4th stimulus check update – ‘Secret stimulus check’ worth $1,189 sent as calls for new $2,000 payments EVERY MONTH grow

STATES WITH UNCLAIMED CASH

According to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA), one in every 10 people nationwide has forgotten cash waiting to be claimed.

Among the 50 states, New York has the highest amount of unclaimed property, with the total adding up to $17billion.

It’s followed by California at $10.2billion, New Jersey at $4billion, Pennsylvania at $3.8billion, Illinois at $3.5billion, Ohio at $3billion and Virginia at $2.5billion.

WISCONSIN SENATE APPROVES BILL THAT WOULD LOOSEN CHILD LABOR LAWS, CONTINUED

Critics claim the bill is just a way for employers to get around offering adult workers better pay and benefits.

“It’s 2021 & Wisconsin just chose forced child labor instead of paying adults a living wage. Horrid,” a lawyer wrote on Twitter after the bill was approved in the state Senate.

WISCONSIN SENATE APPROVES BILL THAT WOULD LOOSEN CHILD LABOR LAWS

Supporters of the bill hope that it would help improve the labor shortage the state is facing.

If the bill is passed, minors would be able to work from 6am until 9:30pm on a preceding school day, and from 6am until 11pm on a preceding non-school day.

The current law allows minors to work from 7am until 7pm on preceding school days, and from 7am until 9pm on preceding non-school days.

‘SURPRISE STIMULUS’

Families with kids under 13 could get a “surprise” stimulus payment of $8,000 in the form of a tax credit for childcare expenses.

The new adjustments to the Child and Dependent Care Credit for 2021 mean that working American families who hit certain requirements will pocket thousands in extra stimulus funds.

It covers childcare costs up to $8,000, as well as costs for looking after a spouse or parent who can not care for themselves.

This increases to $16,000 in expenses for families with two or more dependents.

These child care expenses include everything from daycare to after-school programs to nannies to day camp and more.

Previously, the maximum amount you could claim for multiple children before was $6,000.

MARYLAND MEATPACKERS GOT MORE MONEY

Maryland farmworkers and meatpackers recently received additional “hazard pay” from the government.

The payments come from a fund of around $700million earmarked for that hard-hit industry.

ANALYSTS SAY STIMULUS CHECKS DIDN’T GO ‘FAR ENOUGH’

Although three rounds of relief payments have been introduced since the start of the pandemic, analysts at the Capital One Insights Center found the checks didn’t go “far enough.“

Low-income Americans were more likely to spend their stimulus cash on bills, according to the study.

And, around a third of Americans reported a loss of income last year.

CHICAGO STIMULUS, PART THREE

Mayor Lightfoot added that it would not affect city spending and there would be no reduction in city services or layoffs as a result.

Instead, the city will use federal relief funds to plug budget holes.

The mayor’s new spending plan also includes more money for police, boosting affordable housing, efforts to clean vacant lots, and planting 75,000 trees.

More details on how the program will run were not immediately released.

CHICAGO STIMULUS, PART TWO

It follows similar pilot plans in New York and California but would become the nation’s largest publicly-funded guaranteed income pilot.

“This cash benefit plan for our residents, if approved, will be the largest in the history of the United States,” Lightfoot said.

It will target residents who live at the poverty level based on their incomes and geography within Chicago.

It will “be focused on very low-income residents who have been economically hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the city’s budget department added.

CHICAGO STIMULUS

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently proposed giving $500 a month to low-income families for a year.

The “first of its kind” pilot program would offer $31.5million in cash assistance to 5,000 households.

NEW YORK CITY $500 VACCINE BENEFIT ENDED

New York City workers had until October 29 to take advantage of an offer to get $500 for receiving a COVID vaccine.

“Starting today, City employees will receive an extra $500 in their paycheck for receiving their first shot,” the Office of the Mayor of New York City announced on October 20.

“This benefit will end at 5pm on Friday, October 29th.”

Now, all city employees are required to have proof of at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

DELTA VARIANT = MORE CHECKS?

Biden appears unlikely to approve a fourth round of direct payments after the previous $1,400 checks sent out in the spring.

His administration has faced mounting pressure to reconsider as the Delta variant continues to spread across the country.

More than 20 Democratic senators including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker have pushed for recurring checks worth up to $2,000.

SENIORS DEMANDING PAYMENTS, CONTINUED

But that is causing concern for a number of senior citizens, Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League told CNBC.

They are worried as a result they could face higher costs in other areas -especially if the income boost pushes them into a higher tax bracket.

