The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan seniors group established in 1992, launched a petition online asking Congress to give an extra $1,400 stimulus check for the population they are representing. This is not the first time that such a move has been made.
The Petition
The petition to Congress was launched in September on the website of Senior Citizens League and calls for Social Security recipients to receive a $1,400 emergency stimulus check “to cope during this unprecedented inflationary year.”
Many senior citizens, according to the report, claimed that they had been skipping their meals and medicine to pay for their expenses. The Senior Citizens League said in the petition in part, “Soaring inflation has taken a toll on household finances of retired and disabled Social Security recipients.”
The Stimulus Check In 2009
Back in 2009, during the Great Recession, the economy was in its most prolonged downturn since World War II. During the crises, home prices crashed 30 percent, stocks dropped 47 percent, and the unemployment rate increased from five to 10 percent.
Then-President George W. Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, and it green-lit giving most taxpayers up to $600 each. Those with Social Security benefits were entitled to receive at least $300. The money was received by those eligible only in May of 2009 under the Recovery Act of then-president Barack Obama.
Indeed, U.S. consumer prices increased more than five percent compared to last year. Such a level of inflation was last felt in 2008.
The extra $1,400 is being pushed by the Senior Citizens League despite the possible increase of six percent in Social Security benefits for 2022.
Also Read Stimulus Check Update: Payments On The Way; Know Who Are Eligible And When Will You Get It
