With the negotiations over a second stimulus package having ground to a halt, many argue over if Americans need a second payment at all. Some are pointing to different solutions to the pandemic’s problems, while others point to the dropping unemployment numbers as an indicator the worst is past us.
However, according to Tom’s Guide, none of the recoveries we’re currently seeing are set in stone or permanent. Unemployment could rise again, and more people could be laid off once the actual second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the fall. According to Tom’s Guide, Simplywise reports that 63% of Americans would need a second stimulus check if they continued to pay their bills on time.
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Another reason we would need a second stimulus out of the current debate is the number of coronavirus cases. While President Donald Trump likes to continue saying that the reason for higher numbers is more testing, the total amount is still trouble. People who are sick cannot work, meaning their position might be there but they can’t fill it.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the United States is currently seeing 60,000 new coronavirus cases per day. With no sign of that slowing anytime soon, a second stimulus might be needed more than it was in the spring. The spring payment is also another reason a second could be warranted. The gap between payments is wide, while those struggling due to unemployment or other pandemic-related issues likely needed $1,200 each month to stay afloat.
Many lawmakers support a second direct payment, while members of the GOP are fully against any payment at all, pushing to get the country back to work and place the coronavirus in the rearview. But others want another round of checks, with presidential candidate Joe Biden even saying he’d be open to a third direct payment if he wins the election in November.
For some, a second check raises some concerns. According to Tom’s Guide, Sen. Christopher Coons vocalized his issues, with some alternatives popping up they believe to be better options. “My concern is that [a second stimulus check is] not focused in a way that is designed to help create or help sustain jobs, to deal with rental housing or education,” Coons says. “My top priority is a robust round of assistance to state and local governments.”
For now, nothing is on the way outside of Donald Trump’s executive order boasts that seemed tohave raised more questions than funds. A proposed Saturday vote was denied by both sides, while White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was turned away after popping into Congress on Saturday.
