Terminology – Nickel and diming the CARES stimulus package (pénalisation du plan de relance CARES)

Copyright @ Françoise Herrmann

Next week, by April 17, many people are slated to receive a tax-free direct deposit, in the amount of $1200, from the Federal Government. Who could have ever imagined a no strings attached Federal check, coming just when taxes are due? It was already quite extraordinary that the tax filing deadline was moved to July 15 this year, without penalties (IRS, March 20, 2020). However, no matter how extraordinary these measures might be, they now pale in comparison to the US State of Emergency, where, to date, close to half a million people are infected with the coronavirus, and approximately 20,000 have died as a consequence (CDC - COVID19). Indeed, the situation is so dire, that it is no longer possible to post data without an “update counter”. The numbers keep climbing, from one day to the next, even from am to pm. The predicted flattening of the outbreak curve has yet to be observed (John Hopkins U, Data Center).

On March 26, 2020, the CARES Act (1) a historic 2-trillion dollar COVID19 pandemic-related stimulus package, was voted in Congress. The stimulus package arose in response to the economic fallout from the COVID19 pandemic. The magnitude of the stimulus appeared commensurate with the economic paralysis predicted as a result of the SARS-COV2 pandemic. On March 26, 2020,  3.3 million people had already filed for unemployment claims. On April 2, this number had doubled. 6.6 million unemployment claims had been filed. On April 9, the updated figures indicated another 6.9 million unemployment claims, totaling close to 17 million temporary unemployment claims, representing an unemployment rate of about 10.4% (Cohen & Hsu, April, 9,2020).  A trend that analysts fear will only increase.

The US, indeed the whole world, is not only fighting a deadly and invisible virus. An economic and financial crisis is also impending, already heading in a direction far worse, in terms of unemployment rates than the past two economic recessions, and even the Great Depression in 1929-30. Indeed, during the Great Depression, the US national unemployment rate was 24.9%, while during both the 1982-83 Reagan-era recession and 2009-11 dot-com bubble bust, US national unemployment rates climbed up to 10% [USBureau of Labor Statistics]. A10% rate (representing in fact, far more people today than during the previous two recessions, because of population growth), that was reached at what the economist Robert Pollin calls "breakneck speed" in just the past three weeks, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic shelter at-home mitigation measures (Polychroniou, 2020).  

US currency: Nickle & Dime

It is in reference to the CARES stimulus package, during passage through Congress, that the term “nickel and diming" recently surfaced, on both sides of the political arena. On the Democrats' side, Senator Bernie Sanders accused Republicans of “nickel and diming the unemployed” because of the Republican opposition to the Democrat-proposed expansion of unemployment benefits (Kilgore, March 22, 2020). On the Republicans' side, Senator Lindsay Graham, slammed the Democrats for “nickel and diming at a time when people are dying […]” In other words, he accused Democrats of preventing passage of the Republican initiative, because of the increase in unemployment benefits they countered, together with tighter oversight of corporate loans (DailyMail, May 24, 2020).

The CARES stimulus package that was passed offers immediate relief in the amount of $1200 for individuals,  $2400 for married couples, plus $500 for each qualifying child under age 16, phased out at an adjusted gross income, in the amount of $75,000 per individual, and $150,000 per couple. $500 billion dollars were earmarked as a business loan fund with oversight from an inspector and congressional panel. A separate 367 billion-dollar loan fund was earmarked for small businesses. Hospitals will be receiving 100 billion in relief funds. As for the contentious unemployment benefits, these were vastly expanded to include the self-employed (e.g., Uber drivers) and part-time workers, in addition to full-time workers. The expansion of unemployment benefits was further designed to fill the gap between salary earned, and regular unemployment benefits covered by State funds. Thus, provisions exist for eligible workers to receive up to $600 extra, per week, in federal pandemic unemployment benefits, topping off regular unemployed benefits, so as to fully replace original paychecks, through to July 31 [Bernard & Lieber, April 11, 2020; Emma & Scholtes, March 27, 2020]

The CARES stimulus package does not cover such persons as those who can work at home, those receiving leave time, first-time job-seekers unable to find a job, those no longer insured through their jobs with potentially astronomical COVID19-related health care bills, front-line workers performing essential services who are at disproportionately increased risk of becoming casualties, both low-paid (e.g., warehouse workers, bus drivers and cleaners) and professional (e.g., doctors nurses), temporary foreign workers on J-1 visas, and undocumented workers. Exclusions, in regards temporary and undocumented workers, for example, which are already causing much concern, since pandemic conditions only serve to exacerbate the pre-existing precarious situation of a subpopulation, without the benefits of health care, recourses, or adequate housing, in many cases [Jan, April 4,2020; Maclean, April 12, 2020].

Note

(1) CARES Act is an acronym for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. According to the provisions of the CARES ACT, Section 1, titled The Short Title, the Act may be cited in abbreviated acronym form or in full form.  

En français, Plan de relance face à la pandémie de coronavirus,, désormais dit Loi CARES, un acronyme qui signifie en anglais Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. [Le Parmentier,27 mars, 2002].

References

Bernard, T.S and R. Lieber (April 11, 2020) FAQ on stimulus checks, unemployment and the CV plan. NYTimes

https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-stimulus-package-questions-answers.html
CARES ACT (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act)  HR748 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748/text

CDC  - COVID19 – Cases in the USA
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html

Cohen, P. and T. Hsu  (April 9, 2020) “Sudden black hole” for the economy with millions more unemployed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/business/economy/unemployment-claim-numbers-coronavirus.html

Emma, C. and J. Scholtes (March 25, 2020)Here's what's in the $2 trillion stimulus package — and what's next. Politico

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/whats-in-stimulus-package-coronavirus-149282 

DailyMail.co.uk - Graham slams Democrats for nickel and diming people who are dying

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-2137576/Video-Graham-slams-Democrats-nickel-diming-people-dying.html

IR202-58 (March 20, 2020) Tax Day now July 15: Treasury, IRS extends filing deadline and federal tax payments regardless of amount owed

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-day-now-july-15-treasury-irs-extend-filing-deadline-and-federal-tax-payments-regardless-of-amount-owed

Jan, T. (April 4, 2020_ Undocumented workers among those hit first — and worst — by the coronavirus shutdown. Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/05/undocumented-immigrants-coronavirus/
John Hopkins University  - COVID19 Data Center
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/cumulative-cases

Kilgore, E. (March 22, 2020) Senate Reaches Deal on $2 Trillion Coronavirus Stimulus Bill

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-senate-agrees-to-usd2-trillion-deal.html
Le Parmentier, A. (27 mars 2020)  Coronavirus: le Congrès américain valide le plan de relance à 2 000 milliards de dollars
https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/03/26/coronavirus-le-congres-americain-valide-le-plan-de-relance-a-2-000-milliards-de-dollars_6034479_3234.html
Maclean J. (Aprl 12, 2020) Migrant workers are essential workers and must be included in coronavirus relief. 
https://truthout.org/articles/migrant-workers-are-essential-workers-and-must-be-included-in-coronavirus-relief/

 Polychroniou, C. J. (April 10 2020) Chomsky and Pollin: To heal from COVID 19, we must imagine a different world. Interview in Truthout.

https://truthout.org/articles/chomsky-and-pollin-to-heal-from-covid-19-we-must-imagine-a-different-world/

 US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Unemployment rates 2010-2020 (searchable 1948-2020)

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000