Author: Zheng Rui
The United States quickly became the center of the global new Corphor-pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic. As of last Saturday (April 4), 41 states have released home isolation orders.8,500 people were killed.While fighting against the virus, people are also facing the urgency of social and economic stagnation.Earlier, the two institutes of the United States Congress temporarily put aside the differences and quickly passed the coronary virus assistance, relief and economic security law (Cares Act, hereinafter referred to as the Care Act), and used about $ 2.2 trillion in financial power.Checks to help citizens over crisis.According to the US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, cash aid can reach the hands of the people as soon as mid -April, but can this lead the difficulty of American families?
US $ 22 trillion in fiscal assistance is unprecedented in American history.The rescue of the bill is more than twice the stimulus scheme passed in the US financial tsunami in 2008.It is estimated that 94%of the tax returns will receive a one -time emergency cash.Even Bernie Sanders, the leader of American democratic socialist leaders, has to say that the bill provides the largest expansion of unemployment welfare in history. Mitch McConnell, a major party leader of the Senate, described the bill as to reach the bill to reachAmerican investment level.The degree of generosity made Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott still complained at the last moment of the bill that this would promote employees to be fired and unwilling to work.
The US government's assistance will not be here.President Trump has threw another idea of another 2. trillion infrastructure plan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is also planning to deal with the fourth bill of the epidemic.The US government's currency and fiscal policies are almost exhausted, showing their determination to save the economy.
The Care Act is preferred by family
In the Care Act, US $ 301 billion will be directly allocated to American families, 250 billion yuan for expanding unemployment insurance, 349 billion will be used for loans for small enterprises, 500 billion will be used for corporate assistance.340 billion yuan is used to support medical insurance providers and reserve medical equipment, and local governments will also receive 150 billion yuan.
A number of aids in the bill are closely related to individuals and families.Among them, the most direct assistance to individuals is that individuals with income less than $ 75,000 for most of the annual income can receive $ 1,200 in cash payment at one time. In addition to personal checks, married couples will also receive each younger child.The $ 500 subsidy means that a family of four with a income of less than $ 150,000 can receive $ 3,400.The cash obtained by individuals with income higher than $ 75,000 has gradually decreased, and couples with more than $ 99,000 and more than $ 198,000 have no cash aid.
In addition, the bill has made significant changes to unemployment rescue. The federal government’s weekly unemployment relief fund will increase by $ 600, and the increased payment will last for four months.The applicant will also be allowed to obtain long -term benefits.The bill has created a temporary unemployment aid plan to help those scattered workers and freelancers who have unemployed or lost part of their jobs due to the epidemic.Loan repay benefits.
The bill also includes a family priority assistance plan, which includes a assistance school for US $ 8.8 billion for student diet, $ 15.5 billion for the Federal Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) to ensure the supply of food vouchers (Food STAMP); $ 450 million for foodFood Bank and other community food distribution projects to ensure the lowest levels of life in society.In the aid of SMEs and local governments, some funds will also enter different social security projects in each state.
The effect needs to be verified
In the case of conservatives, the US government can be rare through such large -scale financial assistance, but in the face of the unemployment rate that may rise sharply, the effect of these policies is yet to be tested.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the third week of March (15th to 21st), the application for the new unemployment relief funds in the United States suddenly rose, approaching 3.3 million copies, and the fourth week (22nd to 28th) reached 6.6 millionshare.The previous highest record was 695,000 copies set in 1982, followed by 665,000 copies of the financial tsunami during the 2009 financial tsunami. The data of the two weeks after March this year were 4.7 times and 9.5 times the highest record of the previous record.In New York, which has a serious epidemic, the application case in the fourth week of March increased by 2,674%from the same period last year.
Last Friday (April 3), the United States announced that the March unemployment rate was 4.4%.Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis predict that the U.S. unemployment rate will reach 30%in the second quarter, and the epidemic may lead to 47 million people unemployed and the total unemployment will reach 52.8 million.You know, in the 1930s, the most serious period of the Great Depression, the U.S. unemployment rate was only 24.9%.The relatively conservative Morgan Stanley also predicts that the average unemployment rate at the same time will reach 12.8%, which will exceed the 10.8%high record set in 1982.
