Opinion Today: ‘The real people behind the statistics’

Also: R.N.C., night 1.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story August 25, 2020 By Jyoti Thottam Deputy Op-Ed Editor Janet Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, does something rare among economists. She draws on experience from ordinary life and uses it to test economic theory against reality. In 1996, soon after she was first appointed to the Fed, she explained to its chairman, Alan Greenspan, that some employers might want to pay more than the prevailing wage to keep good employees — and she used her experience of hiring a babysitter to make the point, a story told vividly by my colleague Binyamin Appelbaum in his recent book, “The Economists’ Hour.” In 2014, she argued that the Fed should do more to reduce unemployment, using the stories of three people in Chicago, “the real people behind the statistics, struggling to get by.” Since leaving the Fed in 2017, Yellen has kept a fairly low profile, but this year she has been vocal about the urgent need for the Fed to act. In March, she pushed for decisive action to stabilize financial markets. In July, she testified before Congress, praising the effectiveness of the extended unemployment insurance benefits and Paycheck Protection Program. But those programs have ended and the money for many families is running out. In her piece this morning with Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Yellen forcefully makes the case that the Fed has done everything it can within its powers, but it can’t send stimulus checks to families or save them from eviction. “These are jobs for Congress and for the Trump administration,” they write. How well has the administration done its job? That will be a question for this week’s Republican National Convention, as the party makes its appeal to the “real people behind the statistics.” And today, more than a dozen of our writers have shared their thoughts on how the party tackled that and other questions on the first night of the R.N.C. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Woody Harrington   The Senate’s on Vacation While Americans Starve Thirty million households didn’t have enough food in the last week. Only the Fed has acted forcefully. By Janet Yellen and Jared Bernstein Illustration by The New York Times; Photographs by Susan Walsh/Associated Press, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   Republican Convention: Best and Worst Moments From Night 1 Our columnists and contributors give their rankings. By The New York Times Opinion Forward this newsletter to friends … … to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com Here’s what we’re focusing on today: Editors’ Picks Four More Years of What Exactly? Don’t ask Trump. All he has to offer is a nonstop parade of conspiracy, demagogy and grievance. By Jamelle Bouie On Politics QAnon Is Trump’s Last, Best Chance The only thing he can hope for is fear itself. By Paul Krugman Biden’s Loose Lips Could Sink His Chances We elect presidents to lead, not defer. By Bret Stephens Trump Has Failed the QAnon Test Past Republican leaders knew better than to allow the pathogens of extreme conspiracy theories to infect the political bloodstream. By Geoffrey Kabaservice Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Overcoming the Pandemic Politicizing Medical Science Will Cost American Lives Sowing doubt about the safety of treatments will imperil the fight against coronavirus in the months and years to come. By The Editorial Board New York’s School Chaos Is Breaking Me So this is how it feels to be abandoned by your government. By Michelle Goldberg Ideas fixes Can Prosecutors Be Taught to Avoid Jail Sentences? At least 60 district attorneys have come to see incarceration as destructive, racist, expensive and ineffective. But can they persuade their own staffs? By Tina Rosenberg What You’re Saying letters The Risks if Biden Loses A reader calls the former vice president our best hope to right the wrongs of the last four years. Also: Oil leasing in the Arctic refuge; Lori Loughlin’s jail sentence; prisoner firefighters; Trump donors. letters Trump’s Rush to Proclaim Covid-19 Treatments Citing the president’s pressure on the F.D.A. to approve the expanded use of plasma, readers worry that hasty measures without sufficient testing will put patients at risk. Contact Us If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. David Leonhardt's newsletter is now the Opinion Today newsletter. You received this email because you signed up for David Leonhardt's newsletter or the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times. 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