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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, and welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm here with our editor-in-chief, John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, Georgia. Thanks for joining us.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Enhanced unemployment benefits kept thousands of workers out of the workforce. A new report confirms what many suspected. We'll break down the impact of the CARES Act, which handed hundreds of extra dollars to jobless Americans every month.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's January 8th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Hollywood Awards season is off to a rocky start. Between COVID fears and BLM controversy, stars are opting out of the year's biggest award shows. We have the details.
--:-- John Bickley: And the NFL witnesses a meltdown that goes viral and prompts controversy debate over mental health.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: To combat the forced unemployment caused by COVID-19 lockdowns, the federal government gave jobless workers an extra $300 to $600 a week in 2020 and 2021. Critics predicted these enhanced unemployment benefits would increase the nation's jobless rate. A new study shows they were right.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with the details is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So first of all, explain the CARES Act with regards to this extra cash going to unemployed people.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Originally, the CARES Act gave people who were unemployed during the pandemic an extra $600 a week over and above what they would have earned from unemployment benefits. That ran out in August 2020. The stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump that December reinstated the benefit, but it reduced it to $300 a week. That bonus was scheduled to run out last September, but 25 states voluntarily severed the extra benefits last June.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The governor of one of those states, Florida Republican Ron DeSantis, said he saw an immediate rebound in people looking for work.
--:-- Ben Johnson: We definitely saw more job searches when we announced that you had to search again and then the discontinuing of the 300 supplement. And we did see increased jobs in June and July.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what did the proponents of the extra money say? They denied the enhanced unemployment benefits made much difference.
--:-- Ben Johnson: For example, President Joe Biden said in May, "I know there's been a lot of discussion since Friday, since Friday's report, that people are being paid to stay home rather than go to work. Well, we don't see much evidence of that."
--:-- Georgia Howe: But a month later, the president acknowledged the impact the extra federal funds were having on the labor market and even seemed to approve of them.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Guess what? Employers can find workers. I said yeah, pay them more. This is an employee-employee bargaining chip now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what did this new report conclude?
--:-- Ben Johnson: This paper, which was published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that enhanced unemployment benefits significantly increased the number of people who were unwilling to work during the pandemic. Its authors found, quote, the flow of unemployed workers into employment increased by around two-thirds following early termination.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The authors say their conclusion, again I'm quoting, runs counter to the conventional wisdom that these programs had a very small or even negligible effect on unemployment.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So it was a pretty sharp rebuke to President Biden.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what's the main reason economists believe this program kept people out of the workforce?
--:-- Ben Johnson: They made more money from unemployment than they could from work. The Congressional Budget Office found that in the initial part of the enhancement, eight out of ten workers made more money collecting unemployment than they would have earned from their jobs. After those benefits were reduced to $300 a week, about half of all workers still would have lost money by going to work, according to a private sector study.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The bottom line is, the extra benefits incentivize workers to stay at home.
--:-- Ben Johnson: But ending those benefits hasn't necessarily meant that Americans have returned to the workforce, has it?
--:-- Georgia Howe: No, it hasn't. There are currently 10.6 million unfilled jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Almost four out of every ten able-bodied people in their prime working years are not in the workforce.
--:-- Ben Johnson: And a record 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November, according to Labor Department data.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That may be in part because they've stockpiled money from another federal program, the Child Tax Credit, which paid parents up to $300 per month per child. The CTC in that form ended at the end of 2021.
--:-- Ben Johnson: We'll have to see how that impacts the job market in the coming months.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So unemployment benefits aren't the only economic policy impacting our national financial health. Not by a long shot.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Ben, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson. Coming up, Hollywood's award season begins, but things aren't going as planned.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Most years, January means the beginning of award show season for Hollywood, but this year, things are off to a rocky start. The Grammys have been postponed, and the Golden Globes, the big precursor to the Oscars, aren't going to be televised.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to tell us what's going on with Hollywood's awards season is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, let's start with the Grammys. Suddenly, they've been delayed. What's going on there?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, the show had been on track to get back to a normal in-person show on January 31st after having that socially distant ceremony last year. Maybe you remember that. But then, of course, the Omicron variant hit. So basically, Grammy producers started hearing from performers and nominees that they're fearful of Omicron and reluctant to attend the event.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the show will go on at some point, but it seems like a disproportionate response given what we know about Omicron.
--:-- Megan Basham: I mean, all the data suggests that Omicron is very mild. And for vaccinated people, it usually milder than the flu.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Very true. And you know, to sort of underline that, this does seem like a bit of an overreaction.
--:-- Megan Basham: The arena where the Grammys were supposed to be held, Crypto.com Arena, or until it was known a few weeks ago, the Staples Center, well, it has basketball and hockey games, along with other concerts, booked out for months.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But, you know, that said, the Grammys are hardly alone here. There's a whole slew of major award shows that typically set the stage for the Oscars. Think Critics' Choice, American Film Institute Awards, several more. They've all been delayed, ostensibly due to Omicron.
--:-- Megan Basham: And it's really just thrown awards season into total chaos.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What about the Golden Globes? I hear they have bigger problems than just Omicron.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yes, you could say that. I don't think it would be an overstatement to say that the Golden Globes are facing an existential crisis at this point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So for those who aren't familiar, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been putting on the Golden Globes for 77 years. And they've always sort of been known as Oscar's crazier, more fun little sibling.
