How the Election Results Impact Industrial Initiatives

The 2020 election brought about spirited debates, numerous potential initiatives, and an historic voter turnout. With Joseph R. Biden, Jr. emerging as the President-elect, the spotlight has now pivoted to the proposed policies from his campaign, the feasibility of each directive, and the subsequent impact to various national industries.

For example, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported on Biden’s plans to improve education in this country by using several funding and investment strategies. The news article expanded upon some of the possible programs that would be aimed at revitalizing education nationwide before focusing on how the state of Georgia could benefit from these ideas, as well as the local responses so far. Included in their coverage was a list of ten educational proposals attributed to the impending Biden administration and descriptions of how they might affect the state.

Greentech Media produced an article discussing how the solar industry, and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) in particular, are approaching the post-election landscape. The focus of the story was on the federal Investment Tax Credit, as well as the Section 201 tariffs’ role in limiting the industry. The solar energy community appears to be hopeful about Biden’s opportunity to usher in a new era of clean energy for this country and the ability to enhance the presence of energy alternatives for the next year and beyond.

Immigration advocates are also anticipating a transition to a new Commander-in-Chief due the President-elect’s stance on some of the restrictive border policies implemented by the Trump administration. Voices of America highlighted a collection of proposals and programs that Biden is anticipated to address early in the impending presidential term. Though these directives might not manifest themselves immediately upon assuming the office, many professionals believe that immigration policies will be a larger part of the national discussion throughout the next four years.

REMI has been presenting our Election 2020 Webinar Series every Tuesday since November 10th that further analyzes how the election results stand to affect certain industries as the nation adjusts to new leadership. You can access the presentation materials from previous sessions and the registration link for our future webinars by clicking here.

You can find more information on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution article by clicking here.

To read the article by Greentech Media, feel free to click here.

You can also access the Voices of America story on immigration policies by clicking here.

The Pandemic Effect: Fiscal Year Impacts

Numerous state governments have been grappling with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the disruptions it has caused across several industrial sectors. One of the key areas of concern has been the impact to budgetary planning and revenue collection, which are both vital to how states approach the upcoming fiscal year.

The Associated Press recently covered the Massachusetts House of Representatives’ debate surrounding their delayed state budget plan. The outbreak of COVID-19 pushed back this important deliberation and created the need for temporary interim budgets throughout the year to keep the economy intact until the new state budget could be approved and signed.

The Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson also recently put forth a general revenue budget worth $5.84 billion as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This plan comes after the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration projected a recession on account of the pandemic back in April.

When speaking with the state’s Legislative Council and Joint Budget Committee, Gov. Hutchinson said, “We have reduced spending in the past year, and we have focused on the core critical areas of education, public safety and our health care infrastructure that was essential during this pandemic. As a result, we are entering the next year in sound financial condition.”

Meanwhile, the Missouri House of Representatives approved a $1.3 billion plan earlier this week that would utilize $750 million in COVID-19 relief funding before it expires at year’s end. This financial restructuring, which was covered by the Springfield News-Leader, was initiated in an attempt to shield the state from the effects of a difficult budget year.

Our CEO & Chief Economist Frederick Treyz, Ph.D. and Economic Analyst Tobias Reynolds hosted a webinar presentation last week entitled “Economic Impact of State and Local Budget Deficits” that explored how governments at all levels approached budget cuts and spending reductions in the face of a pandemic-weakened economy.

You can access the presentation materials from this discussion by clicking here.

You can also find the article by the Associated Press about the Massachusetts budget plan by clicking here.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette report can be accessed by clicking here.

More information on the article by the Springfield News-Leader can be found by clicking here.

Expanding Possibilities by Expanding Medicaid in Missouri

The Missouri Foundation for Health worked alongside REMI to produce their recently released report, “Economic Impacts of Increased Federal Funding in Missouri Associated with an Expansion of its MO HealthNet Program,” that researched the impact of expanded Medicaid on Missouri’s economic growth.

You can read the Missouri Foundation for Health’s official press release about the new study by clicking here.

The report was also covered in an article by The Caldwell County News in Hamilton, MO that focused on the expansion’s benefit to households in the state, as well as the projected increases of Missouri’s annual personal income and yearly savings.

You can access the article written by The Caldwell County News by clicking here.

You can also access the full Missouri Foundation for Health and REMI report by clicking here.

Accepting Their New Position: COVID-19’s Effect on the Tennessee Economy & Workforce

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee met with economists and other state leaders to discuss how COVID-19 has disrupted their economy and labor force earlier this week, as covered by WBIR TV-10 in Knoxville.

Despite the obvious difficulties that a pandemic brings, attendees believed that the state is set up sufficiently enough to weather the storm. They did agree, however, that it will take well over a year for the economy to regulate after the significant declines across the board to numerous organizations, industries, and state institutions.

“Our work is more important today and in the coming weeks than it has been in some time. We certainly are in a strong financial position in this state and that’s a very good thing because we have unprecedented challenges,” said Gov. Lee.

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Research Center recently used the REMI model to conduct a study examining employment levels in the cities of Nashville and Clarksville, as well as the rest of Tennessee as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts projected the impact of reduced job totals, personal income, and more out to the year 2030 to potentially determine when normal economic activity might be reinstated in the state.

You can read all of WBIR TV-10’s article by clicking here.

You can also access the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s report, “Economic Impact of Disruption to All Sectors for the State of Tennessee, the Nashville MSA, and the Clarksville MSA,” by clicking here.

Uncertain Futures: Employment in California

The Los Angeles Times detailed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent press conference that shed light on how COVID-19 has impacted employment in the state. The article explains that unemployment numbers have already surpassed the peak of the Great Recession, which puts pressure on California to borrow more money from the federal government.

As of March 12th, more than double the amount of unemployment claims that were filed during the height of the Great Recession were sent to the California Employment Development Department due to displacement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the new budget proposed by Gov. Newsom, “the state will likely need to borrow in the tens of billions of dollars, resulting in significant future annual interest payments until the loans are repaid.”

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) recently released a preliminary report that analyzed the potential employment and taxable sales implications of COVID-19, as well as provided a detailed industry breakdown to identify the region’s areas of most need.

You can read the Los Angeles Times’ article by clicking here.

You can also access the SCAG assessment, “Potential Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in the SCAG Region,” by clicking here.