Carlos Ponce joins a protest in in Miami Springs, Florida, asking senators to continue unemployment benefits past July 31, 2020.

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• Congress enhanced unemployment benefits and gave parents monthly checks during the first two years of the pandemic.
• Both of those programs ended abruptly, and now workers have been without them for over a year.
• Experts and recipients say they were key lifelines, and should stick around.

For Brandi Johns, the $300 child tax credit she received from the federal government each month from July to December in 2021 wasn’t just a piece of policy tucked into the American Rescue Plan. It meant that her son got to enjoy Christmas. 

Johns, who lost her job at the onset of the pandemic and has only been able to hold part-time work due to an eye disease known as macular degeneration, said the monthly checks meant that she could put gas in the car, pay electric bills, or get soap at the laundromat. With those basic needs squared away, she could put the rest of her money towards things that might otherwise be cut in a tight budget.

“It ended up helping me get my boy his Christmas,” Johns said.

For Maggie Lopez, a single mother in Texas, the checks meant some breathing room for her and her newborn.

“That kind of safety net coming in helped me with costs for my daughters, and just also catching up on some bills or paying off some of the debt that I hadn’t been able to pay off before,” Lopez said. 

And for Lois Prew, a caretaker for a loved one in Massachusetts, enhanced unemployment checks throughout the pandemic meant “we were living like middle class people — and we felt like royalty, because it was so novel for us, and it was wonderful.” 

Lois Prew.

Lois Prew

But there’s no more checks for parents; Congress didn’t include another expansion in its latest spending bill. Federal enhanced unemployment is long gone, and some states have pared down their benefits.

All of those policies stemmed from a radical reimagining of just how much aid the US government can — and should — provide during a crisis. Things like expanding who was eligible for unemployment insurance or giving checks to parents went from far-off political wishlist items to an abrupt reality. But America’s brief flirtation with a safety net that had far less holes came to an end over a year ago. Now, the measures sound once again like a political fairy tale — and that could mean much more hardship if and when another downturn comes.

The benefits helped prop up the economy, and meant fewer children went hungry

It’s hard to emphasize how extraordinary the implementation of beefed-up unemployment checks was when the pandemic first hit. Michele Evermore, a senior fellow at left-leaning think tank The Century Foundation, knows firsthand. She worked in the Department of Labor under the Biden administration, helping administer the benefits that the Trump administration first expanded and Biden reinvigorated. 

“I think it was exactly what was needed. It saved the economy, it saved lives. It put food on the table for people who otherwise would’ve had no way to do that,” Evermore said. 

The enhanced unemployment had a ripple effect, according to Evermore: People were able to stay home safely. They were also able to spend that newly stable income in their communities. And, with some workers receiving reliable, livable wages for the first time, it may have animated the current sentiment from workers to demand better.

Then, as the country inched towards reopening, the Biden administration’s big stimulus package included another extraordinary measure: A beefed-up, fully refundable child tax credit (CTC), where the first half would be distributed in monthly checks to parents. Child hunger and poverty dropped. 

“There’s a lot of people — I’m sure not even just single moms, like families with two incomes — that struggle or have to take out credit card and so much debt or not see their kids,” Lopez, a CTC recipient, said. “It makes a huge difference in not only us as adults, but our kids’ lives when we get to be around our children more and actually participate in their lives and do things together as a family.” 

Maggie Lopez.

Maggie Lopez

But as quickly as they started, both measures came to abrupt ends. In the case of enhanced unemployment, some states decided to end their participation in federal programs early, leaving many workers in dire straits.

“As a consequence” of the child tax credit, “many Americans remained on the sidelines of the economy even as ‘Help Wanted’ signs were lining storefronts along Main Streets across the country,” Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, said in a release on the credit’s impact. 

The animus behind ending benefits was to get people back to work. However, research showed an opposite effect: People cut off didn’t return to work in higher rates, and ending benefits early actually ultimately cost states billions in consumer spending.

“It appears that people used their unemployment insurance benefits to survive, which was what they were supposed to do, and then they went back to work when they could,” Evermore said.

After Congress failed to renew a reduced version of the child tax credit at the end of 2021, child poverty once again ticked up. 

“This isn’t supposed to be just helping as a cheap way out. It has genuinely helped those who need the help to get to a better place,” Johns said.

Don’t expect benefits to come back

Now, as the country careens toward another possible downturn, benefits probably won’t return — as evidenced by the child tax credit’s omission from Congress’ latest big spending bill.

“Democrats’ partisan program fueled 40-year high inflation and made it harder for businesses to rehire their workers,” Rep. Kevin Brady, a Republican from Texas, said in a release. “Unfortunately, Democrats in Washington are pushing the very same failed policies that have created a cruel economy for working families.”

