The House of Representatives approved a measure to increase stimulus checks for people below a certain income level to $ 2,000. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
Trump supported the idea of bigger checks, but some Republicans don’t think an increase is justified given how much the general price of the stimulus project would increase.
Rep. Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican, outlined the reason for opposing the larger payments in a Twitter post. Checks, he argued, “would do nothing” to help local businesses and get people back to work.
“We can do better,” he said.
Not everyone agrees with Brady.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, for example, repeatedly commented on the need to combine central bank stimuli with Congress-ordered spending.
The Fed, he explained in November, is using its lending programs to an “unprecedented extent”. But loans are not useful in all cases.
“Many borrowers are benefiting from these [lending] programs, as well as the general economy. But for many others, getting a loan that can be difficult to repay may not be the answer, “Powell said at a news conference.
“Direct fiscal support may be needed. Elected employees have the power to tax and spend and to make decisions about where we, as a society, should direct our collective resources, ”he added. “The fiscal policy actions that have been taken so far have made a critical difference for families, businesses and communities across the country.”
Stimulus facts: How do we know how stimulus checks can be spent? The US Census Bureau conducted a survey in June with some answers on how the first round of payments was used.
Most adults in families who have received a federal government stimulus check say that they used it or planned to use most of it for household expenses. This means that the money is returning to the economy.
Meanwhile, 15.7% used the stimulus check to pay off debts and 14.1% mainly planned to save it.
Of those who spent their checks, 80% reported using the money for food, while 77.9% reported renting mortgages and / or utilities such as gas, electricity and internet. About a fifth reported spending the money on clothes.
According to the Census Bureau, 8.1% of respondents said they spent or would spend the stimulus on household goods such as TVs, electronics, furniture and appliances or recreational items such as fitness equipment, toys and games.
The result: economists see direct payments as a way to help protect the fragile recovery and prevent people from falling into poverty, as the pandemic continues to rage in the United States.
The latest news about the virus is terrible. The number of patients hospitalized across the country with Covid-19 is the highest ever, and at this rate, health experts warn that it may be necessary to ration nurses, respirators and medical care.
The Boeing 737 Max is back
The Boeing 737 Max is expected to carry passengers from the United States for the first time in almost two years on Tuesday, when American will use the jet on a round-trip route from Miami to New York.
It will be a pair of notable flights for the 737 Max, which stayed on the ground from March 2019 to November 2020, after two accidents that killed 346 people. The flights come after the US Federal Aviation Administration last month approved the changes made by Boeing to the jet.
Not everyone is on board: a poll conducted on Monday by Reuters / Ipsos found that 57% of Americans surveyed said they were unlikely to fly a Boeing 737 Max when they were told about the plane’s history. About 37% say they will likely fly on it after being in the air for six months or more.
American did not reveal how many seats it sold on Tuesday’s flights, a route at 10:32 am ET from Miami to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and a return at 2:30 pm. But by late Monday morning, the airline’s website showed only a ticket from the main cabin still available for the afternoon return.
Most aviation authorities in other countries have yet to approve the use of the 737 Max. But Brazilian airline GOL became the first operator to offer passenger flights earlier this month, and Aeromexico resumed flights with the plane this week. between Mexico City and Cancún.
The problem with the 737 Max helped make 2020 an unforgettable year for Boeing. The company’s stock has lost about a third of its value since January 1.
Tesla may be coming to India
We’ve heard that before, but 2021 could be the year Tesla hits the fourth largest auto market in the world.
Indian transport minister Nitin Gadkari told CNN Business that Elon Musk’s electric car company will start selling vehicles there next year. Tesla will then look at manufacturing in the country, Gadkari added.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Musk indicated on Twitter over the weekend that sales would start in 2021.
The backstory: The CEO said in 2017 that Tesla planned to sell cars in the country as early as that summer. But the delay may have been well timed.
Car sales in India fell sharply in 2019, as new safety and emissions regulations raised prices, and problems among India’s consumer finance providers hit loans.
Next
The S&P Case-Shiller home price index will launch at 9:00 am Eastern Time.
Tomorrow: The United States Energy Information Administration releases a report on crude oil stocks.