Inflation relief checks by state news summary | 9 November 2022
Inflation relief in the US: latest updates
Headlines: Wednesday 9 November 2022
- Inflation a key issue in Tuesday's US midterm elections, though other issues seem to have been as important
- US stocks fall amid tightly contested elections
- Biden: Inflation would get worse under GOP-led Congress
- Unemployment up slightly to 3.7% in October, BLS said on Friday
- Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 0.75% last week
Related AS USA articles:
The average recipient of retired worker benefits will see a monthly payment of $1,827, an increase of $146. That will translate into an extra $1,752 over the course of 2023. The Social Security Administration will begin sending out notices in the mail to beneficiaries of exactly what their monthly payments will be next year.
Why inflation may not have been as important as initially thought
People don't love the economy, but they're not getting laid off, which allowed other issues like abortion, like immigration, like the 'Big Lie' on the right to instead dominate the closing weeks of the election.
Inflation proved to not be as critical for voters as expected
Inflation riding at 8% was said to be a factor that was to kill the Democrats these midterms. Indeed, exit polling suggested the state of the economy was the prime thought of voters.
However, other issus proved to be just as important, especially in Democrat minds. They tend to remain more positive than Republicans and independents, ranking such economic concerns behind other issues, such as climate change, racism and abortion.
Stock markets fall on election news
Stocks were lower on Wednesday as results of the midterm elections provided no clear answers about who would control Congress yet.
Despite ballots closing in states nearly full 24 hours ago, a number of states ahve yet to declare. Proecions seem to show Republicans winning a slim House majority while the Senate could remain in Democrat hands.
Larry Downing / Reuters
Housing market: mortgage calculator
The Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes have had a significant effect on the US housing market in recent months, making mortgages far more expensive for borrowers and cooling interest in property.
Here's a snapshot of typical mortgage rates for Tuesday, 8 November:
Standard 30-year fixed mortgage: 7.32%, an increase of 15 basis points from last week
Standard 15-year fixed mortgage: 6.5%, an increase of 7 basis points from last week
5/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): 5.53%, an decrease of 2 basis points from the prior week
After last night, it’s clear that cutting Social Security remains the third rail of American politics. Republicans just got shocked.
Democrats, led by POTUS, focused heavily on Social Security during the campaign. They made sure voters knew about Republican threats to the program, and promised that Democrats would protect Social Security.
Now, it’s time for Democrats to keep that promise by raising or eliminating the debt ceiling in the final months of the year, so that Republicans can’t use it as leverage to force cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Those who paid down student loan debt during moratorium getting refund checks
Around 8.8 million borrowers tried to make headway on paying down their student loan debt during the moratorium on payments and interest. The pause on student loan payments was implemented in March 2020 and has been extended several times since.
However, the holiday will be coming to an end soon, expiring 31 December 2022. Millions of borrowers were hoping to take advantage of President Biden's annouced federal student loan forgiveness program.
The program came to a screeching halt though when some 22 million had already signed up after an injunction was imposed by the courts due to a lawsuit from a handful Republican states. Good news though for those that paid down their debt during the moratorium.
Bloomberg reports that despite the injunction, they will be receiving refunds as part of the covid-19 relief stimulus program.
To prevent tax avoidance, the IRS sets a limit on how much a person can contribute to their retirement accounts. How much will this cap go up by in 2023?
AS USA's Oli Povey and Maite Knorr-Evans have all the information.
In January, 37 states signed up to make their residents eligible for extra Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as part of the Emergency Allotment (EA) program. However, as of November only 21 states remained part of the scheme, which seeks to provide low-income families with additional money to buy food.
How have the midterms affected the US stock market?
US stocks have fallen amid tightly contested US midterms that may bring a divided Congress - making it harder for the passage of drastic policy changes.
Republicans have made modest gains and are favored to win control of the House, but control of Congress remains up for grabs with many of the most competitive races uncalled.
A split government, with a Democrat in the White House, has historically been favorable for stock markets as it paves the way for partisan standoffs on contentious policy changes such as the federal debt limit, which could usher in worries of a US default.
"There is a likelihood that we have divided government... the general rule of thumb as far as markets are concerned is gridlock is good - fewer policy changes and less risk to individual sectors," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial, told Reuters.
(Reuters)
A reminder that we also have a live blog following the results of the 2022 US midterms, in which inflation was a key campaign issue.
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In Coachella, California, $9,600 checks are to go out to residents through the city's Immigrant Families Recovery Program.
AS USA's Daniela Barrera looks at the eligibility requirements for the scheme, which sees aid paid out in monthly payments over a period of two years.
NY offers heating assistance
Eligible residents of New York State will be able to claim a heating allowance of up to almost $1000 this winter, the state's Department of Labor revealed earlier this month.
Known as the Home Energy Assistance Program, the scheme "will provide up to $976 this winter to help low- and middle-income households and senior citizens keep their homes warm and help defray high energy costs", the department said.
More info:
In October, the US' Social Security Administration (SSA) announced an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023 - a move that increases affects the amount received by some 70 million recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
AS USA's Greg Heilman has details on the expected timeline of the COLA.
Why is the Fed raising interest rates?
Should you be asking yourself why exactly the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to curb inflation, this Economist video explainer provides a quick answer to that question.
Essentially, it's all about lowering consumer demand... but not by too much!
ICYMI: Unemployment and interest rates up
On Friday, the US' Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that unemployment in the country increased slightly to 3.7% in October - a potential effect of the Federal Reserve's progressive interest rate rises.
Two days earlier, the Fed announced a fourth straight interest rate increase of 0.75% - the sixth hike this year - as it attempts to bring inflation down.
The Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, has said more rises are expected. “We have some ground to cover with interest rates before we get to that level that we think is sufficiently restrictive," Powell told reporters last week.
(Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo)
High levels of inflation in the US - the country's annual rate was placed at 8.2% in September - is a major issue in the midterm elections, which were held yesterday.
Vote counting continues, and you can follow the results as they come in with our live ticker.
Inflation relief in the US, latest news: welcome
Good morning and welcome to AS USA's live blog for Wednesday 9 November 2022, bringing you updates on the measures being taken in the US to combat inflation - and its effects on Americans' purchasing power.