What are your thoughts on the Government Stimulus Checks?

[mommyoffive]

What are your thoughts on the stimulus checks? 

Do you think it is a good idea to have them go out?   

Do you think they are going to pass this? 

What should be done instead if you don't agree with them?  

[Slache]

Horrible idea. We should be able to apply for aid based on lost wages.

[ScoutTN]

It will pass easily.

It's a band aid and will help, but won't fix the big problems. People are going to have to help one another and be real community. And there will be real, life-changing, permanent losses if this lockdown continues. A free market economy doesn't operate correctly without freedom.

Not a comment on this bill, but on govt. spending generally over my lifetime. The Federal gov't is so deep in the red that it is insane. If we had any significant number of legislators with guts, true statesman who could speak truth, and challenge the country to fiscal responsibility, we'd have genuine ability to help those who need help. But we continue to spend money recklessly. Both parties. Congress and presidents. 

Edited March 21, 2020 by ScoutTN

[matrips]

I don’t know.  The people that are out of work may be the best ones to weigh in.  My dh is still being paid; if we get a check I just want to find a way to donate it to someone that needs it more.

in a city, putting money and essentials into food banks would be an alternative.  But not everyone lives in an area that would be served well by that.

I’d love to see more people like that young (19yo) millionaire  basketball player step up-he offered to pay the salaries of the workers at the arena.  How many other athletes and Hollywood folks and more could help like this!  Our private sector could really step up -instead of tearfully saying how many you've had to let go, maybe offer to still pay a group of people. I hate that people look to the government to fix everything all the time. Not every business or person can do this, but those that can, should.

[SereneHome]

We already had that under Obama, I think it was in 2008. I can't remember if we got one check or more.... we didn't need, it, I put it in savings. While I KNOW how $1K or $2K may be a huge amt of money for some people, it won't fix or help anything. For many reasons.

 

[catz]

I don't know if it's really the best and most meaningful and equitable means to distribute.  But I also think we should also remember that these ARE our own tax dollars that we've paid into the system.  I do consider it entirely appropriate that the government should be easing burdens on families right now.  

[mommyoffive]

4 minutes ago, SereneHome said:

We already had that under Obama, I think it was in 2008. I can't remember if we got one check or more.... we didn't need, it, I put it in savings. While I KNOW how $1K or $2K may be a huge amt of money for some people, it won't fix or help anything. For many reasons.

 

The last I read it would be $1200 for an adult and $500 for a kid.  Under $150k for married filing jointly.   So $3400 for a regular family of 4.     The stuff I read yesterday said they were thinking of doing two rounds of the same payments.  Not sure if that is still on the table.  

Edited March 20, 2020 by mommyoffive

[teachermom2834]

I don't know.

It seems that for the people who lost jobs $1000 doesn't touch their need. So it seems either you have lost wages or not. If you haven't you don't need it. If you have, it isn't enough.

For example, the big financial hit for my family of six is my 19 yo ds who lost his job and it isn't coming back soon. The totality of what my whole family gets will probably go to help him. $1000 for him isn't enough. But the rest of us haven't lost wages...yet. 

 

[Murphy101]

There is no choice but to do it. Period.

There is zero doubt this is going to last at least several months. When and if our country recovers will be based on whether people have this package. That’s a fact. Do it. Do it generously.

Our country is never going to be the same. But whether we still have a country at all in 6 months will be based on how much we put our policies and money in the belief that we as Christians are called to Love our neighbors.

Frankly I think they should scrap everything and institute a minimum income for everyone.  Then we wouldn’t have to fluff about doing this for WIC and that for SNAP and this for x and so on.  One program.

[Crimson Wife]

I have a problem with the full amount going towards many upper middle class folks but only a portion going to those with earned income but no income tax liability. I'm sorry, but most working class folks will spend it (thereby helping to prop up the economy) while many upper middle class folks will just put it into savings.

Any citizen or legal resident who has earned income below the cap should receive the full amount regardless of tax liability.

The economy is in big trouble and it's the working class folks who are most likely to be affected and need help affording groceries & household supplies.

