by enderr920
My family isn’t in desperate need of more stimulus, but it would certainly help. My wife was working about 36hr/week at her job, but needed to stay at home with our kids once schools closed. Her employer is now paying her part of her wages, but it’s 50% pay for 20hrs per week since she’s classified as part time. End result is her take home pay is a little less than 1/3 of usual. Fortunately, I’m still working, and I’m taking all overtime I have available to me. It makes up a portion of the difference, but we’re still short of comfortable. We knew this going into it, but were confident that unemployment would make up the difference.
However, unemployment’s online system didn’t like that she was still getting paid something. They sent a letter, instructing her to call. The phone lines were so jammed that we ended up using an auto-redialing app. It took more than 2000 calls to make it onto hold. Then 4hrs on hold, just to be told that they’re backed up on claims, and an agent will contact her within 8-10 days. 2 full weeks pass, and she gets another letter telling her to call again. This time, only a couple hundred calls later, she gets through and is told that her claim should be sorted out within the next week. They’re busy, I get it. That’s not where my beef is, this is just our situation.
My problem is with Congress. We spent most of our saving preparing for lockdown. The first stimulus check replenished most of it, but we’ve dwindled that down because of the lack of income. Now both houses of Congress keep proposing new, grand ideas on how to stimulate the economy. Payroll tax cuts, back to work credits, more checks, essential workers bonuses. It all sounds great, but not a single one of these things is even close to being passed! Stop talking, and do your job!
Do you want to show appreciation for workers that stayed working through the crisis? Great! Give us a nice bonus, don’t just talk about how nice it would be. If you want to cut their payroll taxes, make it retroactive, dating back to when this started. I never left work. Reducing my taxes for a few weeks is a slap in the face!
Would you prefer to get people back to work with a bonus? Also, awesome! But doing only that would not help the people that have been working the whole time!
Want to help both groups? A check for everyone would do that! I know it’s not popular, but it would help the most people. Isn’t that the point of a large aid package? To help most of the people that need it?
State unemployment systems are swamped, and state governments are desperate for help, too. Give over the financial resources to help aid these systems. I know we’re not the only ones waiting on back unemployment pay. Any one of these things would help greatly, but instead we have talk. Our country is literally burning right now, and the president has shut off the lights to hide in a bunker.
According to some reports, the first round of stimulus wasn’t entirely spent by the people that received it, and therefore more isn’t needed yet. I’ve given my reasons why I haven’t spent it all, and I feel I’ve been responsible with the money. We’re saving for a down payment for a house. If the government can help give back the months of saving that we lost, we’d be back on track. How much more can I stimulate the economy as an individual than by buying my first home? They’re mad because I didn’t blow it on a TV?
Be prepared for a huge change this fall. Americans are sick of their representatives. They want a leader that steps up. You were elected because you garnered the trust of your people. It’s time you show us that our trust wasn’t misplaced. Do something now, or you’ll be out of a job, just like so many of the people you swore an oath to serve.