Can Americans expect stimulus checks in 2022?
The year opened with a discussion of the U.S. bailout, which will continue to increase household income by $1,400 - $5,600 for a family of four - through the third round of direct economic impact payments. Now that the year is over, the critical question is whether 2022 will see the 4th round of payments.
Parents who had a child in 2021 could get their $1,400 cash back when they pay their taxes in 2022. According to Newsweek, most people have already received their entire U.S. bailout payment, but those who haven't been able to claim the Economic Impact Payments as a refund credit.
Provided they file their tax returns first, parents of children born in 2021 will be eligible for a stimulus check early next year, said Scott McKinney, head of marketing at Debt Bombshell. "As with previous stimulus checks, they will still be required to meet income eligibility requirements, which means they do not have to make more than $75,000 a year."
"Some states are building their stimulus funds, which makes it unlikely that the federal government will create more stimulus checks," said Anthony Martin, CEO, and founder of Choice Mutual.
Several states — including California, Georgia, Connecticut, Florida, New York, and Tennessee — have already introduced supplemental stimulus payments. Some of those states may continue these programs into the new year — but they're not the same everywhere you go. Some took the form of semi-universal exams; others were profession-specific such as teachers administered through expanded programs such as SNAP.
There is a broad consensus that the political will needed to push through the fourth stimulus package does not exist.
"Unless conditions worsen dramatically, it is unlikely that more direct stimulus checks will be sent out next year," said Carter Smith
Only a disaster like March 2020 can muster the kind of political consensus needed to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on ongoing pandemic relief.
"At this point, I would say the odds of another round of stimulus checks are fairly slim," said Riley Adams, Google's chief financial analyst and editor in chief of Compare Forex Brokers. The data must show a rapid rise well above the consensus forecast for the Omicron cases for that to happen. This could lead to large shelter-in-place orders being issued across most, if not all, states. As a result, it will be challenging to coordinate and take action on the need for another round of stimulus checks at the national level when many countries choose not to have a shelter-in-place system, preferring instead to remain open to avoid a potential downturn in the economy."
The fourth round of checks may do more harm than good
Nor has policymakers lost sight of the fact that the highest inflation rate in 40 years came immediately on the heels of the latest round of checks - and more disposable income could further heighten the tension.
"Pumping more federal stimulus into the economy could fan the flames of inflation even further," Adams said. "As people have more income, consumer demand may rise and exacerbate an already stressed supply chain."
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