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from the a-billion-here-a-billion-there-pretty-soon-you're-talking-about-real-money dept.
Biden signs $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, making $1,400 checks and child tax credit official:
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which includes a third stimulus check, for up to $1,400, and an expanded child tax credit. The IRS and Treasury will begin to send the new stimulus checks as soon as this weekend, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday at a press briefing.
The bill signing comes just one day after the amended bill passed in the House by a vote of 220-211. The House initially passed the bill on Feb. 26, and the Senate approved it last week, albeit with some changes.
[...] Democrats had been pushing to get the stimulus package signed into law before current unemployment benefits expire March 14. Biden was originally scheduled to sign the bill on Friday, but it got moved forward after Congress sent the final bill to the president more quickly than anticipated, Psaki said on Thursday.
The stimulus package, called the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, includes changes made by the Senate last week, such as reducing income limits for the third stimulus payment and lowering proposed weekly unemployment benefits from $400 a week to $300 a week (though they'd extend through Sept. 6 rather than the end of August). The Senate also dropped a federal minimum wage increase from the legislation, but proponents say they'll reintroduce that at a later date.
How to watch President Biden's national address tonight.
House passes $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, sends it to Biden to sign:
[...] Here are the proposal's major pieces:
- It extends a $300 per week jobless aid supplement and programs making millions more people eligible for unemployment insurance until Sept. 6. The plan also makes an individual's first $10,200 in jobless benefits tax-free.
- The bill sends $1,400 direct payments to most Americans and their dependents. The checks start to phase out at $75,000 in income for individuals and are capped at people who make $80,000. The thresholds for joint filers are double those limits. The government will base eligibility on Americans' most recent filed tax return.
- It expands the child tax credit for one year. It will increase to $3,600 for children under 6 and to $3,000 for kids between 6 and 17.
- The plan puts about $20 billion into Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution, along with roughly $50 billion into testing and contact tracing.
- It adds $25 billion in rental and utility assistance and about $10 billion for mortgage aid.
- The plan offers $350 billion in relief to state, local and tribal governments.
- The proposal directs more than $120 billion to K-12 schools.
- It increases the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit by 15% through September.
- The bill includes an expansion of subsidies and other provisions to help Americans afford health insurance.
- It offers nearly $30 billion in aid to restaurants.
- The legislation expands an employee retention tax credit designed to allow companies to keep workers on payroll.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday March 13 2021, @12:49AM (2 children)
So what's your solution to this?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 13 2021, @04:41PM (1 child)
For whom? For you or for myself? Do what you've been claiming you plan on doing for years, or what I have already done. Get out of the US, detach yourself from assets dependent upon the stability of the US. Then enjoy life without a people going batshit insane, cheaper prices on everything, and in most countries even greater entrepreneurial possibilities than back home.
For the US? Even if there were a solution, it wouldn't matter. Not a thing I said is surprising or controversial to those with wealth and influence. They're happy to run these experiments because they believe even if the US collapses, that they can come out on the top of whatever that "collapse" translates to in practice. And they're probably right. If these experiments work out they win, if these experiments crash the country they win. This formula's not getting changed.
For those within the US who cannot leave? Drop the mindset that prepping is for far right or conspiracy types or whatever else. There is a reason all of the elites are prepping, that Bezos is buying up land + citizenship in New Zealand, etc.. The US collapsing is a very real possibility. What does that mean? I've no idea. But keeping your wealth in stuff with value independent of the market (home, land, physical "stuff"), and having supplies to live very comfortably for an extended period of time without access to public resources (like electricity) is very easy to do. Even if you're 99.9% sure nothing will ever happen, you don't want to be caught with your pants down in that 1 in 1000. Even just going out and buying 5kg bags of rice + beans + gallons of water + blankets + basic first aid + costs basically nothing, and gives you vastly more security than without.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday March 13 2021, @11:26PM
So we're basically thinking along the same lines, then :/ How awful, that it's come to this. I really hope Halifax is even practicable, because as much as I like Hamilton based on the research I've done, even *that* may be too close to the center of all this. Never fear, emigration plans are on track--actually slightly ahead of schedule, financially--for mid-2022. Would be earlier if I hadn't insisted on getting my mother out of NYC and settling her here in Buffalo this summer.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...