[Annie G]

27 minutes ago, Slache said:

Horrible idea. We should be able to apply for aid based on lost wages.

That seems to make more sense, doesn’t it? Expand unemployment to replace more of the lost wages.  I do worry about some people who haven’t lost wages but still have extra expenses.  We joined our county’s senior center to use their gym and most of their clientele are struggling now that the center is closed. They’ve lost their free lunch (though schools are getting food to kids, the senior center isn’t able to serve their clients), and the place to be all day long, which is helpful to save their personal utilities cost. We live in a hot climate and many of these folks live in trailers with no AC or just a window unit, and can;t afford to run it during the day. Which is why they take the senior center transportation and hang out there...until it closed. So that’s just one example of a group that needs some financial help but don’t have lost wages.   I’m sure there are lots more. But a check to everyone seems like a goofy idea. 

[rebcoola]

Doesn't seem like the best way.  It's not enough for the families in need and not needed for many of us.  Families like ours are going to profit from all this because of all the overtime and hazard pay.  We will likely donate ours.

[Crimson Wife]

Also people having to purchase larger quantities of supplies at one time rather than smaller amounts more frequently. The per unit cost may be lower buying in bulk but if you're used to spending $X and all of a sudden you're having to spend double or triple that amount, it can really hurt.

[BusyMom5]

Doing nothing is not an option.   No matter what is done, this is going to be a long-term recession-depression.  No sector will remain untouched.  Just bc you are working from home today does not mean the company wont fold after 6 months of low sales.  If this was a 2 month deal, I think we could recover and companies could plan, pay some employees, ect.  Not having an end date, and looking at 18 months before a vaccine.  We are going to have to issue checks many times.  It may end up being commodities like a food bank on a few months.  I think the $1K per person package will possibly stop some of the free-falling stock market and help build a cushion for some families.  It isnt really supposed to be z fix, more like telling Americans weve got your back.  Maybe the next legislative measure will be more targeted toward specific needs?  

 

Other ideas I have:

Credit for utilities and toward housing, similar to SNAP benefits

Commodities and food banks- package per your family size (let's face it, no matter how rich you are, food is going to be tight eventually)

Encouraging companies to have longer grace periods and accept deferred payments on certain services.   

 

 

[Slache]

9 minutes ago, Annie G said:

I do worry about some people who haven’t lost wages but still have extra expenses.  

Include this too!

1 minute ago, WendyAndMilo said:

There's a lot of self-employed people who can't actually prove on paper a specific amount of lost wages, myself included. 

Yes, us too. I'm in San Antonio and we're down $200 this week. There are ways around this, but giving half the country thousands of dollars they don't need in the middle of a crisis is a horrible idea, in my opinion.

[EmseB]

It's a dumb idea that won't help but people like cash and it's easy for politicians to pass. 

[hippiemamato3]

We won't get one but my impression is that they will have to be paid back through next year's taxes, which seems like a terrible idea since we don't know the full economic impact of coronavirus at this point. Also, my understanding is that the poorest will not receive a check at all, so I'm  not even sure what the point is. It won't be enough to help people who are suddenly without any income at all. 

[Ailaena]

24 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

The last I read it would be $1200 for an adult and $500 for a kid.  Under $150k for married filing jointly.   So $3400 for a regular family of 4.     The stuff I read yesterday said they were thinking of doing two rounds of the same payments.  Not sure if that is still on the table.  

How are they going to know I exist in order to give me the check?  Where will they send it if I’m homeless?  What are the qualifications to receive this money?  Do I have to be a taxpayer who filed taxes last year?  What if I generally only make 500/mo (or whatever small amount)?  Can I be self-employed?  Must I be a citizen?  A citizen not living abroad?  What if I’m only receiving ss or disability?  Who gets the money for the kids in the case of divorced parents?  Will the government take this money to repay defaulted student loans or back taxes like they take a tax return check?

and these are just the silly questions that immediately popped into my head. I think it’s going to be an insane amount of work and too many people will fall through the cracks. 