As Insider reported back in July, the next recession will likely be induced by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking policy meant to bring down inflation. Pouring more money into the economy through benefits or checks might be a non-starter, as many believed this kind of spending was one of the major causes of inflation in the first place. 

“We are absolutely not prepared for another recession,” Amy Traub, a senior researcher and policy analyst on the social insurance team at the National Employment Law Project, told Insider. The Century Foundation has extensively chronicled how states aren’t ready to distribute benefits, with many paying out too slowly and at far-reduced levels. There is some hope, with more money towards unemployment insurance in the new omnibus spending bill. But with a GOP-led House, alongside Democrats unwilling to extend or enhance benefits, failure to enact more widespread relief is once again a foregone conclusion. 

In the early days of the pandemic, Evermore said that there were entire days when she panicked that if enhanced benefits came without permanent reforms — which they did — “we’ll get to the end of the pandemic, and these benefits will all disappear — and people will be mad at unemployed people and be blaming them for things and be a lot less charitable.”

Right now, “there’s reluctance to introducing things legislatively, putting out ambitious proposals, because people say, well, there’s not right this moment the political will,” Evermore said. “Personally, I know that’s not how movements win.”

Brands like Lego and Squishmallow are especially popular on TikTok.

TikTok

• ‘Kidults’ age 12 and above are comprising a growing sector of the toy industry, according to NPD Group. 
• NPD Group’s Juli Lennett told Insider the growth is largely due to the pandemic and social media. 
• “Now many of them are hooked,” Lennett said of kidults who purchased toys early in the pandemic. 

Turns out toys aren’t just for kids after all. 

The toy sector is experiencing a rise in teenage and adult consumers, who are purchasing nostalgic board game,  craft set, collectible figurines, and plush stuffed animals. This growing cohort of consumers over age 12 has been dubbed “kidults” and now accounts for 25% of toy sales, bringing in an estimated $9 billion a year, according to the NPD Group. 

Juli Lennett, NPD Group’s toy industry advisor, told Insider that while older demographics always have been interested in toys, there’s been an “explosion of the adult market” in recent years, a trend she attributes largely to “the pandemic combined with social media.”

“The adult consumer was looking for something to soothe their anxiety and stave off boredom — an adult pacifier, if you will — during these difficult nearly three years,” Lennett said. “And, because they had stopped doing other entertainment activities outside the home at the height of the pandemic, they had the extra money to spend. Now many of them are hooked.” 

Among kidults, Lennett said the most popular toy categories are building sets, plush items, action figures, collectibles, trading card games, and sports trading cards. Top brands include Lego, Squishmallow, Funko Pop!, Marvel, DC, Pokémon, and major sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NHL.

On social media, platforms like TikTok are playing an increasingly significant role in attracting Gen Z and millennial consumers to everything from Lego floral sets to use as decor for their homes and Squishmallows to adorn college dorm rooms. 

“Social media brings together like-minded adults and makes them feel a sense of community for the toys that they enjoy playing with and collecting,” Lennett told Insider. “Social media should continue to be a great place for adults to connect on toys.”

Spotting an opportunity to capitalize, many brands have started doubling down in catering to adult customers. Lego, for example, now has an expansive adult product line featured on its website under the “Adults Welcome” section, which launched in January 2021. 

At the time, Lego CEO Tormod Askildsen told Brick Fanatics that sales of Lego products for adults had increased four-fold. Today, Lego now sells 100 adult Lego sets, according to the Associated Press, including a replica of Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night and a functional roller coaster. 

“The wonderful thing about LEGO bricks is that they can be enjoyed by anyone of almost any age,” Lego says on its website, in response to a FAQ about whether it’s “normal” for adults to play with Legos. “We make LEGO sets specifically for adults with more detail, challenging building techniques, and cool ways to display.”

Other brands, like American Girl, have seen an influx of Gen Z and millennial consumers purchasing dolls and visiting its cafes, where they share their experiences on social media. As a result, American Girl cafes recently began selling alcohol and expanding its menu for a mature palette. 

“It’s Disneyland for literary girls and gays,” influencer Harry Hill told the New York Times in February, referring to the American Girl Place.  

Looking ahead, Lennett said she anticipates toy brands will continue to attempt to retain older consumers.

“If the manufacturers can keep kidults interested with new, innovative toys that appeal to this age group, they will continue to buy toys. Some will be successful and others won’t,” she said. 

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SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Tesla suspended production at its Shanghai plant on Saturday, according to an internal notice and two people with knowledge of the matter, bringing ahead a previous plan to pause most work at the plant in the last week of December.

The U.S. automaker cancelled the morning shift and told all workers at its most productive manufacturing hub they could start their break, said the people and the notice seen by Reuters. The company did not give a reason.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the electric car giant planned to suspend Model Y production at the plant from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1.

The suspension comes among a rising wave of infections after China eased its zero-COVID policy earlier this month, an abrupt move welcomed by businesses and the public but heavily disrupting business operations in the short term.

