would veto any legislation that didn’t have a payroll-tax cut that has little support among Senate Republicans.

Fin/ See through the chaos. There will be a bill. And Congress had better get Phase 4 right, because there probably won’t be a Phase 5 until after the elections in November.

My latest Bloomberg column: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-20/coronavirus-economic-relief-trump-and-congress-have-to-agree?sref=QK42wmXj @bopinion