61% of Americans are Waiting for Government Money to Pay Bills, 4 in 10 Want Monthly Checks

Once everyone realizes that the most important thing is giving nursing home people a few more weeks to live, no matter the price, they won’t be as hungry — I mean, they will be hungry, but it won’t bother them that much.

Study Finds:

As the fight on Capitol Hill rages on, millions of Americans continue to wait for financial aid during the coronavirus pandemic. A new survey finds six in 10 people feel they won’t be able to make ends meet without more federal assistance. As Congress breaks for summer recess without reaching a deal, researchers find adults in both political parties agree consumers need another stimulus check to recover from COVID-19.

The latest survey by MagnifyMoney reveals 61 percent of the country needs another relief bill to pay for expenses. Over 80 percent of workers who have been laid off or furloughed due to COVID-19 are counting on more assistance. The poll of 1,010 Americans adds 71 percent of Generation X (ages 40 to 54) and 65 percent of millennials (ages 24 to 39) say they are currently in financial distress.

Despite an upcoming election, the pandemic is bringing America’s two major parties together on this issue. Researchers reveal 81 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of Republicans agree Congress needs to reach a deal on more stimulus payments.

Republicans are in slightly worse financial shape, with two-thirds saying they personally need another relief bill. Sixty-three percent of Democrats are hoping for more government assistance to make ends meet.

Despite the bipartisan support for more stimulus money, not everyone thinks this aid will reach the people most in need. Just under 60 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Democrats are confident a second round of payments will go to those struggling the most.

While a lot depends on how COVID-19 is affecting your working situation, the survey finds many respondents are planning to save a second relief payment. Nearly seven in 10 men and 45 percent of women reveal they would save at least a part of a new stimulus check.

The survey shows that females outnumber males in saying they plan to use this cash to pay day-to-day bills. Women outpace men in saying they would use new relief payments to pay for groceries (31% to 20%), bills (35% to 19%), and the rent or mortgage (24% to 15%).

With the crisis now entering the fall, respondents are changing their minds on how big these payments should be. A MagnifyMoney survey in March, at the start of the pandemic, found only 39 percent of Americans thought $1,200 was too small for a stimulus payment. Now, 48 percent believe a new deal must include a bigger stimulus check for taxpayers.

I’m sure our rulers would love to get Democrats and Republicans to agree that due to the virus, people need to be paid money. “If you don’t want me to work because of a virus, then give me money” sounds like a fair proposition, but what we should all be actually demanding is the right to work freely.

We used to have that right. We also used to have some kind of freedom of association, freedom of assembly, and all kinds of other freedoms. We used to be able to meet with friends whenever we wanted, to hug them without risking jail time, and to see the full display of someone’s facial expressions.

Everyone needs money, and the government should pay people after it destroyed their lives because of the flu, but the payments should not anesthetize people to the “New Normal.”

Remember that the government wanted people to stop working and to need assistance. It’s why they’ve collapsed the economy in the first place.