Talk about a second round of Cronavirus stimulus checks continues to swirl. It’s sounding more and more like lawmakers will take another route with the phase four stimulus package, but that doesn’t mean a second round of stimulus checks is totally out of the question.
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In an interview with Nexstar Broadcasting this week, President Donald Trump said they were working on "something that's going to be very dramatic" for the phase four stimulus package. He made the remark in response to a pointed question about whether people should expect a second round of stimulus checks this summer.
Trump noted that the economy is "really starting to roar." He didn't go into many details about what might be included in the phase four stimulus package or even whether they are definitely considering a second round of checks for the general public.
However, we have heard White House advisers talk about the possibility of an infrastructure spending bill and targeted assistance to drive increases in manufacturing jobs in the U.S. Other possibilities for the phase four stimulus package include a tax credit that can be used for domestic travel, a payroll tax cut, and other provisions.
Argument against more stimulus
Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania is arguing against doing any more stimulus at all. He told Yahoo Finance that he believes the focus of future efforts should be getting Americans back to work. He said he would hesitate to support any stimulus package that could delay the reopening of the nation's economy.
He has also been skeptical of Democrats' attempts to renew some provisions set down in the CARES Act earlier this year, such as a second round of Coronavirus stimulus checks and an extension of the extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits. He said it isn't clear to him that "we need to load the money cannon and fire that off again."
He added that he's not interested in more "demand-side stimulus." For example, he noted that retirees didn't see a reduction in their income from the pandemic, but they still received stimulus checks in the first round.
Toomey also pointed out that there is no free lunch, so whatever the phase four stimulus package looks like, it will come with a price. He noted that everything will be paid for with either borrowed money or created money. He emphasized that the most important thing is to get the economy back open.
