The other day I wrote an article about why a second round of stimulus checks may not happen. It was based on recent comments from those in the legislative branch and also in the executive branch.

But there is also competing evidence that more stimulus checks could happen. So in order to provide a balanced take on this issue, I wanted to provide some reasons why more stimulus checks could still happen.

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There is growing support 

The most talked about (or at least most anticipated) proposed bill for additional stimulus checks is the Emergency Money for the People Act (EMPA), which could authorize $2,000 in monthly payments for at least six months.

Just in the last week, the bill has gained more cosponsors from lawmakers and 62 members of Congress also signed a letter in favor of recurring monthly payments. So there is a little bit of momentum building for more payments, which is always a good sign. 

But with GOP lawmakers expressing concern about the growing national debt and wanting to first see how stimulus funds are used by Americans, it could take some serious time for the bill to gain support from democrats and republicans.

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Studies show we’ll need it 

According to a recent survey by SimplyWise, 63% of Americans will likely need an additional stimulus check within the next three months. That’s a significant majority and just goes to show you how many millions of people will be struggling to pay bills in the coming months.

In 2019, the average cost to rent an apartment in the US was $1,471 per month, so that $1,200 one time payment did not cover rent for a lot of people for even one month.

There are additional talks about forgiving rent and mortgage payments which could be another bill that goes through so stimulus checks may not be the only relief offered for people struggling with rent.

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Unemployment & reduced hours is staggering

The U.S. Department of Labor stated 30.3 million Americans filed for unemployment in the last six weeks representing 18.6% of the US labor force.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released last week showed 50 percent of Americans said they or someone in their household either lost a job or had their hours reduced (up from 18 percent a month ago).

Those numbers are just staggering.

As we approach unemployment levels getting closer to levels seen in the Great Depression, it would seem really easy to make a strong case for additional rounds of stimulus checks.

But it’s also possible that unemployment benefits could largely make up for what is needed here.

Congress expanded unemployment benefits so that they included an extra $600 per week (which were in addition to state benefits) and they also expanded the eligibility requirements to include independent contractors, gig workers, and self-employed workers.

These were set to last four months but they could be extended. 

Obviously, this would only benefit people who are currently receiving unemployment.

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More cases are predicted to happen 

The model that is utilized by the White House is now forecasting many more deaths than it was just a week ago (as a result of the country opening up in certain regions). 

It’s entirely possible that a second wave of deaths could force another lock down of sorts or at least make the current plans to open up the economy drag on much slower than expected.

This would leave a lot of people out of work much longer than currently anticipated and could be a reason for a much more robust stimulus package.

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Final word

Overall, it’s still too early to tell what is going to happen but I do think that most evidence points to another round or continuous rounds of stimulus checks not happening. Or if they do come out, we may have to wait a while for the government to first see how bad the economy is going to get.