Stimulus Checks Send Social Media Into a Tizzy While Many Await Their Cash

Social media is erupting with memes as people across the country await their coronavirus stimulus checks. In late March, the White House and Congress passed the CARES Act $2 trillion stimulus package, which includes direct payments of up to $1,200 to Americans, and although the U.S. government hopes to get the money into people’s hands as soon as possible, they have warned that it may take some time, leading to a flurry of responses on social media.

It is expected that the majority of households will receive a stimulus check, with those who qualify including single residents with an adjusted gross income under $99,000; anyone who files as the head of a household earning less than $146,000; and anyone who files jointly without children and earn under $198,000. It has also been reported that children 17 or 18 years old will not receive a check and some college students between 19 and 23, adults who can be claimed as dependents, those without a green card, estates and people who have not filed 2018 an 2019 tax returns are not eligible.

“When my stimulus check arrives i will be making my cat an oat milk matcha latte every day,” joked one person.

“Until its in my account, that stimulus check is a myth,” wrote another person.

The amount of stimulus checks may vary, however. While each individual could be paid up to $1,200 and each couple up to $2,400, with families being given an additional $500 for each of their children, payments start to decrease for those who have an adjusted gross income of more than $75,000. The number will decrease $5 for every $100 in income.

According to CNN, those who already have direct deposit information on file with the IRS will be among the first to receive their stimulus checks, with Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin stating last week that those checks would go out within two weeks. A web portal is currently being created for Americans to provide their financial information to the government to allow them to receive electronic payments. Meanwhile, those who do not provide their banking information will receive a check by mail, which could take months.

The checks, as long with other measures in the stimulus package, is an effort to boost the economy, which has suffered amid the pandemic. Just last week, a record-breaking 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits, with those numbers expected to grow as businesses continue to close as they adhere to stay at home orders.

“This money is going to go into the economy very quickly. It is going to help American workers very, very quickly,” Mnuchin previously told Face The Nation. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take to kill this virus. I do know we will kill this virus, and when we do, I have great confidence that the U.S. economy will come roaring back.”

As of Monday morning, a Johns Hopkins database recorded more than 337,000 confirmed cases in the United States. Fatalities in the U.S. have surpassed 9,500.