Is the U.S. economy about to faceplant?

America just got rid of pandemic benefits while the pandemic is still raging

A hundred dollar bill.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

About 9 million Americans got kicked off their unemployment benefits Monday after the expiration of the super-unemployment provisions in the American Rescue Plan passed in March. This is likely the biggest cut in welfare benefits in American history. It's a cruel irony that it happened on Labor Day — supposedly a day of rest for the working class.

Worse, it raises the possibility of the economic recovery not just stagnating but going into reverse. If I were the Democratic Party, I would be reversing these cuts immediately.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.