Economy Is the Top Issue for the Midterms to Republicans’ Benefit

The top issue for this election season has been the economy and it has put Democrats in a bad position as Republicans have seized on the issue.  Despite high inflation and fears of a recession, there are still other positive economic markers such as low unemployment.  Still, the uncertainty of what’s to come has voters concerned for their futures and polls show they are backing Republicans.  Howard Schneider, economics correspondent at Reuters, joins us for what to know.

Next, despite Covid infections being down and pandemic restrictions mostly all lifted, the virus has proved to be a persistent drag on the workforce.  It’s keeping millions out of work when they get infected and disrupting businesses operations, raising their costs and killing productivity.  Workers themselves are also losing out due to unpaid absences.  Gwynn Guilford, economics reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how Covid is still setting us back.

Finally, marriage can have a lot of benefits to the pocketbooks of couples.  Married couples are four times as wealthy as unmarried couples who live together.  They tend to have a higher net worth and more likely to be homeowners.  Experts think that a big part of it is that married couples pool their financial resources in way that cohabitating couples don’t.  Julia Carpenter, personal finance reporter at the WSJ, joins us why moving in together doesn’t match the benefits of marriage.

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