A non-taxable stimulus check would help alleviate those fears, petitioners say.

Johnson said some of the the group’s members have been forced to eat one meal a day or cut back on their prescription drugs.

HERE’S WHY SENIORS ARE DEMANDING ANOTHER ROUND OF PAYMENTS

A group of senior citizens have demanded to be sent new $1,400 stimulus checks, citing a rise in their cost-of-living.

The Senior Citizens League wrote to its supporters detailing their plans for a petition for the extra cash payments for retired Americans.

That came after estimates predicted a boost of 6.2% to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

An increase of that size would mark the biggest surge in monthly payouts since 1983.

WHEN IS SOCIAL SECURITY EXPECTED TO RUN OUT?

In September an annual report by the Treasury Department indicated that the Old-Age and Survivors trust fund is only funded for the next 12 years.

Because the fund doesn’t collect enough taxes to cover what it pays out to claimants, resources for retirees are growing depleted every year.

Last year’s report projected the fund would be gone by 2034. The new report confirmed that funds are now only scheduled through 2033.

To avoid this, Congress would need to take action and address the depleting long-term funds of the program.

Assuming Congress does nothing, reports in the media suggest that seniors might only get 75 to 78 percent of their promised Social Security benefits.

CORRECTIONAL WORKERS IN MISSOURI GET CASH

Lawmakers in Missouri gave correctional workers an extra $250 in their pay packet while nurses and janitors in Vermont received checks up to $2,000, USA Today reported.

UPDATE TO PETITION

Bonin added a recent update to her petition as it nears 3million signatures.

“**UPDATE: 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.”

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION SAY, PART FIVE

“For our team and other Americans who can claim unemployment, even the maximum payments will not be enough for most people to continue paying their bills – and avoid slipping into poverty,” Bonin wrote.

“The facts are, even successful small businesses can’t go months with their doors closed.”

“But supplying Americans with monthly support until they can get back on their feet can save our communities from financial ruin.”

“We need immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water. Congress needs to make sure that we won’t be left financially ruined for doing our part to keep the country healthy.”

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION SAY, PART FOUR

“Our talented and cherished team, some of whom have been with us since we opened our doors 15 years ago, are now without an income,” Bonin noted on the petition she started.

“Like our team, my family has lost all of the income from our restaurant, and business owners and the self-employed can’t claim unemployment. This is the story of America right now.”

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION SAY, PART THREE

“My husband and I own a restaurant in Denver and these past two weeks have been a blur,” Bonin wrote.

“Our restaurant community is wrestling with seeing everything we all have worked so hard for irrevocably changed.”

“Our hearts were breaking as we watched our staff divide the ingredients in our kitchen to bring to their homes: a dismal token for employees who worked tirelessly every day.”

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION SAY, PART TWO

“This is catastrophic for working families like mine,” Bonin added.

“I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis.”

“Otherwise, laid-off workers, furloughed workers, the self-employed, and workers dealing with reduced hours will struggle to pay their rent or put food on the table.”

WHAT DOES THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION SAY?

The petition was created by restaraunt owner Stephanie Bonin.

It reads “My name is Stephanie, and I am one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis.”

“With businesses and schools closing across the country to control the spread of this virus, many people have already lost their jobs. Others are being forced to stay home.”

CHANGE.ORG PETITION

More than 2.9 million people have signed a Change.org petition that calls on lawmakers to pass legislation for recurring $2,000 monthly payments. 

Twenty-one Democrat senators have signed a letter to Joe Biden in support of recurring stimulus payments.

The letter read: “Almost six in 10 people say the $1,400 payments set to be included in the rescue package will last them less than three months.”

CONGRESS PUT A FIREWALL FOR DECEASED RECIPIENTS

In an effort to limit the amount of dead people receiving stimulus checks, Congress put forth a firewall toward the end of last year.

The firewall bars anyone who died before January 1, 2020, from receiving a stimulus payment. This means that anyone who died after then also received the subsequent stimulus checks of $600 and $1400.

DEAD PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVED STIMULUS PAYMENTS

When the first stimulus check was issued in April 2020, deceased people were among the recipients of the payment.

More than 1million dead people received the $1,200 check by the end of April last year, which was collectively worth $1.4billion.

The IRS asked surviving family members to return the money, which caused confusion.

STIMULUS HOPES

Some people on social media are still hoping for another federal stimulus check.

“Who else thinks with the rising costs of everything, we should get another stimulus check?” one person wrote.

“I could really use a good old stimulus check,” another Twitter user said.