For MSNBC senior business correspondent and host Stephanie Ruhle, Friday's woeful jobs numbers prove that in addition to the recent $2 trillion COVID stimulus, the U.S. needs to adopt the White House's expanded definition of "infrastructure" and spend an addition $4 trillion.
Soon after the bad news was announced, Ruhle nudged Austin Goolsbee, a chief economic adviser for Obama: "the White House needs and America needs a lot of the things in the infrastructure plan to go through. We need improved child care. I mean, go through the list, we need that."
The only problem is the politics:
There's a $4 trillion price tag on it and those are all long-term, big changes that will help us going forward. We did, however, pass $2 trillion just two months ago in emergency funding. Does it worry you we spent that much, kind of flooded the system with money which that does just temporarily keep people home and that will fatigue those who say we just spent $2 trillion, I don't want another four and the four is what we really need?
Goolsbee cautioned that we can't even measure the impact of the first trillions yet: "The thing about the 2 trillion, we haven't gotten hardly any of the 2 trillion actually out the door yet so let's see whether the money that's going to address the -- stop the spread of virus, there's money in that relief act that goes to address day cares and try to fix some of the labor supply problems."
Ruhle then stated the specific amount dedicated to child care in that "COVID" package was $39 billion.
Additionally, reopening schools and addressing generous unemployment benefits would be a more cost-effective way of addressing the job situation.
This segment was sponsored by E-Trade.
Here is a transcript for the May 7 show:
MSNBC
Stephanie Ruhle Reports
9:07 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: But, then to that very point, Austan, the White House needs and America
needs a lot of the things in the infrastructure plan to go through. We need improved childcare. I mean, go through the list, we need that.AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: Yes
RUHLE: There's a $4 trillion price tag on it and those are all long-term, big changes that will help us going forward. We did, however, pass 2 trillion just two months ago in emergency funding. Does it worry you we spent that much kind, kind of flooded the system with money which that does just temporarily keep people home and that will fatigue those who say we just spent 2 trillion, I don't want another four and the four is what we really need?
GOOLSBEE: Yes, I'm concerned about that as politics. The thing about the 2 trillion, we haven't gotten hardly any of the 2 trillion actually out the door yet so let's see whether the money that's going to address the -- stop the spread of virus, there's money in that relief act that goes to address day cares and try to fix some of the labor supply problems.RUHLE: 39, yeah 39 billion.
