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ore than eight months down the line, the virus is still with us. Meanwhile, reports from WHO continue to indicate that the virus is not going away soon. The stimulus funds from the government have dried up, as the government’s eviction moratoriums expire. The situation seems hopeless. The questions many people are asking right now is whether they should expect any more stimulus funds from the government.
Should Californians hope for more Covid-19 Cash? The government has been doing all it could to cushion its people and the U.S economy all it could. We can applaud them for that. Government stimulus funds came that prevented many businesses from dying, and a significant population was prevented from starving and were able to pay rent. But the persistence of the pandemic is proving all these government efforts futile. 10
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However, the situation is not entirely hopeless. The government is debating on how to issue another round of stimulus relief. The next package is estimated to have a $1 trillion plan known as the HEALS Act. The Republicans and Democrats are debating over the shape that the next round of relief should take. The two sides seem to be most divided over what should replace the previous $600 unemployment benefits. The Democrats want the weekly $600 weekly checks extended until at least the end of 2020. On the other hand, Republicans advocate for the weekly benefits to be slashed to $200 through September. After that, states would then use a system in which the state and federal benefits combined would compensate 70% of the worker’s previous income. Until an agreement is reached, Americans who lost their jobs will continue to rely on their state benefits, if there is any. In California, lawmakers are considering establishing their own $600 weekly benefits to its unemployed residents if Congress doesn’t reach an agreement. At the end of July, the federal moratorium on evictions passed in the CARES Act expired. This risks having millions of Americans evicted from their homes and rendered homeless. The Urban Institute estimated that the covered nearly 30% of the country’s rental units. Before the moratorium ended, the White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, had said that the moratorium would be extended. The motion on extending the eviction moratorium is before Congress, and still, they have not reached an agreement. Despite all this, there is a clear indication and hope for another round of relief funds from the federal and state governments. Meanwhile, let us continue observing the set public health measure as we hope for a vaccine to be revealed soon. Works Cited https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/600-unemployment-checks-are-gone-soare-eviction-moratoriums-what-relief-could-be-coming-next.html. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/24/stimulus-checks-how-soon-to-expect-asecond-round-of-1200-payments.html.
The Power Is Now Magazine | OCTOBER 2020
