Millions of Americans need Washington to hit a long drive and get a stimulus deal done, but officials have been puttering around for weeks. Trump gave an update from his private golf club (optics be damned), suggesting he’d sign an executive order to keep eviction bans up and keep safety net money flowing. But he also said he was going to sign an executive order mandating that insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions (they are already mandated to do that by the law that Trump has spent three years trying to get rid of). In other words, his performance was par for the course. Unlike many other political items on the agenda, this one hits directly at the pocketbook of people living on the edge. You can’t take a mulligan if you miss your shot on food and shelter. And if Washington screws this up, the divot could take years to replace. NYT: Without $600 Weekly Benefit, Unemployed Face Bleak Choices. “For many of the 30 million Americans relying on unemployment benefits, it could already be too late to prevent lasting financial harm. Without the extra $600 a week, which ran out at the end of July, they will need to get by on regular state unemployment benefits, which often total a few hundred dollars a week or less. For many families, that will not be enough to prevent eviction, hunger or mounting debt that will make it harder to climb out of the hole.” And saying “I’m in the hole” in life doesn’t mean the same thing as it does in golf.