The flow of state stimulus checks continues as they support residents to cope with rising prices across the spectrum. In the absence of direct federal support in 2022, the payments given by the states have greatly helped low and moderate-income families tide over the record inflation that has led to a sharp rise in the price of essentials from groceries to gasoline.
Low-paid workers have been forced to deal with an unforgiving budget ever since the pandemic stuck. They had to deal with layoffs and reduced hours. The federal experiment in safety net policy on a massive scale brought instant solace to millions. For the first time in months, many Americans could afford the small luxuries of life, like serving their children three full meals a day.
Americans could pay their water bills, and get medical treatment that hit the pause after the economy went into a tailspin after the pandemic and led to a severe downturn. The quick and comprehensive outpouring of cash eased the economic hardship caused by the pandemic. but skeptics were quick to denounce it, calling the policy expensive and wasteful.
The Stimulus Checks Significantly Improved The Quality Of Like Of The Poor Americans
The timely intervention of the federal administration over the post-pandemic period helped the needy in the most desperate time since the Second World War. The multiple rounds of aid significantly improved the ability of Americans to pay household bills and buy food and other essentials.
The support had other intangible benefits too as it had a positive effect on bringing down the crime rate, and also reduce incidents of depression and anxiety. The largest beneficiaries were the poorest homes and those with children.
An analysis of the hardship reduction for families under the cover of the stimulus aid reveals its significance. While the economic rebound and other incidents of aid undoubtedly helped, the largest declines in hardship measures came in the first quarter of 2021 as two simultaneous payments reached households.
First, the $600 stimulus check reached households in January followed by the $1,400 payments under American Rescue Plan Act, which began reaching beneficiaries by March 2021.
There was an immediate decline along multiple fronts of hardship and brought drastic improvement in the lives of the most disadvantaged households. While a downslide in hardship may seem like a given considering the mammoth scale of the stimulus checks, which was a total of $585 billion, there is no clear way to measure if the benefits were worth the huge expense layout.
Complaints Aboud That The Stimulus Checks Swelled The Inflation Rate
The Republicans and conservative economists argued that the spending in aid of direct stimulus checks swelled the deficit to a level that it has become impossible to rein it in. there were also allegations that the money went to families who were economically stable and were least affected by the pandemic.
it is true that hundreds of thousands of families that benefitted from the successive stimulus checks were financially unaffected by the pandemic and continued to earn at the same rate as in normal times.
There are also complaints that people were not willing to join the workforce. They were least incentivized to look for jobs as they had ready cash in hand. Some analysts contend that hardship would have eased anyway as a result of growth in jobs and other safety net programs.
The aggressive stimulus check program coincided with a rise in interest in the use of cash payments as a tool of social policy. And there is hard evidence to substantiate that it can have an immediate effect on the economic strains afflicting many homes.
State Stimulus Checks Rekindle Fears Of Further Rise In Prices
The state stimulus checks have renewed fears of a further spike in the inflation rate that has steadfastly remained above the 8.5% mark for most of 2022 and there are fears that it will be some time before it moves towards normalcy.
With California alone pumping in close to $9.5 billion in its third round of stimulus checks, economists warn that it will at best slow down the slide in the inflation rate, even if does not lead to a further spike in all-round prices.
This would negate the relief that the stimulus check brings momentarily to the households.
The Golden State is giving out between $200 to $1,050 to individuals and families depending on their 2020 adjusted gross income, the tax filing status of the family, and the presence of dependents in the family.
The lowest tier is for individuals with an AGI of $75,000 or less for 2020 while for joint filers it is $150,000 or less. Each filer will get $350 individually plus another $350 if they declare any dependent. Joint filers in this category stand to get the highest amount possible in the Middle-Class Tax Rebate which comes to $1,050 ($350 for each filer plus another $350 for any dependent).
For individual filers with an AGI between $75,001 and $125,000, and joint filers earning between $150,001 and $250,000, the individual amount comes to $250 for each filer, plus the same amount for any dependent. The maximum total under this tier comes to $750 for a joint filer who declares any dependent.
The highest tier is for individual AGI between $125,001 and $250,000 and joint earning between $250,000 and $500,000. The individual amount comes to $200 while joint filers with dependents can earn $600.
The payments are part of Golden State’s 2022-2023 budget and are structured as tax refunds. California has a huge budget surplus of $97.5 billion. The tax refunds will be directly sent to residents as will tax refunds.
The money will be sent digitally through direct bank account deposits into individual or joint accounts or through the US Postal Service as debit cards with the refund amount loaded onto them. Now paper checks are being issued in this round of payments, which is effectively the third round.
Direct deposits began on October 7 but it will take around a week before the payments reach the accounts of the beneficiaries. Residents who received stimulus checks in the first two rounds of the Golden State payments will get payments in the first two weeks. this will be followed by other residents who have submitted their bank details to enable online payments.
The debit cards will be delayed as they will go out through the postal service. All payments will be completed by the second week of January next year.