--:-- Megan Basham: The champagne flowed freely. The acceptance speeches tended to get a little wild. Hosts like Ricky Gervais, generally less scripted. And there are always some kind of out of left field winners. So it was generally just a good time for the celebrities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But then early last year, after 2020's Black Lives Matter protests, the Golden Globes came under fire for a lack of diversity.
--:-- Megan Basham: And that controversy grew when the then-president responded to the criticism by emailing members an article that characterized BLM as a racist hate group.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And just a couple of weeks after that, NBC announced that it wasn't going to be broadcasting the 2022 show. Tom Cruise very publicly sent his three awards back to the organization.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then, I guess, final nail in the coffin, a couple of days ago, Variety revealed that the Globes failed to sign on any celebrity presenters.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so a total implosion there. Right.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yes, exactly. I mean, the awards are still going to be handed out on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, but just who's going to be handing them out and whether they're going to be live-streamed or if there's any way for anyone to watch them is still a mystery.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it seems like this might be the end of the Globes. Yeah, it very possibly could be, at least for the next few years.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Absolutely, anytime. That was Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: In one of the more bizarre occurrences you'll ever see on a football field, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown removed his shoulder pads and ran off the field late in the third quarter of the Buccaneers' Sunday game against the New York Jets.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan is here to talk about what happened and the fallout.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Thanks for coming on, John.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So first, tell us about this viral moment. What exactly happened?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, I mean, a lot of people were left asking that question, actually. So it was a wild scene on Sunday. Toward the end of the quarter, cameras caught wide receiver Mike Evans attempting to calm down Brown on the Bucs' sideline.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Really, out of nowhere, Brown removed his shoulder pads and shucked them toward the bench.
--:-- Joe Morgan: He then removed his shirt and his gloves, tossing them into the crowd before cutting across the end zone, waving to the fans, again, shirtless, and running through the tunnel.
--:-- Georgia Howe: No one really understood what caused A.B. to act the way that he did, and there are some stories coming out from both parties.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, tell us about that. What are the explanations?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, following the game, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians refused to really dive into why A left the game shirtless.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Instead, he simply stated that Brown was no longer part of the team.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Bucs quarterback Tom Brady offered support of his teammates, suggesting he's dealing with some mental health issues.
--:-- Joe Morgan: I think everybody should find, you know, hopefully do what they can to help him in ways that, you know, he really needs it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Brady has long been an advocate for Antonio Brown. He lobbied to have Brown signed by the New England Patriots and even had the receiver move in with him during a short stint with the Patriots in 2019.
--:-- Joe Morgan: But there are many layers to this. First, Brown has been dealing with an ankle injury for most of the season and was listed as questionable on the Bucs injury report leading up to the game in New York.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Monday, Aaron is denied knowing that Brown was injured.
--:-- Joe Morgan: On Thursday, Brown, in his first statements since the debacle, issued a lengthy statement via his attorney saying that he was pressured to play by the team.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He claimed he took a painkilling shot in order to play.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Toward the end of the third quarter, Brown says the pain from his injury became too much and told the coaching staff that he couldn't go back in.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Brown was then told he was, quote, done and was cut from the team on the spot.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Brown also claims that the organization is attempting to cover up the story that they knew he was injured.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He revealed in a statement that he has broken fragments in his ankle and a torn ligament found at an MRI on Monday.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The Bucks released Brown officially on Thursday, saying that he had been medically cleared to play in the game and never told team personnel that he was too hurt to re-enter the game.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So competing narratives there.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Right. And there's more. The other side is that Brown was just a few stats away from making like roughly one million in incentives.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Was he upset because he wasn't getting enough opportunities in the game? I don't know, but it's a theory.
--:-- Joe Morgan: But Brown has also acted erratically in the past, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah. Look, this is almost like the final straw, if you will, because it's actually kind of a sad story, which is why you could tell that Brady was clearly concerned by what happened.
--:-- Joe Morgan: After eight years with the Steelers, Brown was traded to the Raiders in March of 2019. Only to be released less than five months later for multiple issues, including getting into a verbal altercation with general manager Mike Mayhaw.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. In September 2019, Brown was accused of sexual assault by a former trainer.
--:-- Joe Morgan: He was suspended by the NFL for eight games in July 2020. That was for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. He was also suspended by the NFL for three games this season due to presenting a fake vaccination card.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's truly a concerning story of a once great player just imploding in front of our very eyes, and there are clearly issues that need to be addressed.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Sounds like it. And we probably just witnessed the end of someone's career.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I would think so. Thanks, Joe.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Anytime. Daily Wire sports reporter, Joe Morgan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers are pushing for a new trial after learning that one of the jurors publicly claimed to be a victim of sexual abuse as a child.
--:-- John Bickley: Last month, Maxwell was found guilty on multiple counts in a sex trafficking case.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And NASCAR rejected driver Brandon Brown's sponsorship deal with a Let's Go Brandon-themed cryptocurrency coin.
--:-- John Bickley: A spokesperson for Brown's racing team said, quote, NASCAR did not speak with Brandon Belt Motorsports prior to making their decision to rescind the approval, and multiple attempts to set up a conversation to address this matter went unacknowledged.
--:-- Georgia Howe: NASCAR insists that the move was not a reversal, rather upholding its previous decision not to promote the Let's Go Brandon slogan.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back next week with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
