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Jul. 10, 2021 09:47PM EST
G20 leaders back global tax deal
Finance ministers from the world's 20 largest economies backed a proposal on Saturday that seeks to introduce an international tax on multinational companies and sets a global minimum tax rate of 15%, Politico reports.
Why it matters: If enacted, the reform could alter who gets to tax multinational corporations and "stop multinationals from shifting profits into tax havens," Politico reports.
What they're saying: "After many years of discussions and building on the progress made last year, we have achieved a historic agreement on a more stable and fairer international tax architecture," the finance ministers from the G20 club, who met at a summit in Venice on Saturday, wrote in a statement.
- "This is a victory for tax fairness, for social justice and for the multilateral system. But our work is not done ... I am optimistic that we will be able in that time also to reach a consensus among all European Union Member States on this crucial issue," said Paolo Gentiloni, the European commissioner for the economy, per Politico.
- Some EU countries, such as Hungary, remain opposed to the deal.
What's next: Final approval of the deal is not expected until the G20 leaders' meeting in Rome in October, and some details still need to be worked out before then.
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Aug. 10, 2021 11:20AM EST
Workers quit at historic clip
Data: BLS, FRED; Chart: Axios Visuals
Demand for labor seems to be getting stronger, and workers are taking advantage by quitting.
Why it matters: Businesses are scrambling to fill job openings as they try to catch up with booming demand.
- Many companies are aggressively raising wages to recruit, which has resulted in workers quitting their old jobs for better opportunities.
By the numbers: 3.87 million workers quit their jobs in June, according to the BLS’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. This is close to the record, set in April, of 3.99 million.
- This represents 2.7% of the workforce in June, which is also just below April’s record rate of 2.8%.
- Quits as a percentage of total separations — which includes layoffs, firings and retirements — reached 69.3% in June. This measure, also known as the “take this job and shove it” indicator is at an all-time high.
What they’re saying: "People tend to leave their jobs when they find a better opportunity, and we think part of the high quits rate reflects the massive suburbanization trend that started during the pandemic," DataTrek Research co-founder Jessica Rabe tells Axios.
Zoom out: Many of these folks are accounted for in the 6.72 million hirings that occurred during the month.
- But the fact that job openings still set a new record of 10.07 million during the period speaks to how strong the demand for labor continues to be.
- For context, there were 9.48 million unemployed workers during the period.
In other words, there were more job openings than unemployed workers, a dynamic that hasn't occurred since before the pandemic.
The bottom line: "Labor demand keeps getting stronger," Indeed Hiring Lab economic research director Nick Bunker writes.
- "Job seekers, both jobless and employed, are taking advantage of this situation with job switching near historic levels and nominal wages growing quickly. The question now is by how much and how quickly will this situation fade."
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Aug. 22, 2021 02:05PM EST
Biden recess plan omits Afghanistan
The White House is downplaying Afghanistan in outside-the-Beltway events during the August congressional recess, hoping voters will pay more attention to President Biden's big spending plans.
Why it matters: Democrats privately fear political blowback, even though the White House insists voters aren't talking about the Kabul calamity.
What they're saying: White House senior adviser Neera Tanden didn't mention Afghanistan once when Axios asked her how much the events of the past week will affect what Biden can accomplish on the Hill.
- "We developed our plan around August recess in July," she said. "We planned for a cadence of multiple events a week around Build Back Better and infrastructure and we have been operationalizing that plan and will continue to do so."
- "So we’re going to continue that work, and this agenda is important to the public."
Between the lines: The Atlantic's Peter Nicholas argued in a piece published Friday titled, "Biden Is Betting Americans Will Forget About Afghanistan," that the White House is "relying on Americans’ notoriously short-term memory."
- The White House insists that Democratic lawmakers are excited to have Cabinet members hosting events in their districts around infrastructure, climate and energy, health care and the economy.
- But communications strategiescan only do so much amid the reality and images emerging from Afghanistan.
Behind the scenes: Since joining the White House in May as senior adviser to Biden, Tanden has kept a low profile. But her role, after losing a confirmation fight to be Biden's budget director, is setting her up to have outsized power in helping sell the president's agenda.
- When Tanden helped create the White House plan for selling Democrats' agenda during the August recess, Afghanistan wasn't among the policy priorities to discuss with voters. It still isn't.
Aides are tracking whether opposition surfaces at vulnerable House Democrats' town halls and district event this month.
- "There are numerous components of Build Back Better that are incredibly popular amongst Republicans," Tanden told Axios.
- "It’s challenging for them to create the kind of energy they did in past eras," she added, pointing out that the White House is seeing nothing like the emotionalism around the Affordable Care Act during former President Obama's first term.
According to internal White House documents obtained by Axios, aides have tracked 18 town halls or events with Democratic lawmakers this month.
- At least sixwere virtual or by phone. So while the White House says there's been "no organized opposition" from angry Republicans, as seen in past August recesses, that would be hard to know.
- An event with Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) allowed only written questions — and those weren’t documented. Instead, a White House document notes that the senator "discussed infrastructure."
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Dec. 10, 2024 10:12AM EST