The Stimulus Check Comeback Is Here: Biden Gives the Money, State Write the Stimulus Checks: While the federal government has long abandoned any possibility of a fourth round of stimulus checks, there is still one way that the federal government is providing much-needed cash to millions of American families during a time of record inflation.
States Giving Unofficial Fourth Stimulus Check
At least 18 states are reportedly using federal funds to provide one-time relief payments to poor and middle-income workers. This outlet has published several reports on how states are using surplus tax revenue to give back to workers, providing one-time checks, rebates, and other financial initiatives to ease the pressure of rising food and fuel costs.
How Is the White House Funding State Stimulus Packages?
In March 2021, the Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that set aside $350 billion in aid for local and state governments. The money was designed to prevent layoffs or cuts to public services – but very few strings were attached to the money. It means that state governments are finding imaginative ways to use the money, especially now that states have not seen the kind of job losses that were initially expected.
Not only have state governments not seen the kind of joblessness predicted by some analysts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but almost every state in the country has reported more tax revenue than forecast.
Instead of giving the money back to the federal government, at least 18 states are using these funds to provide financial support to families and workers.
According to Ben Gitis, the associate director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s economic program, states are @sitting on a bunch of extra cash” from the 2021 stimulus package and are distributing the funds to residents.
Speaking to Business Insider, Gitis said that a growing number of states are using the money to provide relief.
Stimulus Checks: A Welcome Distraction from Inflation?
Should more states follow suit and use these funds to give back to taxpayers, it could become a welcome distraction from the four-decade-high inflation peak hurting the pockets of millions of low and middle-income workers.
Gitis noted that the fact states are using this money for tax rebate purposes demonstrates just how out of control inflation has become.
“It demonstrates just how much pain inflation is causing today,” Gitis told Insider. “And there’s a political necessity for all politicians to do something about it because of the costs it’s having on the typical household.”
As we approach the November midterms, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Biden administration uses the increasing number of state-wide stimulus checks as a campaign talking point.
Without the Democrats, he may say, those additional stimulus checks may have never have landed on the doorsteps of millions of American voters – even those in Republican states.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