[EmseB]

2 minutes ago, Ailaena said:

How are they going to know I exist in order to give me the check?  Where will they send it if I’m homeless?  What are the qualifications to receive this money?  Do I have to be a taxpayer who filed taxes last year?  What if I generally only make 500/mo (or whatever small amount)?  Can I be self-employed?  Must I be a citizen?  A citizen not living abroad?  What if I’m only receiving ss or disability?  Who gets the money for the kids in the case of divorced parents?  Will the government take this money to repay defaulted student loans or back taxes like they take a tax return check?

and these are just the silly questions that immediately popped into my head. I think it’s going to be an insane amount of work and too many people will fall through the cracks. 

It's based on people's 2018 AGI from their tax returns, IIRC.

[Slache]

12 minutes ago, WendyAndMilo said:

I guess leaving out a vulnerable income bracket but allowing others to collect for lost wages is equally bad, IMO.

There can be provisions for self-employment. I don't want to be left out! I don't know what they should be, I just disagree with what's being done now.

[mommyoffive]

24 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Doing nothing is not an option.   No matter what is done, this is going to be a long-term recession-depression.  No sector will remain untouched.  Just bc you are working from home today does not mean the company wont fold after 6 months of low sales.  If this was a 2 month deal, I think we could recover and companies could plan, pay some employees, ect.  Not having an end date, and looking at 18 months before a vaccine.  We are going to have to issue checks many times.  It may end up being commodities like a food bank on a few months.  I think the $1K per person package will possibly stop some of the free-falling stock market and help build a cushion for some families.  It isnt really supposed to be z fix, more like telling Americans weve got your back.  Maybe the next legislative measure will be more targeted toward specific needs?  

 

Other ideas I have:

Credit for utilities and toward housing, similar to SNAP benefits

Commodities and food banks- package per your family size (let's face it, no matter how rich you are, food is going to be tight eventually)

Encouraging companies to have longer grace periods and accept deferred payments on certain services.   

 

 

 

Agreed we have no clue how this is going to really turn out.   It already is so bad.  Things have changed so much in 2 weeks. 

[Tanaqui]

We need some way to compensate people who are abruptly out of work (or not receiving rent payments) for their lost income. I'm not certain the logistics here have been adequately worked out to ensure the people who need the most get the most.

[Carrie12345]

I see it as the simplest way to get food dollars to families that need it. Going through applications will take too long.

Today, my family doesn’t *need it, and we’re relatively confident that we won’t at all, but I can’t actually guarantee that dh’s employer will feel the same way in, say, 4 weeks.

I don’t think it’s a perfect solution, but I do think it will help enough people to be worth it.

[Ailaena]

35 minutes ago, EmseB said:

It's based on people's 2018 AGI from their tax returns, IIRC.

What does that mean?  I DO have to have made a certain amount of money?  Or less than some amount? What if I didn’t make it then but do now? Or did then but now don’t?  What about new kids?  Deaths?  

My point is that there’s no way it will make sense in the short amount of time needed for the money to do any good for the many of the people that need it most.  Like, people who actually need it to pay rent next month.   

[Soror]

 

19 minutes ago, Tanaqui said:

We need some way to compensate people who are abruptly out of work (or not receiving rent payments) for their lost income. I'm not certain the logistics here have been adequately worked out to ensure the people who need the most get the most.

This is my concern, right now certain areas and industries are disproportionately affected. It seems a poor use of funds to give money to people who haven't even been financially affected  when the amount given will be just a drop in the bucket for those really getting hit hard by this. This will obviously be a long term problem, we have no clue how this will play out. It will affect all of us in some way but it won't be the same across the board, some areas will be harder hit by the virus, some industries will fare better than others (TP makers are looking pretty good about now 🙂 ) I'm afraid that we won't be getting it to the people who need it or not near enough to make a difference for them, I hope that there are enough protections everywhere to keep people from ending up homeless in areas.

