Friday Five – 6.11.21

Hannah Gertz, Summer 2021 Intern

Here are a few articles you may have missed this week. Take a few minutes and get smarter before church coffee hour this Sunday…

1. SC Ends State of Emergency. In a Monday news conference, Governor McMaster ended the state of emergency in SC which began last March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Governor, with vaccines readily available and COVID cases in steady decline, there is no need to keep the state under any form of emergency powers. The end of the order also nullifies any restrictions put into place to combat the pandemic. Most of these restrictions were lifted in previous actions taken by Gov. McMaster.
2. Unemployement Benefits Coming to End for SC Workers. With just 3 weeks left of federal unemployment benefits in SC, jobless workers have a dilemma to face. Many unemployed workers have been looking for jobs before this announcement was made, and have not had much luck. Many of the available jobs do not offer wages that will keep struggling individuals afloat, and they have relied on the federal benefits throughout the duration of the pandemic / labor crisis. On the business side of things, many employers are struggling to fill open positions. However, many are also unable to offer the competitive wages and/or benefits needed to make their jobs more appealing than staying on federal benefits. This is about to change, and workers and employers will need to compromise on packages which will (hopefully) fix some of this crisis.
3. SC Inmates Seek to Block Execution. In the past legislative session, the legislature approved using electrocution and firing squad as methods of execution for inmates who have received capital punishment. This came after the primary method of execution, lethal injection, has been declared invalid, as a result of suppliers not producing the drug. This being said, there are two SC inmates scheduled to be executed by electrocution this month. As it now stands, both inmates are seeking to legally block the execution – on the grounds that they were sentenced under a law which conducted execution in a different manner. The requests must move swiftly, as the current executions are scheduled for later this month.
4. State Workers Receive Pay Increase, no COVID Bonus. As the yearly budget process continues, the State House approved the proposed pay increases for state workers of various professions on Wednesday. However, the prospect of bonuses for working during the COVID-19 pandemic remains undecided. While efforts failed on the House floor, legislators will have another attempt this Fall, when they will go into session to decide how American Rescue Plan money will be allocated throughout the state.
5. Consumer Pricing Increases, Again. The Month of May saw another surge in consumer prices, according to a recent release from the Labor Department. The rise is above the targeted inflation rate, and is caused by both an increase in consumer demand of various goods as pre-pandemic life resumes, and also by issues in many industrial supply chains. Furthermore, as companies try and attract workers with higher wages and benefits, they will need to raise their prices to compensate for these recruiting efforts. Looking forward, these prices could both squeeze consumers and also potentially threaten a return to a pandemic recession economy.