With this pandemic shutting down a lot of things recently and tons of people in what seems to be a state of panic, President Trump and his administration have announced that they will try to get direct payments out to Americans, keep the stock market open, and more. With lots of people’s jobs being affected this is both a relief and a bit concerning.
However, it does seem a ‘coronavirus plan’ is in the works. Sure, we don’t know a lot of the details just yet but things are somehow staying afloat within reason. That being said, with each passing day more and more workplaces close down to help prevent further spread of this virus.
According to Vice Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said as follows as at White House Press Conference:
“These will be payments to small businesses. We’ve talked about loan guarantees to critical industries such as airlines and hotels, and we’ve also talked about a stimulus package to the American worker.”
“We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately. Americans need cash now, the president wants to get cash now, I mean now, in the next few weeks.”
This option is thought to be better than a payroll tax cut as the tax cut would take much longer to get to those who need it. According to LA Times, this economic stimulus package could end up being about one trillion dollars total in the hopes of countering the effects of the coronavirus itself and providing relief for small businesses and those who are in need. As Trump himself has stated, “It’s going to be big and it’s going to be bold.”
LA Times reported as follows on this topic:
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill expressed widespread support for a significant and immediate economic stimulus package — one that will likely top the response to the 2008 financial crisis. During that time, lawmakers quickly approved hundreds of billions of dollars to soften what would become the Great Recession.
The fast-moving coronavirus legislation reflects the urgent need to flush cash into a society that is rapidly changing as workers stay home, airlines cancel flights and restaurants and institutions close their doors to try to contain the spread of the virus. Mnuchin described much of the assistance as “business interruption” funding.
A key component is expected to be checks sent to Americans in the coming weeks. Mnuchin, who has become the administration’s frontman in negotiating the stimulus, said details would be announced shortly about how large the checks would be and when they would be sent. He suggested the amounts would be larger than the $1,000 checks proposed in recent days.
McConnell did not commit to including per-person checks in his package but did say there would be some component to put money directly into the hands of individuals. Rank-and-file Senate Republicans support the idea of quickly infusing society with cash and helping workers who face layoffs.
“I think really now it’s just a question of drafting it and crafting it in a way that can pass and work — that will work soon enough,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a sentiment that was echoed almost universally among Senate Republicans.
Rubio, like Mnuchin, defended the billions of dollars that will be added to the nation’s deficit in the coming weeks.
“We’re not talking about businesses here that made bad decisions that are asking to be bailed out. This is a virus,” he said. “That is an extraordinary development.”
The plan is generally expected to also include payments and loans to small businesses to keep their payrolls afloat, and loan guarantees to industries such as airlines and hotels. Trump said airline maker Boeing is expected to be included as well.
“This is worse than 9/11″ for the airline industry, Mnuchin said, saying the sector has “almost ground to a halt.”
While at the moment we are not sure when things will happen or how much money Americans will be getting, it seems things are going to be much quicker than they would be otherwise. While it could take time for an agreement to be made regarding both chambers of Congress, in time we will know more. Life here in the US is almost what feels like ‘overnight’ being affected which has many of us very afraid for what could be to come.
For more information on all of this please check out the video below. Do your best to remain safe no matter where you are and try to help others as best you can considering how things are going at the moment. Things might be scary right now, but they will get better.