Trump and Congress need to get serious about more stimulus

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us //link.mail.bloombergbusiness.com/click/20907618.35691/aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9ib3Bpbmlvbg/582c8673566a94262a8b49bdBd2c115bd This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a sommelier’s selection of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - As the coronavirus accelerates, [the White House hesitates]( … - … and Congress [wants to go on recess](. - Cancel culture is [no threat to free speech](. - Predictions of oil’s rebound [may be exaggerated](. Washington Dithers on More Stimulus By the end of the month, millions of Americans could lose the $600 a week they collect in extra federal unemployment benefits. The loss of this vital lifeline during the pandemic will hurt households — and the entire economy. The timing could hardly be worse: The economic recovery seems to be losing steam as fresh coronavirus outbreaks force states to slow or cancel their reopening plans. But in Washington, discussions about more stimulus have clearly lost momentum. Jonathan Bernstein notes that the White House, having moved with commendable speed to provide economic relief in March, has turned surprisingly [cautious about additional funding](. President Donald Trump has talked about more stimulus, but shows no urgency to act. At best, the White House may support a small relief package favored by Senate Republicans. Why? There are two possible explanations, says Jonathan: “One is that Trump has been rolled (again) by orthodox Republicans. The other is that Trump is himself ambivalent about further stimulus measures, just as he’s been ambivalent about acting aggressively to stem the pandemic.” Nor is Congress showing greater awareness of the need for speed. [Lawmakers seem inclined to pass some relief measures]( in the next two weeks, then go on recess until after Labor Day. But, as Karl W. Smith warns: “If there isn’t a second liquidity program for businesses, or a deal on extending the unemployment insurance boost, a second shock to the economy will be under way before Congress returns to Washington.” America, both writers argue, can’t afford this dithering. Further Reading on Stimulus Mishandling: The Treasury Department [can’t even tell]( how many paychecks its Paycheck Protection Program is protecting. — Tim O’Brien. Cancel Them, Not Me President Trump and some of his harshest critics finally agree on something: that “cancel culture” is a threat to free speech. While Trump fingers the Far Left for trying to silence dissenting voices, a group of prominent writers casts the blame on illiberal forces across the political spectrum. They’re all exaggerating the threat, says Pankaj Mishra. Far from being muzzled, [speech is freer than it has ever been](; more — and more diverse — voices can now be heard in the public square, whether analog or digital. “Given this necessary progress, the picture that Trump and highly prominent writers draw of narrowed and darkened intellectual horizons seems wholly unrecognizable, even paranoid,” says Pankaj. Rather than threaten civilization, the variety and number of voices challenges “the prerogative of famous and powerful people to speak at length on all sorts of things without interruption or disagreement? Certainly, a closer examination of the critics of cancel culture confirms the suspicion that many of these self-appointed defenders of free speech prefer monologue over dialogue.” Telltale Charts OPEC+ is [banking on an oil demand rebound](, but the optimism may be misplaced, writes Julian Lee. We should start worrying about [Florida’s death count](, says Cathy O’Neil. Further Reading To [meet the China challenge](, India must deepen trade and military ties with other democracies. — Bloomberg’s editorial board [Delta’s being realistic]( about our appetite for flying. — Brooke Sutherland The pandemic is hastening [Social Security’s day of reckoning](. — A. Gary Shilling Jamie Dimon has secured JPMorgan’s “fortress” by setting aside [$10.5 billion for credit losses](. — Brian Chappatta Asian economies dealing with second-wave outbreaks [must learn to localize lockdowns](. — Daniel Moss Buy American? In bowing to populism, Biden’s economic vision [threatens the U.S. recovery](. — Michael R. Strain What would you pay for [a college campus in Vermont](? — Tyler Cowen ICYMI [Billionaires WFH differently]( from you or me. Executives at bankrupt companies took home [$131 million in bonuses](. [America’s nut glut]( is so big, it’s breaking the trees. The SUV made (in)famous by O.J. Simpson [is back](. Kickers Move over, Bad Bunny: [Lady Gaga is queen of pop]( again. [Electronic ankle monitors]( are having a good pandemic. How to live like a rock star … [on the road](. Note: Please send beaujolais or vinegar and complaints to Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@bloomberg.net. Sign up [here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today?  [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022