Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Sunday praised President Donald Trump's phased reopening plan as “prudent,” but warned businesses may have to adjust to a “new normal” requiring higher overhead expenses and lower labor costs.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Scott said the nation is “in a position of devastation.”
“The president's strategy is prudent,” Scott said. “He still focuses on the necessity of isolating a hotspot in order to mitigate the spread. … Think about places in South Carolina like Charleston. Our unemployment rate was 1.5% and overnight we saw thousands upon thousands of restaurant workers, retail workers, folks in hotel industry driven to the unemployment lines.”
“The new normal may require businesses to have higher overhead expenses and lower labor costs,” Scott declared. “We need to adapt to that reality and we need to adapt very quickly. “
Scott also lamented that unemployment will pay more than some affected businesses will be able to pay.
“We're balancing why we should reduce the unemployment benefits in the CARES Act,” Scott said. “We are saying if you make $24 or less, you could make as much if not more staying home. That is a problem, it's a perverse incentive that only increases our unemployment claims as opposed to encouraging people to go back to work. We need to work. We want to work.”
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