Stimulus checks substantially reduced hardship, study shows

Jun 03, 20210

CALLAGHAN O'HARE, New York Times count

Chenetta Ray, a warehouse worker at a recycling company, who has cancer, at her home in Houston on May 28, 2021. She said "part of the benefit of the stimulus to me was God saying, 'I got you.' Spiritual and emotional reassurance. It took a lot of stress off me."

WASHINGTON - Julesa Webb resumed an old habit: serving her children three meals a day. Corrine Young paid the water bill and stopped bathing at her neighbor's apartment. Chenetta Ray cried, thanked Jesus and rushed to spend the money on a medical test to treat her cancer.

In offering most Americans two more rounds of stimulus checks in the past six months, totaling $2,000 per person, the federal government effectively conducted a huge experiment in safety net policy. Supporters said a quick, broad outpouring of cash would ease the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Skeptics called the policy wasteful and expensive.

The aid followed an earlier round of stimulus checks, sent a year ago, and the results are being scrutinized for lessons on how to help the needy in less extraordinary times.

https://www.startribune.com/stimulus-checks-substantially-reduced-hardship-study-shows/600063887/