Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Petition for $2K Payment Set to Reach 3 Million Signatures

By Prattiba JaiSri On Nov 22, 2021

Clamor for a fourth stimulus check for financial aid is still strong as an online petition is quickly reaching 3 million signatures.

As of now, 2,966,278 have signed the petition, inches away from the 3 million mark.

Change.org, the website hosting the petition, says that when it reaches 3 million signatures, this petition would become one of the top signed petitions on the site.

The Change.org petition, launched by Denver restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin, urges the U.S. House and Senate to deliver legislation that would provide a “$2,000 payment for adults and $1,000 payment for kids immediately and continuing regular checks” until the pandemic ends.

“Our country is still deeply struggling. The recovery hasn’t reached many Americans – the true unemployment rate for low-wage workers is estimated at over 20% and many people face large debts from last year for things like utilities, rent and child care,” Bonin says in the petition.

“These are all reasons that checks need to be targeted to people who are still struggling and that Congress needs to learn from this past year.

“It took nine months for Congress to send a second stimulus check, and just moments to spend it,” the petition continues.

“Moving forward Congress needs to make recurring checks automatic if certain triggers are met. No more waiting around for our government to send the help we need. Sign to join our movement to get recurring checks to the people.”

The campaign has drawn more than 2,962,640 signatures as of Saturday, with only about 34,870 new supporters in the past month and 6,000 in the past week. It will become one of Change.org’s most-signed petitions if it reaches its benchmark of 3 million signatures.

Aside from the business owners amplifying the petition, the Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is also asking Congress for “emergency stimulus” to assist retirees, disabled adults, widows and widowers in coping with the “unprecedented” inflation year.

Senior citizens have been impacted by an estimated 6.2 percent increase to the Society Security cost of living in 2022, which greatly exceeds this year’s increase of 1.3 percent to benefits.

A $1,400 check could help senior citizens afford groceries on an already tight fixed income. Roughly 25% of low-income seniors reported food insecurity, according to SNAP research.

A fourth stimulus check could help struggling seniors recover from a year of surging prices and supply chain blockages that are still hurting the prospect of recovery for basic grocery items.

More than 56 U.S. representatives, 21 senators and 150 economists—including Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under the Obama administration—have urged President Joe Biden to back recurring stimulus checks this year.

However, their pressure never translated to action.