One of the people said workers at Tesla and its suppliers have also been falling sick as part of this wave, posing challenges to operations in the past week.

Tesla is also grappling with elevated inventory levels as its second largest market braces for a downturn.

The Shanghai plant has been focused on making models for export in the last week, the person added.

A media representative at Tesla China did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The plant’s suspension of Model Y assembly at the end of the month would be part of a cut in planned production of about 30% in the month for the model, Tesla’s best-selling model, at the Shanghai factory, Reuters had reported.

The Shanghai factory, the most important manufacturing hub for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, kept normal operations during the last week of December last year.

It has not been an established practice for the plant to shut down for a year-end holiday.

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Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year — at least according to the carols. 

But, as one interfaith group is pointing out, some of the theology, liturgy and rituals of the season can make the winter holidays less than merry for Jews.

A recent statement from the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR) expressed concern about the possibility that Christian rhetoric is contributing to rising antisemitism, including narratives that contrast darkness before Jesus’s birth with Christianity’s light.

And while the average layperson is likely unaware of some of the obscure religious treatises mentioned in the statement, it’s long been observed that the celebration of Jesus’s birth, which Christians believe to be a universal cause for joy, can have the side effect of emphasizing the otherness of Jews, who do not participate in the celebration. 

“Most Christians who are in church aren’t thinking about the Jewish people on Christmas,” said Rev. Daniel Joselyn-Siemiantak, an Episcopal priest and scholar of Jewish-Christian relations at Boston College, who helped draft the CCJR statement. 

“But they’re also receiving a lot of messages as a subtext.”

“Jews might say, well, the Christians are hopeless and they’re going to hate us forever, so what’s the point of engaging with them?” said Malka Simkovich, chair of the Jewish studies program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, who sat on the drafting committee for the CCJR statement.

“And Christians might admit that antisemitism is a huge problem, but it’s not necessarily a Christian problem because Christians espouse universal love,” she said. “This self-understanding elides so much theological anti-Judaism that really is specific to Church teachings, but just is not part of the self-understanding of liberal Christianity today.”

One of the issues that comes up around Christmas, specifically, is the thorny fact that Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah that many prophecies in Jewish scripture predict. And as Joselyn-Siemiantak explained, the Advent, Christmas and Epiphany seasons center around the idea that “the coming of Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies from the prophets of Israel.” 

Liturgical readings during the Christmas season, Joselyn-Siemiantak said, often pair readings from Hebrew Bible prophetic books that talk about the coming of a Jewish messiah with stories from the Gospels of Luke or Matthew about the birth of Jesus — all to try to demonstrate that Jesus is the messiah prophesied in Jewish scripture. 

Though Jews do not read the Hebrew Bible prophecies as pointing to Jesus, this juxtaposition can imply that Jews have rejected the words of God by denying Jesus, an implication that can contribute to impressions of Jews as other, or even dangerous.

And even for Christians who aren’t particularly interested by the finer points of biblical exegesis, that message can still be embodied in the carols and celebrations that define more casual Christmas observance. 

Think about carols like “Joy to the World” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which  emphasize the idea that Jesus’s birth was a universal cause for joy that shed light on the entire world. It’s an inclusive message on its surface, but the implication is that those who do not participate in the joy of the season are, at best, curmudgeonly, and, at worse, blind or even rejected by God. 

And some carols take it even further, notably “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” which references “captive Israel,” whom Jesus has come to rescue from “the depths of hell” and “Satan’s tyranny.”

“Before Jesus comes, Israel is in darkness, Israel is captive, Israel needs redemption that only Jesus can provide,” Joselyn-Siemiantak said of the carol’s framing. “So what ends up happening is that the Church applies all that to itself — that we are the Israel that has been redeemed, that we are the Israel that has had light shined on it.

“So the question that you’re left with is like, well, what about the Jewish people who are also Israel?”

“Most Jews do not have a problem with what some scholars call soft supersessionism,” said Simkovich — soft supersessionism being the Christian idea that faith in Jesus enhances Christians’ ability to interpret and understand Jewish scriptures that were written before Jesus’s birth.

“But problems occur when Christians employ hard supersessionism, or replacement theology,” she said, “which denies the legitimacy of a Jewish reading of these scriptures by arguing that no true understanding of these texts can be attained without faith in Christ.”

Liturgically, maintaining respect for the legitimacy of the Jewish perspective and faith in light of Christian theology can prove tricky: Either Jesus is the messiah prophesied for centuries, or else he is not. And Joselyn-Siemiantak recognizes in those kinds of clearly-drawn questions what he called an “irreducible difference between Jews and Christians.”

But while this kind of balancing act may be tricky, it is core to interfaith relations. “You need to honor the boundaries between the communities,” Simkovich said. “That is the hardest part of dialogue.”

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