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As vaccines increase and the economy reopens, many individuals and families can be anxious to see this side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic continue: government stimulus checks.
A recent Data for Progress poll found that 65% of Americans support payments of $ 2,000 per month for the duration of the pandemic.
Some political leaders agree.
On Tuesday, a group of Democratic senators, led by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for additional stimulus checks.
“We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic UI extensions linked to economic conditions in your long-term economic plan Build Back Better,” the executives wrote.
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When tied, direct payments can help those who do not qualify for unemployment insurance and have suffered loss of income, executives said. The money would also help keep families out of poverty while boosting the economy.
Americans would welcome the relief, the letter said, citing the Data for Progress poll. He also pointed out that 150 economists have also called for “automatic triggers” for stimulus checks to stabilize the economy.
The US government has made three direct payments to Americans since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This included up to $ 1,200 per person under the CARES Act authorized by Congress a year ago, followed by payments of $ 600 per person that were approved in December. Now the government is sending out payments of $ 1,400.
Will there be a fourth stimulus check?
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Even as those $ 1,400 stimulus checks land, discussions have started over whether or not there might be a fourth round of direct payments.
If more checks were allowed, the income criteria to qualify for them would likely be stricter than the first three rounds, where the money also went to people who didn’t really need it, according to RA Farrokhnia, a professor at the Columbia Business School.
“Control for all” may not be the best approach, “said Farrokhnia.
There are three things to watch out for that will help determine if more direct payments are coming, according to Pete Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research.
This includes how the yields on treasury bills, which help fund payments, and interest rates work; public perception of Biden’s policies; and the 2022 midterm elections.
On Capitol Hill, other aid will likely take priority, according to Ed Mills, Washington political analyst at Raymond James.
“I think it’s unlikely at the moment” a fourth round of stimulus checks will take place, Mills said.
Biden pledged on Monday that 90% of adults would be eligible for vaccination by April 19, paving the way for a complete reopening of the U.S. economy.
“DC has largely started to pivot toward recovery and an infrastructure bill,” Mills said.
Yet other forms of coronavirus help may continue for some families.
This includes a new and improved child tax credit that is expected to include monthly payments of up to $ 300 per child up to age 6, or $ 250 per child for ages 6 to 17.
If this piece of social infrastructure is implemented, we will see the biggest social programmatic changes in this country in 50 years.
Ed mills
Washington Political Analyst at Raymond James
While those monthly payments are expected to start in July, the IRS recently said it may have to delay that start date.
Once the payments are made, that could add between $ 500 and $ 600 to a family of four’s monthly budgets, Mills said.
The enhanced child tax credit, which will total $ 3,600 per child under 6 and $ 3,000 per child 6 to 17 for married couples with incomes below 150,000 $, is currently only in effect for one year.
“The fight is really to see if it carries over beyond this year,” said Mills.
Further help with unemployment insurance could also be on the agenda this year, he said. Currently, the additional federal unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week continue until September 6.
The expansion of the social safety net is already underway
Signs calling for more relief, a second paycheck protection program and more as part of a Goldman Sachs campaign supporting small businesses near the U.S. Capitol on January 5, 2021.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI | AFP | Getty Images
Even without more stimulus checks, experts say the money deployed to individuals and families during Covid-19 was a new experience with government aid.
“There is an opinion out there that these continuous payments, especially since now there are whispers about continuous payments in perpetuity, they represent a kind of stealth implementation of UBI or income. basic universal, ”said Earle.
As some people have lost their jobs or businesses overnight, they are more aware of the potential need for a guaranteed government income, according to Earle. Some politicians also agree.
The concept dates back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policy of the 1930s, which included a right to housing, employment and income, although it did not specifically include the UBI, Earle said. .
In particular, social security was one of the programs put in place under the New Deal.
A second major expansion of the social safety net took place in the 1960s with the creation of Medicare, and a third wave of change may already be underway, according to Mills.
Its origins began when President Barack Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act. Now he could continue with a more permanent expansion of the child tax credit and federal tools used to help Americans through economic emergencies.
“If this piece of social infrastructure is implemented, we will see the biggest social agenda changes in this country in 50 years,” Mill said.
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