Proposed Bill Would Give Americans $2,000 A Month Until Economy Recovers

[cheezcarls]

I would like to share on what is happening on my country (The Philippines) when it comes for the government to provide assistance to the low-income households. Since the start of the lockdown (or Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ in short), the government provided financial assistance to the low-income households of just between $120 to $160 per month, which is only good for basic needs as a third-world country.

But now that our city have lesser restrictions and slowly recovering, there’s no need for us to receive financial assistance (unless if circumstances happen like virus getting out of control, we could get another financial assistance again).

I’m just surprised that since the start of the COVID-19 restrictions in the country, the American government hasn’t provided $2,000 financial assistance to their citizens (which is still under consideration) as their businesses and jobs are affected by the pandemic.

Restarting the economy is the only way to get back on track provided that the citizens must adhere to the minimum health standards such as face masks, proper hygiene, social distancing, etc. Look at New Zealand right now, they’ve succeeded in controlling the virus and social distancing has been lifted after no more new cases for so many weeks.

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[thesmallgod]

Considering the numbers of people soliciting for money on gofundme in recent time to feed their family, I do not see anything wrong with it and I'm very sure the united state is abreast and capable of handling the cons of printing fiat to mitigate the effect of this global pandemic. If this go through, it could be another crypto rally as it has been noticed before that a lot of Americans use their stimulus package to buy crypto specifically on coinbase

[Taskford]

If the government it then why not? it can help their citizen to not struggle especially majority lose their job by this pandemic and I really had a confidence that America can afford it since they are rich country and I'm sure they have reserves for this kind of situation.

Let's hope this pandemic will end soonest so that we can end up the misery of the people who got affected by the crisis.

[STT]

The virus will carry on for the rest of this year at least I think, the danger is not known whether it mutates further and poses an annual reoccurring event where a constant threat to all could be possible.   THats the worst outcome but the best is a vaccine available to some by year end and only next year is maybe for most.

The 2k a month on top of other debt means more QE, it could be a bigger threat to produce more debt and take that stance rather then just modifying all business to reduce contact which is the only real cure for now.

[plvbob0070]

But the question is, until when? We never know when will their economy recovers since the U.S. is highly affected by the pandemic with over 3 million confirmed cases. Perhaps, the government can easily give $2,000 financial assistance per month but how long would it last?

I'm not against helping their citizens knowing that a lot of people already lost their jobs because of this virus. Our government also did this kind of help, but not until now. Also, if they would take action on implementing strict protocols to protect their people, they can decrease the number of cases. Giving financial aid is a good move, but working on handling the pandemic to flatten the curve is a better action while there is still no vaccine.

[abhiseshakana]

The difference now is the national debt vs. GDP has already surpassed the height of WWII, and that happened back in April. Where does it end? The obvious worry is the US is going to follow in Japan's footsteps.

As long as America can manage debt like Japan, it won't be a big problem. Like Japan, government debt securities are mostly held by domestic and not foreign parties. Besides that, despite the large American debt, the multistreaming income is large and the foreign exchange reserves are still large. Also at a time like this it is necessary to closely observe what the real money owner does, like Warren Buffet when Berkshire Hathaway sold the majority of his shares in Q1 and chose to hold cash (which is outside the habits of those who hold shares for a long time).

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/69-trillion-of-world-debt-in-one-infographic/

[Argoo]

Well, whether this $2,000 will be granted or not, the $2.2 trillion CARES Act is still there. It's our opportunity to see if the mainstream economists are correct about printing money as a means to avoid recession/depression. The logic should be simple, that is the government must pay its debt. They may or may not get away with this recession, but this decision will backfire them at some point in the future, except if people will be so rich so that they can pay high taxes.

Of course, for the US government to print a few trillion dollars is not a big deal. All the same, their dollars, without any collateral, diverge around the world and are even in demand. If other states do this, inflation will quickly ruin their economies. Therefore, Americans are now in a more privileged position.

