Rumors are circulating online that a fourth stimulus check worth $15,000 is set to be approved before the end of this year, but no official confirmation has yet been forthcoming, either from the federal government or any state.
The federal unemployment bonus ended in early September, but millions of people remain short of food and behind on bills, and a fourth stimulus check would help.
Some states, including California, have recognized the need for more assistance and provided additional payments, with economic indicators showing that, while broad sectors of the economy recovering, there are still a lingering negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Back in March, a group of Democratic Senators, including Ron Wyden of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting "recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions".
Other signatories included New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michigan's Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the latter calling for a $2,000 per month stimulus payment to be made until the end of the pandemic.
A May 17 letter from the members of the House Ways and Means Committee renewed the push for additional stimulus.
"The ARP's $1,400 checks alone will keep 11 million people out of poverty this year, with unemployment insurance expansion and other provisions in the bill accounting for the another five million, according to the letter.
A fourth and fifth check could keep an additional 12 million out of poverty. Combined with the effects of the ARP, direct payments could reduce the number in poverty in 2021 from 44 million to 16 million, it stated.
A majority of Americans also favor recurring relief payments. According to a poll by Data for Progress carried out at the beginning of the year, nearly two-thirds of respondents supported $2,000 monthly payments to all Americans for the length of the pandemic.
Supporters included a majority of Independents and Republicans.
However, there are green shoots that may be used as an argument against a fourth stimulus payment.
With vaccination numbers rising, the nation's economy continues to recover. Looser restrictions have helped businesses, and jobs are available in many sectors. Many industries are even complaining of worker shortages, which are leading to wage increases.
Consumer spending drives two-thirds of the country's economy. And excess pandemic savings, along with three stimulus checks, has boosted people's spending power. That spending power has increased even more since monthly Child Tax Credit payments started on July 15.
Employment recovering, but still below pre-pandemic levels
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in October, with some workers finding jobs or leaving the workforce, but job growth exceeded expectations for the first time in a few months.
The economy added around 530,000 jobs in October, above forecasts of 450,000, and which was well above the 194,000 new jobs added in September.
In the week ending October 16, nearly 2.7 million Americans were receiving some form of unemployment aid.
About half of all U.S. states began trying to push people back into the job market, with mostly Republican-led states discontinuing the $300 federal unemployment benefit bonus ahead of Labor Day.
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November 08, 2021 at 05:10AM
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