It goes without saying that the stimulus check has turned into a provision that has helped American citizens survive. Although the recovery of the American economy is going at a pretty solid pace, most citizens aren’t really seeing any improvement in their general living conditions. The rate of unemployment is still at a rate much higher than it used to be before the pandemic, and several jobs haven’t returned yet. In such a precarious time, is there a provision for a fourth stimulus payment?
Necessity Of A Fourth Stimulus Check?
The third stimulus check took place almost three months back- which was due to the American Rescue Plan. Since that proposition came to play, more than 169 million people have been considered eligible to receive the $1,400 check- with the total valuation coming to $395 billion. This does include the 2.3 million checks coupled with several plus-up payments that did go out the previous week. The checks of ARP do closely follow the $600 payments met out in January- that came out almost nine months after the $1,200 payments in the early days of the pandemic.
The importance of yet another stimulus check can be understood, if the US economy were to be taken under consideration. In the first quarter of this year, the US economy grew at a rate of 6.4%, which was much faster than its growth of 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Conference Board has predicted that the economy will grow at a rate of 9% in the second quarter. This rise could definitely reach double-digits throughout the stretch of the year.
The broader segments of the American workforce haven’t really faced many hardships due to the pandemic. Most of the jobs that were performed at their desks can now be performed in the comforts of their homes too. This has resulted in fewer spending outlets, leading to the citizens saving a major part of their stimulus check. The personal saving rate went up to 33.7% last year, something that has continued well into this year.