So far, we've not been financially affected but we are expecting that will change. Since we don't 'need' cash right now we will put it aside to prepare for whatever is coming. We've just came out of a long period of uncertainty thought dh was going to lose his job, dealt with reduced income for a long time,  I'm not happy to be back in a time of even greater stress and uncertainty but it is what it is. 

 

56 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Doing nothing is not an option.   No matter what is done, this is going to be a long-term recession-depression.  No sector will remain untouched.  Just bc you are working from home today does not mean the company wont fold after 6 months of low sales.  If this was a 2 month deal, I think we could recover and companies could plan, pay some employees, ect.  Not having an end date, and looking at 18 months before a vaccine.  We are going to have to issue checks many times.  It may end up being commodities like a food bank on a few months.  I think the $1K per person package will possibly stop some of the free-falling stock market and help build a cushion for some families.  It isnt really supposed to be z fix, more like telling Americans weve got your back.  Maybe the next legislative measure will be more targeted toward specific needs?  

 

Other ideas I have:

Credit for utilities and toward housing, similar to SNAP benefits

Commodities and food banks- package per your family size (let's face it, no matter how rich you are, food is going to be tight eventually)

Encouraging companies to have longer grace periods and accept deferred payments on certain services.   

 

 

I like these ideas! We are going to have to hit this in multiple ways to really help people.

I am glad to see the gov't is talking about eviction protection and cutting student loan interest. 

I am also happy to see some companies stepping up to help their employees and continuing to offer payment during this period.

[EmseB]

13 minutes ago, Ailaena said:

What does that mean?  I DO have to have made a certain amount of money?  Or less than some amount? What if I didn’t make it then but do now? Or did then but now don’t?  What about new kids?  Deaths?  

My point is that there’s no way it will make sense in the short amount of time needed for the money to do any good for the many of the people that need it most.  Like, people who actually need it to pay rent next month.   

You have to have made less than a certain amount in AGI in 2018 in order to qualify. I don't know the exact amount and have seen different figures.

The data on income is not the problem. If you filed a tax return in 2018 the information is there and checks can be cut quickly. 

To your larger point, I totally agree. A lot of things change in 16 months and what someone made then isn't likely to reflect their position now. But if they are going to do this based on income they have to base it on some type of easily accessible and complete set of information. 2019 taxes aren't due until July now.

Means testing this is stupid. Doing this is stupid. And none of it, up to and including a UBI, is going to help an economy that relies on people providing goods and services. No stimulus can ultimately help an economy that is shut down.

[EmseB]

5 minutes ago, HeighHo said:

Eviction protection is not enough; a ban on late fees is what's needed for those who have lost their jobs or have had to quarantine.

We can't just do this, though. What happens to the owners of rental properties who have mortgages to pay? My grandparents owned a fourplex...if people just stopped paying rent how would they survive?? Their mortgages are deferred. Okay, then what happens to the banks who own all those mortgages? The government bails them out again? Where does all this money come from if everyone is quarantined and can't produce any economic activity?

[Rosie_0801]

A government stimulus package kept our country's economy pretty stable during the GFC. Maybe they did it twice? I can't remember.

This situation is different due to quarantining, but what payouts can do depends how they are administered. 

[Sneezyone]

I’m not sure what folks are defining as wealthy but we will qualify despite not losing any wages and I have every intention of putting that money right back into a small business in my area. I’ve already scheduled my ‘post-corona’ patio installation. I don’t ‘need’ it but I will spend it and help the economy rebound. We also own rental property so a mortgage deferment means we can offer a rent break to our tenants if they’re unemployed. Our current tenants are retirees on a fixed income tho so we will just keep paying as usual.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Sneezyone

[EmseB]

13 minutes ago, HeighHo said:

 

who is going to rent if no one has income?  everyone go sleep in the woods while the former rentals remain vacant and main street stays empty?  at some point,rent has to give enough people margin to weather the economy.

 

Yes, this is why shutting down the economy like this for any prolonged timeframe is pretty dangerous and kind of like burning your house down because it has termites.

