Americans, who have been severely impacted by the pandemic, are very likely getting a second stimulus check, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s announcement of July 24 on CNBC. Although Democrats want to add people who were excluded from the first round, for example students and adult dependents, Mnuchin said that the second-round checks would probably go to the same payees and in the same amounts.
New Stimulus Checks Will Help the Economy
With an economy already in trouble due to considerable unemployment, with unemployment benefits ending at the end of this month, and with a new increase in unemployment claims, the economy is in dire straits. Legislators have been busy discussing solutions, and both parties seem to be close to agreement with the White House about how to rescue the economy. Tax attorneys, among others, feel that a plan to help everyone should include another set of stimulus checks similar to the previous one.
In the CNBC interview of Thursday, the Treasury Secretary said a Republican bill aims to lower the unemployment benefit plan to about a 70% wage replacement of a worker’s prior pay. It would also include a second round of $1,200 direct-deposited one-time payments. In recent months, President Trump pressed for a cut in payroll taxes as a way to put some money in Americans’ pockets, though GOP legislators were not for it. He is no longer in favor of payroll tax cuts, as that would take too long to get Americans to start spending the money and give the economy a quick shot in the arm. According to Mnuchin, the president presently prefers to give people the money now “because we need to reopen the economy,” Mnuchin said.
Let’s Help the Poor, but Let’s Help Them Less
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said that any direct-deposited stimulus payments should be given only to lower-income people, whom he believed should be those with no more than a $40,000 yearly income. Republicans in the House also attacked a $600-a-week unemployment check. This current weekly unemployment benefit ends at the end of July, even as the pandemic infections and deaths multiply daily in the United States, faster than anywhere else. On Wednesday, for example, we woke up to about 70,000 new coronavirus cases and over 142,000 deaths.
Democrats, by contrast, have been determined to proceed with the $600-a-week unemployment checks beyond July 31 and to give stimulus payments to Americans who were excluded from the previous ones, such as students and adult dependents.
To Help More Americans and the Economy, Give Everyone More Money
Research has yielded evidence that the larger unemployment payments, together with the stimulus payments, helped consumer spending bounce back earlier this year, notwithstanding the high rate of unemployment. Research has likewise found that monetary aid from the government helped about 12 million Americans keep afloat instead of drowning in poverty. Moreover, the unemployment rate isn’t likely to decrease, so Americans will need all the help they can get. Experts state that the unemployment rate, which was over 11% in the middle of June, will be high for most of the year.