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Were The Stimulus Checks A Mistake?
Article

Were The Stimulus Checks A Mistake?



Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Well Structured
  • Overview
  • Hot Topic

Recommendation

US legislators sent a series of stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021 to millions of Americans at economic risk due to the coronavirus pandemic. But while that help did keep households and the economy afloat, it may also have been a case of too much for too long. Journalists Santul Nerkar and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux investigate whether the delivery and timing of the stimulus helped fuel 2022’s inflation. Their research sends a sobering message about how political demands tend to overtake economic logic, especially in times of crisis.

Take-Aways

  • The COVID-19 pandemic compelled the US government to take action to save millions of Americans from economic ruin.
  • The massive aid packages helped to right the economy, but at a cost to Americans’ purchasing power.
  • Politics, rather than economics, motivated the final stimulus tranches.

About the Authors

Santul Nerkar is a copy editor and Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux is a senior writer for FiveThirtyEight, an ABC News media outlet focused on opinion poll analysis, politics and economics.