Trump’s executive orders on coronavirus relief may not be as helpful as he portrays them

President Trump signed executive orders on Saturday that he said would help people facing poverty and eviction due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The orders defer payroll taxes for people earning less than $100,000 per year (the taxes would still have to be paid back), asks federal officials to ‘consider’ measures to halt evictions, and extends federal unemployment benefits at $400 a week, with $100 of that being paid by states many of which face revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic. But critics say Trump’s orders don’t actually do much to help people scraping by, and Trump alone doesn’t have the power to implement them.Aug. 11, 2020