Lowering The Relief Check Threshold Would Be a Self-Inflicted Disaster
Sending checks to fewer people than Trump is harmful and dumb
The Senate recently passed a budget resolution on their Covid relief bill, which means the Democrats can now pass the legislation with a simple majority. This is a good thing. The Republicans had no interest in providing significant relief, so attempting to obtain a supermajority of 60 votes would’ve meant weakening the bill considerably. This was, unquestionably, the right move. It’s all up to the Democrats now to pass the bill. Which means that any failures of this legislation will lay squarely at their feet, any concessions are entirely self-inflicted.
There was already the whole debacle with promising $2k checks over and over again and then clarifying that what they meant was $1,400 checks that would come months later and total $2k when you added the prior $600 checks issued during the Trump administration. This part isn’t worth arguing over anymore: the checks are $1,400. That isn’t changing. Yes, they should be monthly checks because the economic devastation of this crisis isn’t going anywhere anytime soon—156 top economists made this point back in July—but that ain’t happening right now either.
So, let’s forget all that for a moment. Even the current $1.9 trillion relief package and its $1,400 checks will help a lot of people. But recently, news broke that the Democrats were considering lowering the yearly income threshold for relief check eligibility from $75k individual and $150k household, to $50k individual and $100k household.
First off, this is based on 2019 tax returns, which means it will not help millions of people who have lost their jobs or had their salaries decrease during the pandemic. The means testing of this relief has already left a lot of people out who are struggling. To lower the threshold further, to a level below both rounds of checks issued by the Trump administration (75k/150k) would not only neuter the legislation and its impact to help people, but the optics are horrendous, and the political fallout would be significant.
If the Democrats lower the threshold to $50k individual/100k household they will be cutting off checks for an estimated 40 million people. So this means the first big achievement of this new Democratic administration—which is in control of the White House, the Senate, and the House—would be all but defined by the fact that it will be sending checks to 40 million fewer people than Trump did. Additionally, it’s not as if the savings made from providing checks to millions fewer people are being utilized elsewhere in the bill. The only rationale behind lowering the threshold is deficit hawkery. The cost of the bill is, apparently, too high simply because a few lawmakers say it is.
And no, it really doesn’t matter that Republicans would send checks to even fewer people if they had a say. Because those 40 million people left out of this round will look at the government and see that the Democrats are in complete control and that they didn’t get a check. And they will remember that when a Republican administration was in control, they did.
As usual, those in power are overcomplicating things: People like getting checks. The Senate wins in Georgia had a lot to with with the amazing organizing of Stacey Abrams and many others, but it also had to do with the fact that the Democrats had very simple, direct messaging: We’re going to give you money to survive this pandemic, and the Republicans are not.
Lowering the threshold for the relief checks by even a single dollar will mar this legislation.
It’s already not enough.
It’s already means-tested.
It’s already only set to be the third direct payment issued for over a year of living through a pandemic that has infected 27.6 million, killed 484k, caused the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, and destroyed at least 10 million jobs.
Lowering the threshold is a terrible idea.
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