May 31, 2023

Would the debt deal’s cuts draw blood?

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

We explore the economic ripple effects of the government spending pact. Plus, the FCC looks to regulate rates for intrastate prison calls.

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National Debt

The debt limit deal would reduce government spending by about $1.5 trillion

by Justin Ho

May 31, 2023

Reduced government spending can have an impact on the broader economy. But economists say the effects will likely be limited.

"It does slow the economy, but not in a particularly meaningful way," said economics professor Justin Wolfers of the debit limit deal reached by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

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Wage increases haven't really boosted inflation, new Fed research says

by Lily Jamali

May 31, 2023

Businesses have been finding ways to absorb wage increases without charging customers more.

Rising wages are only responsible for about a tenth of a percentage point of the increase in PCE, research from the San Francisco Fed says.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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At bitcoin's annual convention, few feel the chill of crypto winter

by Matt Levin

May 31, 2023

Attendance was down from last year at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami, but faith in the cryptocurrency held on strong.

The Bitcoin Bazaar at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami Beach, where true believers in the cryptocurrency and critics of "centralized anything" gathered.

Matt Levin/Marketplace

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A new law aims to make prison calls affordable. The FCC must decide what that means.

by Kimberly Adams

May 31, 2023

The agency has more authority to regulate the cost of those calls, which could mean significant savings for families of the incarcerated.

While Congress gave the FCC authority to cap the cost of prison calls in 2014, that didn't apply to roughly 80% of calls made within states. Above, a bank of telephones at a detention facility in Virginia.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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When a wedding, student loan payments and economic anxiety mean it's time for a second job

by Andie Corban

May 31, 2023

"I wanted to have something that I could easily add on to my current workload," says chemist April Oliver of Bozeman, Montana.

In addition to her full-time job, April Oliver is working as an adjunct faculty member at a nearby university leading chemistry labs.

Thibault Savary/AFP via Getty Images

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The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Daisy Palacios Senior Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer

Sean McHenry Associate Producer

Andie Corban Associate Producer

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer

Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer

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