In other words, the crisis caused by the epidemic may have been unprepared in the past century.This is why most economists believe that it is necessary to take unprecedented fiscal measures, and therefore generally recognize the government's $ 2.2 trillion aid plan.However, with the development of the epidemic, there are many controversy whether these aids are sufficient.
Some Democrats' left -wing politicians believe that these aids are stretched against American families. For example, Sanders believes that the bill is not perfect.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned how the bill was responsible for millions of people and small enterprises. They suddenly broke their income and paid rent, mortgage loans, and loans on April 1st, andOther important bills.
Many economists worry that if the crisis continues to deepen and the epidemic cannot be relieved in the short term, this rescue solution is far from enough for the family.After all, the special effects of special effects for the new coronal virus may not be available for a few months, and the vaccine may have to wait for one and a half years, or even longer.
Richard Marsston, a professor of finance at Wharton School of Business, said that personal small cash check support is necessary, but the amount of assistance plans is slightly insufficient compared with the cash required by many families.Natalie Foster, co -chairman of ECONOMIC Security Project, questioned: For most Americans, $ 1,200 is the average rent. The first check has been spent.what to do?The person in charge of the Economic Innovation Group of Washington Think Tank believes that the scale of loan required to prevent large -scale closure and layoffs may be four to five times larger than currently provided.
Although many economists have said that one -time assistance is not enough, it is not realistic to continue such high -intensity financial assistance in accordance with the current financial situation of the US government. In the long run, it is more likely to face the dilemma.
When the Americans put down pride and start asking for help
It should be said that the US $ 2.2 trillion financial bill reflects the cohesion of the US government at the time of crisis. It is necessary for the US economy under the epidemic, but for American families, this bill is likely to be just a cup of water.Salary.
At the end of last month, the New York Times disclosed that thousands of Americans had to ask for help from charity and welfare agencies for basic life-from college students to warehouse workers, from staff at convenience stores to restaurant owners, from private fitness coaches to free designTeacher, more and more people who have never thought of government aid appear at the door of food banks, community service centers, and non -profit organizations.Go to the table of yourself and your family.
You know, help is often synonymous with poverty and weakness in American culture, and it is a manifestation of lack of ability.In the hearts of the Americans who believed hard work, they stretched out their hands and even ashamed.This situation is enough to illustrate the impact of the epidemic on ordinary families in the United States, and also reflects the weakness and lack of government aid.
It should be noted that a large number of scattered workers, individual merchants, and people who income with tips are likely to have no salary records, so there is no tax reporting, which will affect their government cash assistance.The U.S. Taxation (IRS) provided simple tax reporting guidance to residents who do not return taxes on Monday (March 30), and also canceled the tax reporting requirements for the elderly, but still unavoidable omissions, especially those without formal official archives or those without formal official archives orEntry immigrants with language disorders.
In recent years, the zero -worker economy has grown rapidly in the United States. The consulting company An Yong has predicted that by 2020, one of the five American employees will engage in the zero economy.For these people, the government's welfare and guarantee measures are not enough. Under the epidemic, the risk of unemployment is extremely great. The expansion of unemployment and relief can maintain their livelihood. It still needs to be observed.
In addition, the US residents' savings rate last year was 7.9%. Although it was improved compared to before, if the income was lost, the situation was not optimistic.According to the US Federal Reserve's survey of US families last year, in 2018, 21%of the United States said that they did not have economic buffer funds. If they encountered an unexpected expenditure of $ 400, then three of the ten adults may not be able to pay.Its bill.The polls of the PEW Research Center in the Pew Research Center in late March this year show that 88%of respondents believe that the new coronary pneumonia epidemic has pose a major threat to the US economy. Nearly half of the interviewees saidTheir personal financial crisis.Families with fragile financial conditions cannot be maintained for a long time by relief funds and cash assistance.
Combined with the prevalence of the US zero worker economy and the lack of family emergency funds, it can be seen that a $ 1,200 check is difficult to solve the dilemma of American families.The US $ 22 trillion fiscal expenditure undoubtedly reflects the determination of the United States to save the economy, but what American families need in crisis may be far more than that.
