The stock market reacted negatively to the news that Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan contains $1,400 stimulus checks.
The market was unhappy that the plan doesn’t include the $2,000 that the president-elect promised if the Democrats swept Georgia in the Senate runoffs.
Biden announced his 2-step plan of “rescue and recovery” on Thursday, Jan. 14. The $1.9 trillion stimulus plan will include $400 billion for vaccine distribution and Covid-19 testing, $130 billion to reopen schools, as well as billions in economic aid to small businesses run by Black and brown people.
The plan also includes a hike in the minimum wage to $15 per hour, extending unemployment benefits and the federal ban on evictions, both of which are set to expire in March.
“We have to act and we have to act now,” Biden said.
His proposed bill is more than double the $900 trillion recently passed by Congress that included $600 stimulus checks for Americans, while billions were sent overseas to foreign countries.
About those stimulus checks: Americans were expecting Biden to keep his promise of additional $2,000 checks if the Democrats swept the Georgia Senate runoffs in early January.
Instead, the plan includes $1,400 stimulus checks, on top of the $600 checks already sent out — for a total of $2,000.
