Is the Stimulus Helpful During the Pandemic or a Waste?

It has officially been a year since the pandemic of COVID-19 has hit not just the nation but across the globe. This pandemic has caused millions their business, or employment, or career. Lack of finances has changed the way many people live. It has caused them to lose their homes, putting many families in a place to have to consolidate and merge together. Also, there are some families that have also lost lives due to the outbreak of Covid-19, an infectious disease.  Life as a whole has been altered, considering none of us thought we’d be making face masks a fashion statement.

There is no amount of money that could bring back the lives that have been lost during this outbreak. However, with the house passing the Cares Act in March of 2020, with the signature of former president Donald Trump, many Americans have been experiencing the generosity of stimulus checks here and there. Those that are still here have experienced hardships and the financial advances can help in many different ways. The question is are we, as middle to lower class, being mindful with the money given to us? 90% of the families who received the stimulus are part of the minority. Being middle to lower class, the government knows we are going to stimulate the economy verses save the money that’s being given out. So it seems as though they are just being smart by a business standpoint. Think about it, without the economy moving the government will go into another shut down.

There are a few voices who have stated their rightful opinions on the stimulus’s being sent out:

Wendy Edleberg: “The stimulus payments is its greatest benefit because it provides a baseline of financial stability for families who might otherwise not meet the criteria for unemployment or food stamps.

Matthew Shapiro and Joel Slemrod: “The reduction of withholding the stimulus checks led to a substantially lower rate of spending than the one time payments.

Kelly Smith with her blog @freedominabudget has questions: “What are the long term affects of the crisis? Where is this money magically coming from? If we keep giving money it will destroy the value of the dollar. What is the long term plan here?

With all of these concerns being valid, lets take a look at more statistics.

These statistics do show Americans are being smart with their stimulus checks. This is a positive outcome for families across the nation.  Showing in the graph only 15.4% are able to get ahead in saving and investing the money that’s been given. Majority of families receiving these funds are stocking up on food, catching up with utilities and paying down the debts (that were most likely drew out during the crisis in loan form to get by) and having to really make sure their priorities were in alignment.

With the Cares Act being in place, the rescue relief plan is encouraging them to present another round of checks coming to families who have filed their 2019-2020 taxes (the latest filed will be what the amount you receive is based on.) They are titled “Plus Up” payments for the 2021 rounds of governmental funding. You have as late as August of 2021 to file without delayed payment.