My point was that eviction protection only protects one set of people in a long chain of people who are adversely affected when rent isn't paid. Should the landlords go sleep in the woods when they can't pay for their homes because they aren't getting rent?

Edited March 21, 2020 by EmseB

[Sneezyone]

3 minutes ago, EmseB said:

Yes, this is why shutting down the economy like this for any prolonged timeframe is pretty dangerous and kind of like burning your house down because it has termites.

My point was that eviction protection only protects one set of people in a long chain of people who are adversely affected when rent isn't paid. 

Mortgage companies are beginning to offer forbearance programs (which makes sense since the fed funds rate at which they borrow is zero). B of A did this today. They’re not exactly altruistic. Forcing people into foreclosure helps no one. We learned that the last time. These steps make it possible for people to do what MUST be done to slow the spread of this virus. That is the goal.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Sneezyone

[EmseB]

Just now, HeighHo said:

 

My point is that a hiccup in the economy should not result in only one population in the chain taking the hit.  Belt tightening has to happen all over, and that includes landlords making the rent adjustment. Adding late fees to the out of work or deathly ill renter when the Bank is waiving fees is kicking a down dog, and we both know that's going to happen.

It is going to be way more than a hiccup.

[madteaparty]

We won’t get it and for people who need it it won’t be but a drop in a bucket. I like the UK gvt proposal of backing up 80% of lost wages up to a cap.

1000 won’t even pay my tax bill for an single month, for example. 

[Tap]

I don't think it is intended to be a fix for everyone. It is just part of what the government can do, quickly and what they know will work...at least somewhat.

What it will do, is keep some money moving through the market. A single dollar spent in the economy, generates not only revenue and jobs, but also taxes. When people are uncertain of the economy, people often save money. This stops that movement through the economy. The middle class, and those who have a savings, are some of the people who will spend the stimulus money and allow it to do what it needs to do.  Stimulate the economy.  People who don't have jobs may use it for rent or food, which still generates the same effect. Money needs to move through every facet of the economy to keep it strong. From furniture stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, repair men, restaurants, medical providers, delivery drivers etc.  Different demographics, will use it in different ways...which is what we need. 

The majority of people who are losing their jobs, will qualify for unemployment. (Yes, obviously there will be exceptions). They are talking about increasing food stamp income qualifications. There are emergency programs to help people with lost wages (2 weeks pay for a qualifying event like quarantine etc), or 2/3 pay for people who lost childcare.  Again, very real exceptions exist. Some employers are paying their employees anyways. Some are allowing employees to use any accrued leave. Many, many employers want to keep their employees afloat and are sacrificing themselves to make it happen. Those employers may be the middle class who others are talking about. They have bills to pay too!

I would never say it is a great fix, but is at least one small solution in the short term to a very real problem...money moving through the economy. We need time to see what cracks develop and how to fill them, but that can't be done quickly. This can. 

Edited March 21, 2020 by Tap

[EmseB]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

I’m not sure what folks are defining as wealthy but we will qualify despite not losing any wages and I have every intention of putting that money right back into a small business in my area. I’ve already scheduled my ‘post-corona’ patio installation. I don’t ‘need’ it but I will spend it and help the economy rebound. We also own rental property so a mortgage deferment means we can offer a rent break to our tenants if they’re unemployed. Our current tenants are retirees on a fixed income tho so we will just keep paying as usual.

Don't you have to assume that the person doing the patio installation will still be in business post-Corona? When is that going to be? Maybe a contractor can just jump back in and start building again? Most small businesses I know of would be shuttered if they went a month without income. There's not a stimulus that would save the little nail salon or sushi restaurant or whatever because they need a steady stream of income. Is that pessimistic?

[SereneHome]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

The last I read it would be $1200 for an adult and $500 for a kid.  Under $150k for married filing jointly.   So $3400 for a regular family of 4.     The stuff I read yesterday said they were thinking of doing two rounds of the same payments.  Not sure if that is still on the table.  

Even $3400 won't help long term and this is going to be a very long term problem.

