Today, I will give my thoughts on the recently passed COVID aid package. To start off, here are a couple of the notable aspects of the bill:
- $400 billion to fight coronavirus, speed up vaccinations, and reopen closed schools
- Large scale support of high income earners not being eligible for stimulus checks
- $300/week unemployment insurance supplement due to expire in March
- $1400 direct payments for each individual (not sure if there is a cap or what)
What I did not like about the passing of this package:
- Done through budget resolution/reconciliation package, meaning it required the slimmest majority to be passed with VP Harris breaking the tie.
- Does not address teacher unions whom are fighting the reopening of schools.
- Democrats want a $15 federal minimum wage tacked on at a time when small business is STILL suffering.
- Money is intended to go to state and local governments to help budget crisis.
I am all for more money going to people, after all it came from our hard work to begin with. We need to get kids back in school. It needs to be safe, but kids have not shown to be the transmit vectors we were inclined to believe. I don't believe the government should be bailing out states or cities will federal money UNLESS it is with the same conditions they forced companies like Ford to take back in 2008/2009. It must be paid back, with interest, within a reasonable amount of time.
I haven't seen if there is any continuation of the Payroll Protection Act from the first stimulus. Our small businesses employ a vast majority of this country in jobs that actually create tangible goods and provide real services. Without them we would be stuck with multinational brands in every sector from food to retail to services. I don't know about you, but I like eating at local restaurants, purchasing goods made locally, and knowing that if the service I received needs further that I can call a local person to attend to it.
It's important to note that roughly 25% of the previous $4 trillion in aid has gone unspent from packages approved in the last year. Why hasn't this been spent or given to the populace as more stimulus? $1 trillion dollars would be equal to roughly $3,000 per individual in the country. That would seem to be a better stopgap at eliminating poverty, something that the initial stimulus did a very good job at decreasing.
References:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-congress/democrats-clear-path-for-approval-of-bidens-1-9-trillion-covid-package-idUSKBN2A514V
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/covid-stimulus-package-senate-kamala-harris-b1798087.html
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