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Kearney suggests targeting crucial to economic support packages

Senate proposal pushes potential $10,000 per month economic support, CNBC report says

An economic support bill being sponsored by Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Ed Markey calls for sending $2,000 per month to individuals and $4,000 to couples, as well as $2,000 per child for up to three children, according to CNBC. Those earning under $120,000 would be eligible for support, though the payments would be reduced for income over $100,000.

Faculty Associate Melissa Kearney, who was contacted for the story, told reporter Lorie Konish that blanket payments would not be effective for reaching the groups of people most affected by the coronavirus shutdown. She noted that recent Federal Reserve data show that 40% of people with less than $40,000 in income have lost jobs during the pandemic. “I think that bolsters the case that we should be targeting cash resources to lower-income households,” Dr. Kearney said. A plan to send households making less than $50,000 a $4,000 payment, with phase-outs for incomes on the cusp of that threshold, would have a higher chance of helping families who can no longer afford rent or groceries, rather than those who can no longer pay for certain luxuries. “We need to be targeting the money,” she said.

See the whole CNBC story