I am probably the wrong person to comment on this bc I have never thought that just handing out cash to people is a great idea.  Especially when the only "qualification" is numbers on your tax return. Taking it from someone who prepares taxes for a living  - those numbers can very VERY deceiving.

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, EmseB said:

Yes, this is why shutting down the economy like this for any prolonged timeframe is pretty dangerous and kind of like burning your house down because it has termites.

My point was that eviction protection only protects one set of people in a long chain of people who are adversely affected when rent isn't paid. Should the landlords go sleep in the woods when they can't pay for their homes because they aren't getting rent?

You got that right. 

[Sneezyone]

18 hours ago, EmseB said:

Don't you have to assume that the person doing the patio installation will still be in business post-Corona? When is that going to be? Maybe a contractor can just jump back in and start building again? Most small businesses I know of would be shuttered if they went a month without income. There's not a stimulus that would save the little nail salon or sushi restaurant or whatever because they need a steady stream of income. Is that pessimistic?

Do I think his skills will evaporate over the next two months? No. His business is small and his crew ad hoc. Yes, I think he will still need and want the work and so will the crew. Do I think they will be operating during this time, no. Nail salons and other businesses with more fixed structures and expenses are being offered SBA loans/grants. This is a multifaceted problem that requires a multi-faceted response. Just letting folks die b/c we don’t want to do the hard work of renegotiating the social compact isn’t an option for me.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Sneezyone

[Guest]

I like free money as much as anybody else, but it galls me that this blatantly socialist and very expensive idea will be accepted without so much as a raised eyebrow by millions of Republicans who constantly say we can’t have guaranteed health insurance or college for any motivated student because those things are too expensive/raise taxes too much/increase the debt too much. 

It’s a ploy to make a certain “base” of people “forget” how badly handled the COVID 19response has been. 

[Sneezyone]

The word socialism has no meaning any more. It’s been battered, broken, tortured, and demonized such that it bears zero relationship to its actual definition/former self.

[EmseB]

1 hour ago, Sneezyone said:

Do I think his skills will evaporate over the next two months? No. His business is small and his crew ad hoc. Yes, I think he will still need and want the work and so will the crew. Do I think they will be operating during this time, no. Nail salons and other businesses with more fixed structures and expenses are being offered SBA loans/grants. This is a multifaceted problem that requires a multi-faceted response. Just letting folks die b/c we don’t want to do the hard work if renegotiating the social compact isn’t an option for me.

Yes, that is what is being advocated for. You got me.

No, skills don't evaporate. The ability to feed oneself without liquidating business equipment evaporates. The ability to afford to pay employees evaporates. The ability to rent a storefront (not necessary in this case, I realize). If you think SBA loans and grants are fixing this, I think you're not in touch with small business people or how those loans and grants work. There isn't some endless supply of money somewhere to keep everyone afloat while you require them to shutter their businesses with less than 24 hours notice and send their employees home. Oh, and by the way, we aren't going to prosecute petty crime in the meantime either! I feel like there's this thought that we'll shutter everything and the government will just give everyone money in the meantime and no one will suffer any long term effects or a depression won't really happen or if you think about anything like that you just want to let folks die.

And we're basing ALL of these measures on such little data it is incredible to me, but people act like it is a given that it's going to be better than the alternative. No one has any idea.

[Liz CA]

Someone at work said another consideration was taking out less taxes from people's paychecks for those who are working instead of a check. And direct payments to those who lost income BUT how to gather that info? 

What Scout said upthread regarding the national debt was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard about checks being issued to "everyone." Evidently, there are at least some kind of parameters in place.  Question is how much deeper will it sink us?

[TravelingChris]

7 hours ago, Crimson Wife said:

I have a problem with the full amount going towards many upper middle class folks but only a portion going to those with earned income but no income tax liability. I'm sorry, but most working class folks will spend it (thereby helping to prop up the economy) while many upper middle class folks will just put it into savings.

Any citizen or legal resident who has earned income below the cap should receive the full amount regardless of tax liability.

The economy is in big trouble and it's the working class folks who are most likely to be affected and need help affording groceries & household supplies.

