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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: 1) by khallow on Monday March 15 2021, @03:57AM (3 children)
What again is the point of "stimulating" the economy? I find it remarkable how we've been doing Keynesian economics for near a century and we still don't have evidence that it does anything positive for us.
What's the point of agreement that's not based on reality? The dirty secret to Keynesian economics is that it's a cargo cult, based solidly on confirmation bias. A recession hits, the Keynesian rituals are performed, and the recession goes away. It has been assumed for 90 years that's because Keynesian economics works. But historically, recessions have always gone away, even when we don't do anything about them. What's the difference between with and without?
Instead, the key to why Keynesian economics is in the last part of your sentence: "trying to balance the books". Funny how almost no one does actual Keynesian strategy - paying down debt when the economy is doing well. Instead, they borrow when times are bad, and borrow when times are good. The Keynesian approach provides ideological cover to the parties who want to spend the wealth of future generations. I think that's the real reason there is so much "agreement" on how well it's supposed to work. All the pigs at the trough agree that it works really well.
And most of the people who will pay for these consequences haven't even been born yet.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday March 15 2021, @08:04PM (2 children)
Every government I have lived under has done exactly that.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday March 16 2021, @12:45AM (1 child)
You've already established you don't live under the US government and we're discussing US government policy. So that's one strike right there. Second, I granted with my phrase "almost no one" that there are governments that implement Keynesian economics more or less "properly" - the Scandinavian countries, for example.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday March 16 2021, @01:21AM
Good lord. What happens at strike three?