Rochester city workers earn bonus payments
Rochester, New York will give approximately 1500 city workers $2,000 bonuses this year.
Additionally, 600 part-time workers will get $1,000 bonuses.
The $4million program is made possible by the city’s large budget surplus.
The move comes on the heels of the city distributing $4,000 bonuses to Rochester police officers and announcing other bonuses specifically for the fire department.
Each bonus is meant to both thank and retain crucial public employees, according to Rochester Mayor Malik Evans.
“We hope that that will be another tool to show our support for public employees, and more importantly, to try to keep our employees working with the city of Rochester,” he said.
Idaho rebates worth up to $600
The Madison Forward Fund is giving guaranteed income to low-income families who live in Madison, Wisconsin.
Monthly payments of $500 started going out last year and will continue until October 2023.
A total of 155 households were randomly selected from about 3,000 applications.
To qualify, people must be residents of Madison, have at least one child, and have a household income less than 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
Tax credits in Washington worth up to $1,200
A Working Families Tax Credit is now available to low-income Washington residents.
It is worth between $50 and $1,200 – the exact payment varies by income and number of dependents in the household.
For example, joint filers with two kids making less than $55,529 qualify for up $900.
To be eligible, you must be a parent who has lived in Washington State for at least half the year in 2022 and filed a federal tax return for 2022.
To claim, you can apply online via the Department of Revenue Washington State through December 31, 2023.
National jobs outlook falls in recent months
Since January 2021, the unemployment rate has massively reduced from 6.3 percent in January of that year to a 54-year low of 3.4 percent two years later.
However, some economic experts warn the jobs situation is precarious.
Industries from tech to construction are dealing with widespread layoffs, creating one of the worst states of job growth since 2020.
In March of this year, the unemployment rate grew to 3.5 percent, indicating what could be dark times ahead for the U.S. economy.
Relief proposed on the federal level
This year Representative Ro Khanna of California and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island introduced a bill that would “hold Big Oil accountable for excess profits.”
Specifically, it aims to give Americans an estimated $255 each year and joint filers $382.The money would be funded by imposing a tax on oil companies.
The tax would be 50 percent of the difference between the cost of a barrel of oil today and the average price of a barrel between 2015 and 2019.
However, it’s unlikely the bill will move forward as Republicans have historically opposed tax increases on big oil companies.
UBI in Palm Springs
A universal basic income pilot has kicked off in Palm Springs, California.
The program will see monthly payments of $800 to eligible individuals for 18 months.
The first payment went out on May 15.
The program was created in collaboration between two Coachella Valley non-profits – Queer Works and DAP Health – in an attempt to supplement the income of those facing racism and gender inequality.
There were various requirements to qualify including an income limit of no more than $16,600 annually.
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