Hi GSF,
I listened to the report. Speaker Pelosi says the main issue in accepting what the president's team has laid on the table, is how the $1.8T will be spent. She does, however, bring up some good arguments concerning other issues that the president's proposal doesn't offer. While everyone would enjoy spending a $1,200 stimulus check. How far does that really go in sustaining a family for a month...two months...six months? She makes the point that she'd like to get a bill passed that will not only give families some small amount of walking around money right now, but also have provisions for other expenses that, especially young families, also have in dealing with this crisis.
If you got $1,200 today, how long would that pay your rent, buy your groceries and pay your utilities? I don't know where you live, but having lived for quite a while in Miami, Fl, I can tell you that $1,200 wouldn't even cover one month's rent for most people. Let alone provide food and utilities for a family. The other issue, and I have discussed this with my son, is that not everyone needs this $1,200. My son's job moved him to work from home, but he hasn't missed a fairly decent paycheck since all of this started. He makes good money working for a fairly stable company and his expenses have actually been reduced because he doesn't have to drive to work every day. He doesn't have to buy lunch at a restaurant or on-site cafeteria. If he had children of age, his only child is a 4 month old newborn, he wouldn't need child care because he's home all the time.
So here he is, making good money, always making good money throughout all of this, and why does he need a $1,200 stimulus check (although his was actually only $600 because of his income level). He does agree with me. So, I think there are some bugs to be worked out.
Yes, we certainly need to identify those people who have been affected financially by this crises, and for those people, any stimulus should give them enough financial aid to really sustain them for the long haul. Many people have been out of work now for 5 months. The whole reason we're here is that the first stimulus didn't provide enough help for those specific families.
So in closing, I'll ask you, just as speaker Pelosi asked Wolfe: Do you know what's in the president's stimulus bill and how it's going to be spent and who is going to go to? Is Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos going to get a stimulus check? What about those who have kept their jobs and are still working and have been working throughout all of this. Will they be getting a stimulus check? If so; why?
Just throwing around this seemingly yuge amount of money, $1.8T, didn't work for the long haul unemployed last time for very long and probably isn't going to work well for the long haul unemployed this time. I'm retired. My income's fairly stable. What do I need a stimulus check for? But I got one!
Just for numbers, the unemployment rate is sitting right about 8%. It was 3.5% before the pandemic. Do you know how many people that is that really need the help? However, there is a bright side. It used to be nearly 14% and so a lot of people have returned to work in some capacity. But as the speaker points out, if your school district isn't having in school attendance, how does a working parent provide for them?
God bless,
Ted