Upper middle class people won't be getting it.  We won't and my daughter's inlaws won;'t either.  But Jeff Bezos, who only claimed he had 75k inincome and Larry Page, who claimed he had $1 will .  THat is how crazy this thing is.  (And no, we do not need it but really would have liked to have been able to take college tuition credits for the giant tuitions we were paying and student loans we are still paying for one, but our income was too high.  Just not high enough or of the right kind to do any kind of scheme to hide it-  all of our income is from wages or retirement except for very minor amounts of interest and capital gains (less than 200).  

[TravelingChris]

5 hours ago, HeighHo said:

Doesn't go far in HCOL areas; isn't going to cover a month's rent.  Most upper middle class will be handing it to their college kids or just-out-of-college kids to cover rent/car insurance if the child has lost his job/reduced hours or it will go to medical if they are positive and need treated or if they have to be isolated or if they need to close the gap between short term disability and full pay.  

Eviction protection is not enough; a ban on late fees is what's needed for those who have lost their jobs or have had to quarantine.

Uppper middle class will not get it.  

[Bootsie]

10 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

I don't know if it's really the best and most meaningful and equitable means to distribute.  But I also think we should also remember that these ARE our own tax dollars that we've paid into the system.  I do consider it entirely appropriate that the government should be easing burdens on families right now.  

Because the government is already spending MUCH more than it is taking in in tax revenue.  These would not be the tax dollars that we have paid into the system.  Instead, it is the government borrowing more dollars, which means it is taxes our children will have to pay.

[Bootsie]

7 hours ago, Quill said:

I like free money as much as anybody else, but it galls me that this blatantly socialist and very expensive idea will be accepted without so much as a raised eyebrow by millions of Republicans who constantly say we can’t have guaranteed health insurance or college for any motivated student because those things are too expensive/raise taxes too much/increase the debt too much. 

But free money, just like free lunches, don't exist, unfortunately.  

[Lady Marmalade]

I think it will help.

My DH receives unemployment compensation every winter due to his outside construction job.  His max payment per week is $377.  If we didn't spend a single dime of that unemployment payment it would literally be *just* enough each month to pay our mortgage. When we were renting, it would take almost three weeks of saving that to pay our rent.   No one can live on unemployment. 

The stimulus boost will go a long way for anyone trying to make it on unemployment for the first time.    It will help those people.  And for those who don't NEED the boost to their finances, it will be money they can turn around and put back into their local economy.  

 

[Soror]

10 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

I’m not sure what folks are defining as wealthy but we will qualify despite not losing any wages and I have every intention of putting that money right back into a small business in my area. I’ve already scheduled my ‘post-corona’ patio installation. I don’t ‘need’ it but I will spend it and help the economy rebound. We also own rental property so a mortgage deferment means we can offer a rent break to our tenants if they’re unemployed. Our current tenants are retirees on a fixed income tho so we will just keep paying as usual.

I'd love to spend the money post-corona towards the shop we've been planning but I'm not certain we won't need the money at some point. Dh can only do some things at home and who knows if his employer will let them or just say you need to collect unemployment, we'll see.

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Bootsie said:

But free money, just like free lunches, don't exist, unfortunately.  

I agree, but I am using the term facetiously .

Distributing $1K checks to the public to the tune of $1 trillion is exactly the sort of social welfare system Republicans would vehemently oppose. If a Democrat was in office right now and this same exact situation were happening, the Republicans would lose their minds! 

 

[Guest]

13 hours ago, teachermom2834 said:

I don't know.

It seems that for the people who lost jobs $1000 doesn't touch their need. So it seems either you have lost wages or not. If you haven't you don't need it. If you have, it isn't enough.

For example, the big financial hit for my family of six is my 19 yo ds who lost his job and it isn't coming back soon. The totality of what my whole family gets will probably go to help him. $1000 for him isn't enough. But the rest of us haven't lost wages...yet. 

 

I can tell you $1k is not going to help us much. It won’t even cover one month’s health insurance coverage for our family, which we pay bc we are self-employed.