Stimulate

Stimulus checks are likely heading to American mailboxes

Wednesday, March 18, 2020 by Snacks
_When you forget you have an Uncle named Sam_

When you forget you have an Uncle named Sam

The trifecta is nearly complete... to fight COVID-19 and all its very real, negative fallouts. The Fed came in hard with the monetary policy, state/local governments are going big on public health policy, and now the White House might come through with a big fiscal policy boon — a $1T stimulus plan. The goal = Get cash into Americans' pockets when many really need it.

  • The $1T Proposal: The Trump admin pitched a plan to Congress to send checks directly to Americans (like a birthday check from Nana). Also included in the plan is up to $500B to help small businesses and $50B to boost struggling airlines.
  • The Checks: The administration anticipates dropping as much as $500B on two waves of direct payments (that's around $1,520 per American, if divided evenly — but probably more, since babies don't cash checks).

You probably want to hear more about the checks... The direct payments will be means-tested to make sure they don't advantage wealthier citizens. They don't include tax cut savings (also on the table). Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says the gov hopes to send the first batch out by the end of April. Also, the proposal still needs to pass Congress.

THE TAKEAWAY

'Flattening the virus curve' means hurting the economy... More states/cities are shutting down businesses and forcing people to stay home (aka, spend less money) — then add in the social distancing. All these spread-stopping steps are crucial to avoiding an even greater crisis – but the economy is still suffering right now. That's why it's up to government and business leaders to help it survive until the crisis passes — hopefully this stimulus can help.

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