The US government launched three stimulus check payments in 2020 and 2021 within a span of eleven months. It helped residents, especially in the low and moderate-income categories, collect over $10,000 for a family of four members.
Starting on April 2020 under the CARES Act, started going out to Americans in April 2020. All first stimulus checks went out between April and December 2020 and by that time the second payment had been set in motion and would come in just a month into 2021.
The first stimulus required four basic requirements to be eligible for application. Any individual taxpayer with an Adjusted Gross Income of up to $75,000 was eligible for the full payment. For married couples filing jointly, the limit was $150,000. For heads of household, an AGI of $112,500 was the limit to claim the full amount of the stimulus check.
Above these limits the payment amount went down by 5% for every extra $100 of AGI with an upper limit of $99,000 for an individual filer, $198,000 for married couples filing jointly, and $136,500 for heads of household.
Even people with no income received the support of the first stimulus check. And there was no age bar for receiving the amount, but children under seventeen years had to be someone else’s dependent to be eligible for the payment.
Parents received an additional $500 for each qualifying child. By definition, a qualifying child must be related by blood, adoption, or married and under the age of seventeen. They must also live with the claimant for over half a year, have the mandatory Social Security Number, and be claimed as a dependent.
The same qualifying rules applied to the Child Tax Credit stimulus check. One thing the federal government insured was that none of the stimulus checks counted against means-tested programs.
With the end of the expanded version of the Child Tax Credit stimulus check, many Americans felt the pinch of the rising prices as inflation affected every product and service. From gasoline to groceries, Americans were hard put to manage a whole month on a paycheck.
Despite a rise in wages post-pandemic, in real terms Americans were staring at a negative change in wages. Rising prices ensured lesser purchasing power than they experienced during the pre-pandemic period.
And as inflation continued to rise through 2022, many Americans found that they could not last out each month without some form of stimulus check from either the state or the federal government. And with Washington tied down in wrangling between the Republicans and the ruling Democrats, none are expected in 2023. The loss of control over the House of Representatives during the midterms in 2022 has further weakened the Democrats at the federal level.
President Biden’s desperately tried to keep alive the expander version of the CTC stimulus checks through 2025 but was betrayed by Senator Joe Manchin who was working for several vested political interests.
What started out as a trick soon turned into a long march of states that supported residents with immediate stimulus checks for inflation relief.
States Continue With Stimulus Check In 2023
While the majority of states have completed their stimulus check payments, some states have pushed their payments into the new year. This includes one of the largest economies among states, California.
This is the third round of stimulus checks that the Golden State is giving out to residents. The first two, Golden State Stimulus Check I and II were given in 2021.
But the latest round was labeled as Middle-Class Tax Refund and was targeted to help out residents face the rising prices of products and services across the spectrum. Everything from gasoline to groceries went through the roof and California reported the highest gasoline rates that were almost double that of the pre-pandemic rates.
As of now several states have announced plans to issue further inflation relief payments to residents in 2023. They include New Mexico, New York, California, Oregon, Vermont, Colorado, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The exact amount of the stimulus checks has varied across states and the people being supported have also differed with different criteria in each state.
California for instance is set to help out people who have been affected by rising costs of housing, food, and other essential goods and services. Massachusetts on the other hand has plans to send out stimulus check worth $1,200 to parents and $600 payments to individuals earning less than $75,000 a year.
States such as Maryland and Colorado have differed in their approach. They have not gone for direct stimulus checks to residents. Instead, they are using funds to expand certain essential services and programs. For instance, Marlnad is using the money to enable extra support for low-income families. Colorado on the other hand is putting funds towards affordable housing initiatives.
States Taking A Different Approach To Stimulus Checks
While some states have taken steps to send out relief to residents, others are yet to announce fresh plans to send out stimulus checks. And this includes states such as Texas, Georgia, and Florida. But things could again change as inflation continues to assail low and moderate-income Americans.
On the whole, while not many states are sending out stimulus checks, those who do hope to provide much necessary inflation relief to low and moderate-income residents. And as inflation continues its relentless march, there are further chances that states could be forced to step in with further relief measures in the future. For those living in a state that is sending out stimulus checks, you need to check the eligibility requirements and be alerted to the state announcing further rounds of stimulus checks to residents.
On the whole, while the number of states that could go for further inhalation relief payments to citizens is shrinking, those states that are going in for further payments could rise in the immediate future.
With no other federal support on the horizon, at least in 20023, it is only the states that can provide inflation relief to Americans at the moment.