[yhiaali3]

I heard that the US government was giving  1,000$ at the beginning of the spread of the Corona virus, and now they have increased this aid to  2,000$. This sounds good at first sight, but as unemployment, turmoil, and the deterioration of the American economy increase, will the US government be able to pay more of this aid to the increasing numbers of unemployed?
Another matter, as the number of the unemployed increases, the American economy will stop slowly and the resources of the state treasury will be greatly reduced. Will the American government be able to continue to do so for a long time?

[btc78]

Considering the numbers of people soliciting for money on gofundme in recent time to feed their family, I do not see anything wrong with it and I'm very sure the united state is abreast and capable of handling the cons of printing fiat to mitigate the effect of this global pandemic. If this go through, it could be another crypto rally as it has been noticed before that a lot of Americans use their stimulus package to buy crypto specifically on coinbase

Sure it is, because America is the most devastated country today as the  infections are growing and the death toll continues to rise.

So basically people of US need funds to support their living until the pandemic totally stops and the job back to normal.

But of course they must check if the one who claims are legit and not just those people who's living in the street because of drug addictions .

[Casdinyard]

That was good to hear that a proposed bill to give out $2,000 as financial assistance for people affected by covid-19 pandemic will be implemented once it is passed as a bill. But that would still undergo a long term of process because knowing America to have the most number of cases which means most number of affected people as well and that only means many people are in need to be assisted by $2,000 for the next few months until their economy recovers. That was good to hear but seems impossible to make happen especially when it comes to funds. Imagine a lot of people might be just dependent on that financial aid because a lot of people are jobless as of the moment because of the implementing community quarantine.

The idea was good but the implementation seems to be impossible. Well, if there would be amendment with regards to the content of the proposed bill which would target only those that are directly affected and poorest of the poor, it might be possible to narrow down the number of people that is needed to be given by the financial assistance just like what our government did in our country. If that's the case, maybe it could be possible.

[Vod]

UBI is the future, but I don't believe governments can afford it for a billion people in America yet.  :/

Governments are still reliant on blanket taxes - so any payments would be temporary.   To move to permanent UBI, the government needs to move to service fees and profit - make the people who USE the services pay for them (roads, school, etc).

[exstasie]

The difference now is the national debt vs. GDP has already surpassed the height of WWII, and that happened back in April. Where does it end? The obvious worry is the US is going to follow in Japan's footsteps.

As long as America can manage debt like Japan, it won't be a big problem. Like Japan, government debt securities are mostly held by domestic and not foreign parties.

Right, QE infinity. What could go wrong?

It may not be a big problem in terms of a currency collapse or something like that. I'm talking more so about Japan's anemic growth over the past few decades.

[DooMAD]

As long as America can manage debt like Japan, it won't be a big problem. Like Japan, government debt securities are mostly held by domestic and not foreign parties.

Right, QE infinity. What could go wrong?

It may not be a big problem in terms of a currency collapse or something like that. I'm talking more so about Japan's anemic growth over the past few decades.

But there are some economic arguments suggesting that chasing growth for the sake of growth is a pointless exercise. 

Ultimately, we have to ask which is of greater importance:
 
That some big, arbitrary number is slightly bigger than it was last year? 
Or that the economy actually serves the purpose of supporting the people and businesses within that economy?

[exstasie]

Right, QE infinity. What could go wrong?

It may not be a big problem in terms of a currency collapse or something like that. I'm talking more so about Japan's anemic growth over the past few decades.

But there are some economic arguments suggesting that chasing growth for the sake of growth is a pointless exercise. 

Ultimately, we have to ask which is of greater importance:
 
That some big, arbitrary number is slightly bigger than it was last year? 
Or that the economy actually serves the purpose of supporting the people and businesses within that economy?

Output is directly related to wage levels, unemployment levels. Stagnant growth means falling wages, rising unemployment, etc. Not exactly an ideal situation for the population. Real wages in Japan are down 13% since 1997, if you can believe that. That's jaw dropping to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Decade_(Japan)#Effects

I don't want to get into a philosophical discussion about Austrian vs. Keynesian economics here. That requires a much deeper dive. I'm just talking about the immediate economic effects of a "lost decade" scenario.