Another $1,400 Coming Soon: Could a Fourth Stimulus Check Happen?
Although the economic damage due to the ongoing pandemic is still apparent in many regions of the country, the consensus among economists points to the fact that the health crisis is on its last legs.
In a massive effort to provide much-needed cash to millions of financially struggling Americans, the Internal Revenue Service already has confirmed that nearly one hundred thirty million coronavirus relief checks have been sent out under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.
But even before the dust settles on that monumental achievement, there is already increasing chatter about a fourth or even a fifth round of direct stimulus payments. Know that to date, Congress has green-lighted the delivery of three stimulus checks to most Americans—a $1,200 check in April 2020, $600 in December, and the current $1,400 payments.
In Washington, there indeed is growing support among Democratic lawmakers for more stimulus checks. Earlier this week, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden and twenty other senators urged Biden to include recurring direct payments in his “Build Back Better” legislation.
“We urge you to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions in your Build Back Better long-term economic plan,” the senators’ letter to the president read.
“While we are pleased that the American Rescue Plan included a one-time direct payment and an extension of federal unemployment insurance programs, a single direct payment will not last long for most families. … This crisis is far from over, and families deserve certainty that they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Families should not be at the mercy of constantly-shifting legislative timelines and ad hoc solutions,” they added.
The senators also pointed to recent polling data that revealed that a majority of Americans strongly support recurring stimulus payments.
“Polling shows 65 percent of Americans support recurring cash payments ‘for the duration of the pandemic.’ This includes support from 54 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of independents. Economists support the idea too,” they wrote.
However, Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James, believes that the Biden administration is already looking at other ways that don’t involve direct payments to boost the economy.
“I think it’s unlikely at this time” a fourth round of stimulus checks will happen,” he told CNBC.
“DC has largely started to pivot towards the recovery and an infrastructure bill,” he added.
Although the economic damage due to the ongoing pandemic is still apparent in many regions of the country, the consensus among economists points to the fact that the health crisis is on its last legs.
For example, Goldman Sachs is forecasting a whopping 8 percent GDP growth this year, while Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is projecting that the United States may reach “full employment” by 2022.
Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi recently told Fortune that he expects the Biden administration to “propose another two fiscal packages later this year, the first being a large infrastructure program and the second expanding a range of social benefits including healthcare, housing, education, child and elder care.”
He continued: “These packages will be designed to address long-term economic problems such as infrastructure, climate change, and the skewed income and wealth distribution,” but “I wouldn’t consider these packages as fiscal stimulus, designed to support the economy in the short-term.”
With that in mind, “I don’t think there will be a fourth round of stimulus checks,” he concluded.
Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.