The economy is gradually going back to what it was immediately after the pandemic. While it was the economic downturn in the first quarter of 2020 triggered by the pandemic, now it is record inflation that has many Americans desperate again for a stimulus check.
This is exactly what around 23 million residents in California will soon get thanks to the new budget deal announced by Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom. The deal he has struck with the legislators is slated to give eligible residents new direct payment that could go up to $1,050 for joint filers with at least one dependent.
Governor Newsom and other legislative party leaders have agreed to a $17 billion relief stimulus check that has $9.5 billion as the relief fund component. The 23 million taxpayers in California will get $200 as the minimum amount. The payment should be ready by the last quarter of 2022 or by the first of 2023.
Millions of residents of the Golden State will receive the payments as part of a new middle-class tax rebate, Newsom revealed on Sunday through social media.
He said that it will put sufficient money in the pockets of residents and will help them fill up on gas and put food on the table. The situation had become desperate only during the peak period of the pandemic.
Details Of The California Stimulus Check
Individual filers who earn $75,000 or less or married couples filing jointly who earn $150,000 or less will receive $350 each and another $350 if they have one or more dependents. Thus joint filers with at least a dependent stand to gain $1,050.
Residents of California earning above that limit but within $125,000 as single filers and $250,000 as joint filers will receive $250 per filer plus another $250 for at least one dependent.
Those earning between $125,000 and $250, as individual filers and below $500,000 as joint filers stand to receive $200 per filer plus another $200 for dependents.
Anyone earning above the third level will not gain any form of a rebate. This measure is a great help for state residents as most families are struggling hard with inflation and allied pressures even as corporate profits and state budgets are performing exceedingly well.
The proposal by the Democratic governor of California is a decent example of reconciling whereby families who need the most help will get it with the highest payment concentrated on the low-income category.
Other states Also Have Gone Ahead With Stimulus Checks Of Their Own To Combat Inflation
Several other states, including New Mexico, New Jersey, and Maine have also moved ahead with efforts to provide direct relief payments to residents to combat inflationary pressures.
Many states are also in an advanced stage of negotiations to go in for a temporary gas tax holiday. Some have even gone ahead and suspended the gas levies. But sending direct stimulus checks remains a better way of helping people without disturbing the established order of revenue earning for states.
But the state stimulus check appears destined to remain confined to around a dozen states or a little more. Other states have backed out of any form of stimulus checks, at least for the moment. One major reason is that most states have completed their legislative sessions for this season.
The large size of the credits given by California will lead to new standards in the payment of state stimulus checks. California is well-placed to spend large sums on supporting its residents as it has the biggest budget among states. It earned a state surplus of $97 billion, the biggest in the US, in 2021 and can freely afford to spend the amount on the state government.
California also has a highly evolved tax code that brings in huge revenue for the state from the profitable corporation and also from the huge numbers of rich individuals resident in the state.
Republican Ruled Florida Also Announces Stimulus Check For Residents
In a quirky turn of events, Ron DeSantis has finally agreed to send a stimulus check for some residents of the Republican-ruled state. The Florida Governor had earlier panned Biden for his stimulus check measure and had said that it was the cause of inflation across the country.
But he has gone ahead and used the funds from Biden’s stimulus check to send inflation relief stimulus checks to residents of Florida.
Even as close as in March, Ron DeSantis had stressed that Biden tried to tackle the pandemic by printing trillions of dollars. He blamed that for the price of everything going up, and the nation was presently feeling the effect of such a move.
But he has also taken note of the fact that Floridians were having it tough due to the 40-year-high inflation rate that had driven prices of gas, food, and other essential items, utilities, and home rent to unmanageable levels.
DeSantis Targets School Children For Aid
DeSantis has gone for a new strategy to help out residents during rising inflation. As the new school year is scheduled to start, the state will return $450 for each child under the care of eligible parents. He wrote that the one-off payment could be used to buy gas or food.
The money comes from a source that DeSantis and his party have derided from the start. The state’s share of the ARPA fund signed by President Biden will be used to fund his plans. The governor plans to use the $35.5 million that the state received as its share under the COVID-19 relief fund.
The Florida stimulus checks will go out to around 60,000 families who have fostered or adopted children in the state. The plan is the brainchild of First Lady Casey DeSantis.
The payment will coincide with a tax holiday for school books and equipment announced by the state. A spokesperson for the Florida Dept. of Children And Families said that the money would have been wasted, meaning that it would have reverted to the federal government if it was not spent within the stipulated period.
Supporters of DeSantis said that this payment would not contribute to inflation as they were spending money that was already in existence. But critics have argued that inflation becomes a reality once the surplus cash is injected into the economy, not before.
