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Turning now to the labor market, unemployment was still at 8.4 percent in August and the labor force participation rate still down significantly from February. The extraordinary package of fiscal support in the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) helped to support household incomes and to offset the effect of the huge job losses in March and April. But the act's unemployment provisions have expired, and most of the businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans report that they have exhausted those funds.4 In addition, one area where increased understanding of the disease has, in many places, not led to general changes in practice is in the widespread school closures this fall. Many parents with children will be forced to work less, or not at all, which is going to be a hardship for them and weigh on the economy. So, I agree with Chair Powell that it will take continued support to sustain a robust recovery. more »

Jo Freeman Reviews: As women tackled employment discrimination, they discovered more and more inequities. The University [of Michigan] intentionally admitted more men than women, even though women had better qualifications. Among those admitted, men got more money. Women were not allowed on the marching band or into several clubs. Job ads called for "student wives." Capturing the essence of the traditional view toward women was a bas relief sculpture on the side of a major building. One side was called "The Dream of the Young Girl." It featured a woman holding a baby while a young child clutched her skirts. The other side was called "The Dream of Young Men." It featured an ocean voyage. It took 34 years to get it relocated to someplace less obvious. This [book] is an excellent case study of a nation-wide problem. more »

Ferida Wolff writes: I try not to casually dismiss each plant’s possibilities of expressing itself. I feel the same about people. We each have the possibility of offering the best of ourselves and especially in this difficult pandemic time, I hope that consideration of others is part of our social interaction. I notice lately that neighbors are waving and smiling when I take a walk, a friendly and welcome but sensitive distant greeting. more »

For years, most over-the-counter drugs followed requirements called "monographs" for each category of drugs (e.g., sunscreen or cough and cold medicine). To update a monograph, FDA followed the federal rulemaking process, which could take years. FDA said this process and insufficient resources limited its ability to quickly respond to safety issues. In March 2020, the CARES Act gave FDA new tools to regulate these over-the-counter drugs, such as a new process for updating and finalizing requirements, authority for FDA to collect user fees to support its activities, an expedited process for addressing serious safety issues. more »