The week
How stimulus checks can be denied to Americans who need them most
The government has begun distributing $ 600 stimulus checks to millions of Americans. But in fact, having access to that money can be another story. Even with a record number of Americans spending months unemployed amid the coronavirus pandemic, it took months for Congress to agree to send another round of stimulus checks and increase unemployment benefits after the last aid package expired. Millions of Americans suffered during that time and, as The New York Times reports, often had to overdraft their bank accounts to pay for groceries and other essentials. In return, banks charged these people overdraft fees and often blocked people from their accounts until those fees were paid. This means that the $ 600 stimulus checks, which the government often deposits directly into bank accounts, may be out of reach for those who need them most. That includes Morgan Banke, who told the Times that he was only able to pay the car’s rent or insurance each month, and overdrew from his Iowa credit union to cover the rest. She asked the credit union to temporarily waive her fees so she could use the stimulus money, but since she had done this three times in the past, she declined. Many major banks – Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo among them – have said they will give up overdraft status when the checks arrive. But many regional banks and credit unions have not made the same promises, and have even closed accounts with overdrafts, leaving Americans to receive their checks another way slower. Read more in The New York Times. More stories from theweek.com 5 cartoons about the end of a very, very bad “Angry” year Trump will miss the Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party. Are pandemic relief checks making UBI inevitable?