President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan is currently being sanctioned by Congress as an additional $1,400 has been added for individuals affected by the pandemic.
“We need more action, and we need to move fast,” said Biden when publicly debriefing the basis of the executive orders. “I laid out a two-step plan of rescue and recovery to get through a crisis and to a better, stronger, and more secure America.”
The “recovery” step of the president’s plan is to manage the pandemic’s impact on America and distribute direct financial relief to Americans who have not yet received their direct payments. The second “rescue” aspect would mean returning the economy back to full employment.
According to a news release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), unemployment decreased to 10.1 million jobless individuals in January, which still greatly exceeds February 2020’s 5.7 million unemployed persons.
The plan also consists of an increase in federal food assistance and administering the delivery of another stimulus check. Biden hopes to increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also widely known as food stamps, by 15%.
The stimulus check, which would be the third cycle for American relief packages, will now be received by children and dependents, including college students, disabled adults and elderly individuals that still file as a dependent.
Another execution order recently signed by Biden has been an increase on the minimum wage to aid federal workers and refine bargaining power. The Democrat desires to boost the federal wage up to $15 an hour.
There have been questions about whether it would be most beneficial to immediately boost salaries to the height of $15 or to incrementally work up to the newly-devised worker pay. Critics believe the heightened wage would make hiring employees a more expensive endeavor for companies and individuals could have a harder time becoming employed. Proponents argue that the wage increase would help stabilize low-income workers.
