By Lorie Konish - CNBC
As the vaccination campaign accelerates and the economy reactivates, many individuals and families may be anxious to know if one of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continues: government stimulus checks.
A recent Data for Progress poll highlights that
65% of Americans are in favor
of making payments of $ 2,000 per month for the duration of the pandemic.
And some political leaders agree.
A group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday
asking for more stimulus checks
.
[At least 60 lawmakers back another round of checks]
"We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic extensions of unemployment insurance linked to economic conditions in your long-term Build Back Better economic plan," they wrote.
When added to one another, direct payments can help those who do not qualify for unemployment insurance and have suffered a loss of income, these lawmakers maintained.
The money would also help
keep families above the poverty line
and, at the same time, stimulate the economy.
Americans would appreciate the relief, the letter added, citing the Data for Progress survey.
The text also indicates that 150 economists have also called for "automatic triggers" of stimulus checks to stabilize the economy.
The benefits offered by the extension of the eviction moratorium
March 30, 202103: 25
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began,
the Government has issued three direct payments
.
One was up to $ 1,200 per person, through the CARES Act passed by Congress a year ago, then followed by payments of $ 600 per person in December.
Now, the government is in the process of sending payments of $ 1,400.
Will there be a fourth stimulus check?
Even as those $ 1,400 stimulus checks are landing, there is already talk about whether or not there could be a fourth round of direct payments.
If more checks were approved,
the income criteria to qualify for them would likely be stricter
than in the first three rounds, with the money also going to people who didn't really need it, according to RA Farrokhnia, a professor at Columbia. Business School.
"One-size-fits-all 'may not be the best approach," says Farrokhnia.
[How to track the $ 1400 stimulus check?]
According to Pete Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, there are three factors to consider that will help determine whether or not more direct payments will come.
One is to see how the yields on Treasury bonds, which help finance payments, and interest rates behave;
a second is the public perception of Biden's policies;
and the third is the midterm elections of 2022.
On Capitol Hill,
other types of aid are likely to take precedence
, according to Ed Mills, Raymond James' Washington political analyst.
In his opinion, a fourth round of stimulus checks "is unlikely at this time."
[These financial aid that save millions of families from bankruptcy can end. What will happen next?]
Biden promised on Monday that 90% of adults will be eligible for vaccination by April 19, paving the way for the US economy to fully reopen.
"Washington has largely started to turn toward recovery and an infrastructure bill," Mills said.
The key may be the help for each child
However, other aid due to the pandemic may continue for some families.
Among them is an
increased tax credit for each child
, which includes monthly payments of up to $ 300 per child up to age 6, or $ 250 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17.
While those monthly payments are expected to start in July, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently said they could be late.
Once payments take effect, this help could
add $ 500 to $ 600 to the monthly budget of a family of four
, Mills maintains.
Will a person who owes the IRS receive the third stimulus check?
An expert clarifies it
March 22, 202102: 14
This aid, which in 12 months will amount to a total of $ 3,600 per child under 6 years of age and 3,000 per child between 6 and 17 years of age, provided they are families with annual incomes less than $ 150,000, is currently in force just for one year.
"The issue here is to see if that really extends beyond this year," says Mills.
More aid related to unemployment insurance could also be on the agenda this year, adds the expert.
The current expiration date for the additional federal unemployment benefits of $ 300 per week is September
6
.
The expansion of the social safety net is already underway
Even without more stimulus checks, experts say money invested in individuals and families during COVID-19 has become a
new experiment in government aid
.
"There is a view that these direct payments, especially as there are now rumors that they could be extended in perpetuity, represent a kind of covert implementation of the so-called universal basic income [RBU]," Earle says.
[These taxpayers must pay their taxes before April 15 despite the IRS extension]
Because some people lost their jobs or businesses overnight, there is more awareness of the possible need for the government to guarantee some form of income, according to Earle.
Some politicians also agree
.
The concept dates back to the time of the New Deal policy, promoted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, explains this expert, who adds that it recognized the right to housing, a job and an income, although it did not specifically include the RBU.
In particular, Social Security was one of the programs established under the New Deal.
A second major expansion of the social safety net occurred in the 1960s, with the creation of Medicare, and a third wave of change may already be underway, according to Mills.
This third wave started when former President Barack Obama enacted the Affordable Care Act.
Now, it could continue with a more permanent expansion of the child tax credit
and the federal tools used to help citizens in economic emergencies.
"If this piece of social infrastructure is implemented, we will see the biggest social programmatic changes in this country in 50 years," says Mill.
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