US citizens have been ‘blessed by the government’s decision to launch a follow-up stimulus check sought since June. This is a huge relief to the people amid an economic crisis experienced by people amid the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. The world crisis is taking people’s lives and emptying their pockets to buy basic needs such as food and pay for medical services. Reports from most countries show that it is costly to acquire necessary immune boost medicine for an infected person, and covid-19 test kits have become so expensive, especially for those who wish to travel abroad.
Due to the economic crisis enacted by a coronavirus, various governments launched programs aimed at catering to the public, and such programs involved giving out money to citizens who are mostly affected. Some governments could not release pay-outs, so they opted for food hampers and free medical services to be delivered at one’s doorstep. The US government is one of the few responsible governments that could run a stimulus checks program successfully. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, launched in March 2020 by former US President Donald Trump, successfully assisted the vulnerable families in poor communities. It went a long way in ensuring that disadvantaged people were looked after.
The monetary funds were channeled towards buying food, paying for bills, acquiring health services, and covid-19 testing or treatment services. Trump approved a second stimulus in December 2020 after covid-19 went on a wild run of killing and draining people`s finances. In March 2021, President Joe Biden introduced the ‘American Rescue Plan Act’ meant to be Americans’ ‘savior’ in dealing with the deadly effects of the pandemic, and he approved the third stimulus of about 400 billion targeted the marginalized communities and low-income earners. The American Rescue Plan Act was accredited for helping a lot of malnourished people in the country.
However, covid-19 continued to torment the Americans, so lawmakers, government officials, and politicians called for a fourth stimulus after all the previous programs had expired. Most of the stimulus checks were given out as a once-off payment; hence people would enjoy for a moment, then poverty would knock on their doors again. The US government under Biden’s administration heard the outcry and have once again come to offer assistance to the struggling classes in society.
The US Treasury Department, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and IRS released about 2.2 million to be distributed to its citizens over the last six weeks. The IRS cited that it will dish out the funds on a weekly basis. As stated in the American Rescue Plan Act, there will be payments of up to $1 400 per person with an addition of $1 4000 per eligible dependents, individuals, or families who qualify [Source]. This had come at the right moment when the country’s health department declared a public health emergency. According to the Health Department, the country is under a serious threat from the Delta variant, responsible for many infections, so there was a need to call an emergency on the public’s health. Also, the CDC had revealed how the Delta variant had become the most dominant variant, which was also infecting individuals who were fully vaccinated so anyone could be attacked.
Hence, the authorities suggested a delay in reopening business activities so that the working class would suffer greatly. According to the IRS, these are top-up payments because some people were not eligible for the total $1 400 due to 2019 tax arrears and would have qualified for funding in 2020. Some individuals did not receive payments as they could not be contacted but have now joined the system. Thus, all these people are currently receiving this government’s aids [Source]. To be eligible for the $1 400 plus package, one must earn around $75 000 or less after all the deductions have been done and fill in a tax return.
This is a commendable decision by the US government to cater to its citizens who are currently suffering due to the global crisis and have incurred many losses in life, such as deaths of loved ones and loss of jobs or businesses.
