Don’t Expect Congress to Pass a Fourth COVID-19 Stimulus Check in 2022

By MaraRev On Oct 23, 2021

Not necessarily, right? Isn’t it the case that when the coronavirus epidemic is over, stimulus tests in the United States will come to an end? Not necessarily.

While a fourth national stimulus payment is not on the horizon, it does not mean that stimulus programs are no longer in existence.

Democrats and Republicans are divided over whether or not to make another direct payment. Some progressive activists are calling for one more check, but neither Democratic nor Republican leadership is on board with paying out another cash.

The same may be said of President Obama: When asked about it in May, press secretary Jen Psaki replied that a fourth check was not on the administration’s to-do list and that the checks were “not free.”

She’s correct: Stimulus checks aren’t cheap. The most recent $1,400 cheques cost the federal government approximately $400 billion. For comparison, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, and Vermont have a GDP of roughly $350 billion combined.

Secondly, the economy is in much better shape now than it was then. Since May 2020, the economy has created 17.4 million new employment opportunities.

The jobless rate in September dropped to 4.8%, which is a bit below the 5% level that economists have historically considered “full employment.” It’s also a long way from the 14.8 percent unemployment figure reported in April 2020.

Simply stated, the chances of a fourth stimulus package being passed by Congress are close to nil.

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