April 2020 as the first wave as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rolled out a stimulus check. Yet, it took up until now for both the Senate and the House to agree on another stimulus check which now amounts to around 900 billion dollars. This marks the second largest stimulus package after the 2 trillion dollar CARES act in March. The stimulus package will include unemployment benefits and direct cash payments.
For context, this package provides direct cash payments of around $600 for individuals eligible. Eligibility is deemed by tax circumstances, whether or not you are submitted as a dependent of your guardians, or if you are emancipated all contribute to qualifications of the stimulus package. Similarly, if your 2019 AGI(Adjusted Gross Income) is below 75,000, you can claim the waiver of $600. In terms of adjusted, "pre-taxed" money such as alimony, traditional IRA's, and HSA contributions are all deductibles that get subtracted from your entire gross income to equate to your AGI.
A big portion of the stimulus check will be funding museums and other live venues. These monetary support currencies are counted as small business grants and are extremely significant because it maintains the cultural relevancy the individual cities have to offer. These live venues can receive up to 10 million per business with the total package being 15 billion for live venues.
The unemployment benefits also make up a large portion of the package. Referring to my last post on the effects of coronavirus on poverty, jobless benefits are entitled to 300 dollars a week which could be enough to pay for low-end housing projects and sustainable meals throughout the day.
Overall, the release of a second stimulus package is a cause for celebration, but the timeliness manner it could've been released is very much attributed to the polarization of republicans and democrats. As each hemisphere of congress is controlled by respective rivaling parties, the release of much-needed stimulus packages, bills, and any other coveted matters lack efficiency. With the major players of this bill possessing incredibly opposing ideals, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi managed to squeak out a bill in the times where coronavirus is getting direr by the minute.
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I think it goes without saying that this is good news for our country. Not only are Americans provided with money that they might be desperately needing, but this is also a demonstration that the federal legislative system is not as scuffed as it sometimes appears. One would think that to have opposing parties controlling the chambers of Congress (in addition to the President, who can still veto bills) would mean Congress would be the least productive possible. But even in this situation, when Americans are struggling and the session of Congress is ending soon, our representatives somehow pulled it through.
The passage of a second stimulus bill is of course fantastic news for millions of Americans in need. However, the lengthy political struggle that it took to pass the bill makes me wonder if and/or when there will be another one. Considering that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely last several months into Biden’s presidency, in addition to the fact that states will probably enact more severe lockdowns over the winter months (when the virus is most effective), it seems unlikely that the families and businesses that rely on the federal stimulus package to survive will be able to last until the end of the pandemic. The tumultuous aftermath of Biden’s election win could be a sign that political polarization is on the rise, which will probably lead to even more political gridlock.
To preface, I deeply appreciate the sense of optimism I'm getting from this update; while I agree that this is good news, I do think that anything good about this bill is far overshadowed by months and months of American inadequacy, political divisiveness, and partisan game-playing. The most recent updates to this stimulus-check saga paint an even more interesting picture of the splintering American political landscape. Donald Trump has asserted (at the last possible moment!) that the stimulus checks should be $2000 instead of $600, yet Mitch McConnell continues to block the vote that would make that increase a reality. To me, this seems like a bit of a last-ditch effort by Trump to save face. Too little, too late? Maybe. I find it interesting that McConnell isn't jumping to do Trump's bidding here; he is promising to "begin discussions" about the change but again he is not permitting the Democrat-driven movement to just vote on it. The divide between the pre-2016, traditional, conservative Republican party and Trump's GOP may be re-emerging-- or maybe it never really left.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/29/us/politics/mcconnell-blocks-stimulus-check-vote.html
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