The Pandemic era had brought series of difficult challenges to people and nations. And for most Americans, the stimulus checks, or also known as the Economic Impact Payments had helped them keep the wolf from the door.
In a recently released Capital One Marketplace Index, 46% of low earners, or those earning less than $25,000 yearly, said in April that they wouldn’t have had sufficient money to cover their expenses without stimulus payments provided from the federal government.
Within the low earners, 91% received stimulus checks, while 24% got forbearance – a type of deferred mortgage relief. 10% collected unemployment, the study says.
To those who received unemployment support, 70% of them used some, if not all, of the checks for paying their bills, reported Fast Company.com.
No Fourth Stimulus Check On The Horizon Despite Push From Democratic Senators
Despite what the numbers reveal, a fourth stimulus check from the Biden Administration is almost certainly not going to happen. The most recent one that was approved was back in March where about 169 million people received up to $1,400 each over the following months.
According to the Capital One Marketplace Index, when the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, only 47% of low earners thought they would be able to pay all their bills in the coming months. In August, it dropped to 46%.
“While consumer spending is rising and jobs reports are increasingly optimistic, many families are still picking up the pieces from one of the most severe economic recessions since the Great Depression, and as the Delta variant gains ground as of late summer 2021, continued growth and recovery is far from a certain bet,” the white paper says.
A group of Democratic Senators sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden in March requesting “recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions” arguing that the crisis is nowhere near the end and “families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Families should not be at the mercy of constantly shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions.”
Other U.S. States Push For Local Support Payments
Meanwhile, several states across the U.S. authorized payments for their constituents like California Governor Gavin Newsom signing a new budget back in July which includes stimulus checks for about two-thirds of the state’s residents and Maryland handing out $300 or $500 checks to those who claimed their Earned Income Tax Credits.
The Biden Administration also planned to give out a single payment of $600 to farmworkers and meatpack workers in September.
But still, a Fourth Stimulus Check is unlikely. One of the main reasons is that the vaccinations are progressing steadily with over 185 million Americans fully vaccinated. Linked to this is the nation’s economic recovery. Jobs have become available now as industries even complain of worker shortages.
At present, additional support to Americans or any bill or plans is still hypothetical, and nothing has reached Congress yet.
