$2,000 Stimulus Checks: Petition Hits 3 Million Signatures

$2,000 a month stimulus checks

Will there be $2,000 a month stimulus checks?
Here’s what you need to know.
With the threat of Omicron and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, you may be wondering whether there will be a fourth stimulus check. Organizers of a major petition hope the answer is yes. A Change.org petition for $2,000 a month stimulus checks has hit 3 million signatures, according to CNBC.

Stephanie Bonin, a Denver restaurant owner and the petition’s organizer, wants $2,000 a month stimulus checks for adults and $1,000 a month stimulus checks for each child. Her petition wants recurring stimulus checks to be sent each month until the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our country is still deeply struggling,” Bonin wrote on the Change.org petition for stimulus checks. “The recovery hasn’t reached many Americans – the true unemployment rate for low-wage workers is estimated at over 20% and many people face large debts from last year for things like utilities, rent and child care. These are all reasons that checks need to be targeted to people who are still struggling and that Congress needs to learn from this past year. It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it. Moving forward Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met.”
Congress provided three stimulus checks to qualifying Americans in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like the previous three stimulus checks, a fourth stimulus check would come from Congress.

While Democrats control Congress, there has been no serious effort to date to pass legislation that would provide $2,000 a month stimulus checks or even a fourth stimulus check. While the previous three stimulus checks were one-time stimulus checks, this petition calls for monthly stimulus checks. What is the rationale for recurring stimulus checks? Supporters say that a single stimulus check is insufficient to help Americans who are struggling financially due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

This includes those who, like Bonin, work in the restaurant sector. Last year, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and 55 Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden to support recurring stimulus checks. However, Biden doesn’t support a fourth stimulus check or recurring stimulus checks. Currently, Biden is focused on Congress passing his legislative agenda, the Build Back Better plan, which doesn’t include any stimulus checks.
If you’re hoping for a fourth stimulus check, it’s very unlikely. Similar to student loan cancellation, it’s challenging for Biden to support more stimulus check and also argue that the economy is recovering.

While the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing, the high vaccination rates, stock market recovery and employment statistics have improved over the past year. That said, there are still millions of Americans who are struggling financially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes student loan borrowers who recently got more student loan relief, which is one reason that Biden extended student loan relief for 90 more days. . However, it also includes renters who no longer may have access to federal rent assistance.

The first three stimulus check were limited based on income and other requirements, so they weren’t universally provided to all Americans. Congress is unlikely to support a fourth stimulus check, let alone a recurring $2,000 a month stimulus check. Biden didn’t support $2,000 a month stimulus checks during his presidential campaign and is unlikely to support recurring stimulus checks now. That said, Vice President Kamala Harris has previously supported $2,000 a month stimulus checks for the duration of the pandemic.
The petition has a goal of 4.5 million signatures. Despite the momentum, Congress or the president doesn’t appear ready to issue a fourth stimulus check, whether one-time or monthly.

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