Stimulus Checks Powerful Impact On Millions Of Americans

CBx Vibe:Sunshine (The Light)” Fat Joe, DJ Khalid, Amorphous

By Earlene Greene

  • Spending on credit and debit cards for stimulus recipients grew by 12.7% compared to the 2.8% for non-recipients
  • Black community unemployment now stands at 9.9%, and remains the highest among large racial groups

If there’s any doubt about whether Americans should get stimulus checks, consider the powerful impact they have on families, communities and the economy. Consumer spending at the end of 2020 was on a downhill trajectory, before a turnaround came due to the $900 billion round of stimulus funding. In fact, stimulus-related spending in households with incomes less than $50,000 increased at 22% year-over-year (YOY), versus 11% for low-income households who had no additional funding, according to a new report from Bank of America Global Research.

Why This Matters: There are 11.5 million people without jobs, and that number now stands at 9.9% in the Black community, the highest among any ethnic demographic, albeit they haven’t received the most stimulus checks. However, this didn’t stop the economic rebound with Bank of America’s report finding that credit and debit cards spending for stimulus recipients grew by 12.7% YOY, for the one-week period ending on Jan. 16, compared to the 2.8% YOY growth for non-recipients.  

Stimulus-related spending in households with incomes less than $50,000 increased at 22% YOY

This could be due to what a study by The Urban Institute describes as discriminatory outcomes with stimulus checks that were delivered faster to wealthy whites than to Black and Hispanic families, as well as to lower-income households. Specifically, three-quarters of white adults received their checks by late May, compared with 69% of Black adults and 63% of Hispanic adults.

Looking ahead, President Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9-trillion dollar rescue plan that would cut a new round of $1,400 direct checks meant to top off the recently distributed $600 payments. This plan would also include 15 million adult dependents, that’s roughly five million 17  and 18 year-olds , along with approximately four million college students aged 19 to 23. Biden wants direct checks for everyone in mixed status families, be they Social Security card holders or not.

Situational Awareness: Another round of stimulus checks can only help, not hurt Americans. We are still in crisis mode, financially stressed, facing a pandemic and the worst downturn since the Great Depression. The case for bigger stimulus checks is the powerful impact it has on all Americans and the moral obligation the U.S. has regarding its citizens for such a time as this.  

CBx Vibe:Sunshine (The Light)” Fat Joe, DJ Khalid, Amorphous

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