The Democratic National Committee is putting up a billboard in Indianapolis this week, attacking Sen. Mike Braun and Sen. Todd Young for voting against President Joe Bidenâs latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package.
âThanks to President Biden help is here,â the billboard reads, next to â$1,400 checks,â â$$$ to reopen schoolsâ and â$$$ for vaccines.â
âNo thanks toâ Braun and Young, the billboard will read.
The billboard, which will be installed for one month, will be placed on I-465, north of I-70 on the cityâs west side, 1.7 miles from the Indianapolis International Airport. The DNC has paid for similar billboards in 20 other states, either thanking senators for voting for Bidenâs plan or criticizing them for not.
SALEM â A year into the pandemic, and the steepest economic fall in Oregon history, placing a phone call to the Oregon Employment Department remains an onerous chore.
Jobless workers spend an average of 70 minutes on hold when calling the agency. Its obsolete computers keep spitting out automated letters instructing laid-off Oregonians to call for help even though they would likely get a much quicker response online.
âWe recognize that we need to make it easier for people to get in touch with us,â Acting Director David Gerstenfeld said on his weekly media call last week. For the first time, Gerstenfeld set a target date for resolving the phone mess.
Stocks on Wall Street notched broad gains Monday as investors welcomed more signs that the economy is on the path to recovery,
The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to an all-time high after closing above the 4,000-point mark for the first time last Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also set a record high, as the market extended its recent run of gains. Technology companies powered much of the rally, which was a reaction to encouraging data on the economy.
The U.S. government reported last week that employers went on a hiring spree in March, adding 916,000 jobs, the most since August. Traders had a delayed reaction to the encouraging jobs report, which was released on Friday when stock trading was closed. Investors were further encouraged by a report Monday showing that the services sector recorded record growth in March as orders, hiring and prices surged.
By STAN CHOE and KEN SWEET
AP Business Writers
NEW YORK (AP) â Just as President Joe Biden is pushing to raise taxes on companies to help pay for his infrastructure plan, a report from a Washington policy group is highlighting how many firms pay zero despite making big pretax profits.
More than 50 of the largest U.S. companies paid nothing in federal income taxes last year, with many getting rebates, even though they reported almost $40.5 billion in pretax profits as a group, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The group believes the tax system needs to raise more tax revenue.