The second stimulus: what's likely included in the much-needed $900B package
The stimulus, Round #1... When lockdowns hit full force nine months ago, the economy suffered: a staggering ~22M Americans lost their jobs between March and April, and the unemployment rate soared to 14.7% in April from 3.5% in February. The US government moved quickly to provide financial medicine, in the form of a massive $2T economic rescue package.
- That helped drive a swift recovery, but now the pace of financial healing has dramatically slowed.
- Meanwhile: 10.7M Americans are still unemployed, ~8M have fallen into poverty since June, and Covid cases are soaring in a 3rd wave.
The stimulus, Reloaded... Nine months after the first stimulus was passed, Congress has finally agreed to pass another (smaller) stimulus bill. Here's what's likely included in the nearly $900B package:
- Checks: Direct payments of $600 to many American adults, and in some cases an extra $600 per dependent child.
- Boosted unemployment: An extra $300/week in unemployment benefits for at least 10 weeks.
- Business aid: At least $300B in small business assistance, including PPP loans.
- Healthcare funding: Funds for distributing the two FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccines, and relief to overwhelmed hospitals.
Small businesses lost big in 2020... While the Payroll Protection Program was intended to help mom-and-pop shops, it was bigger businesses who benefited most. More than half of the ~$525B in PPP loans doled out through November went to just 5% of the 5M total recipients. Most of the loan money was given to larger businesses, according to The Washington Post. ~100K businesses have permanently shutteredsince lockdowns. Meanwhile, 45 of the 50 largest US companies have been profitable since March. Small businesses badly need this 2nd stimulus — hopefully it'll be more helpful than the first.