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Apr 8, 2021
What Dollar General could do for vaccine distribution
Dollar General has nearly doubled its store count in the last decade, filling in gaps in areas without big-box stores or grocery chains.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
As it turns out, there’s a Dollar General within 5 miles of 75% of Americans, the company says. The U.S. government is considering using Dollar General stores for COVID shots to boost vaccine access for vulnerable populations. Plus, weekly first-time unemployment claims climb yet again, but there's some good news buried in the report. And, we have the latest details on proposals for corporate tax hikes in the U.S. and around the world.
Segments From this episode
The good news about the weekly jobless claims report
First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose yet again and are still historically high, above 700,000. But Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, says there are some signs of strength. The special unemployment insurance extensions for the pandemic, which included and covered those like the self-employed or gig workers, "those initial unemployment claims have been coming down quite dramatically," Swonk said. She said that suggests people are being called back off of furlough and gig workers, who may have needed to pick up work to get by, could be getting back to full-time employment. Still, "it's not as rapid as we'd like," Swonk said.
The Biden administration's plan for funding an infrastructure proposal is to raise $2.5 trillion over 15 years with taxes on corporations. How might that happen?
Marketplace's Nova Safo has more.
Music from the episode
Beneath the Mask Lyn
The team
David Brancaccio
Host
Victoria Craig
Host, BBC
Stephen Ryan
Senior Producer, BBC
Jonathan Frewin
Producer, BBC
Daniel Shin
Producer
Jay Siebold
Technical Director
Brian Allison
Engineer
Meredith Garretson
Senior Producer
Erika Soderstrom
Producer
Rose Conlon
Producer
Alex Schroeder
Producer