Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza Andrew Lee Nicole Cardoza

Redistribute your stimulus.

On March 11th, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. Among its provisions was a $1400 stimulus which most of us have already received. This check was only the third direct federal payment to Americans since the beginning of the pandemic. With four in ten households reporting lost wages due to COVID (CBS) and millions of tenants thousands of dollars behind in rent (Time), those $1400 came not a moment too soon.

Happy Monday everyone, and welcome back to the Anti-Racism Daily! A couple people asked how they could pay their stimulus forward to those that are unhoused, based on the action items in that newsletter from last week. I realized that, although I posted some options on Instagram, that we never outlined the inequities on the stimulus distribution in full. Andrew joins us today to walk through the details.

If you don't have the funds to give right now, or if you're in need, bookmark the resources provided below. Redistributing capital – either by taking or receiving – is powerful not just now, but any day throughout the year.

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Nicole

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By Andrew Lee (he/him)

On March 11th, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. Among its provisions was a $1400 stimulus which most of us have already received. This check was only the third direct federal payment to Americans since the beginning of the pandemic. With four in ten households reporting lost wages due to COVID (CBS) and millions of tenants thousands of dollars behind in rent (Time), those $1400 came not a moment too soon.

For many, the sense of relief was palpable. Others found their feelings tinged with bitterness because Biden had declared in January that $2000, not $1400, stimulus checks were coming (CBS). After months of isolation and economic crisis, however, something was certainly better than nothing. 

It’s important to remember here that nothing is precisely what millions of people living in the United States received. Though the $1400 stimulus payments were widely distributed, they were not universal. And those who missed out were those with the least resources and social power to begin with. 

Only citizens or legal residents were eligible for the stimulus check. International students and teachers on J or Q visas did not qualify for the $1400 payment. Nonresident aliens who file taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead of a Social Security number did not qualify either (Forbes). Every undocumented immigrant working in this country missed out on the stimulus check, as well (Huffington Post). Though Biden campaigned on a promise to “welcome immigrants in our communities,” his American Rescue Plan consciously blocks millions of immigrants from receiving economic relief in a time of unprecedented hardship (Biden Harris).

Incarcerated people were technically eligible to receive the third stimulus check (CBS). But they faced a number of obstacles in actually receiving their rightful stimulus money. First, they had to acquire the forms to apply for the stimulus, which was impossible for inmates such as those in solitary confinement. In other cases, forms mailed to incarcerated people were seized by prison staff (Marshall Project). Finally, some people received stimulus payments – only to have part of the funds withheld by the prison in which they are incarcerated as supposed “payment” for imprisoning them. The United States has just 5% of the world’s population but locks up nearly 25% of its incarcerated people (ACLU). Many of them are effectively blocked from receiving their full stimulus check. 

Even for unincarcerated people with Social Security numbers who ought to be receiving checks, not all stimulus payments are created equal. Weeks, after other people received their money, Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefit recipients were still waiting (Newsweek). And in a country where the average person is tens of thousands of dollars in debt, people with unpaid medical or credit card bills could have their stimulus checks garnished by debt collectors (CNBC).

The wide disparities among stimulus eligibility reflect deep divisions in American society. There are somewhere between 10.5 and 12 million undocumented people in the United States (Brookings) and 2.3 million people in prison (Prison Policy Initiative). Some undocumented people are not adults. Some people in prison may receive their full stimulus despite the hurdles place in their way, and it’s hard to say how many nonresident visa holders may have left the country in recent months. However, given these numbers, it’s not absurd to think that there might be 8 or 9 million people in this country who miss out on the stimulus payment purely because of their immigration status or incarceration. That’s roughly the population of New York City. 

If each and every New Yorker missed out on a $1400 check the government sent to everyone else, we would all recognize the injustice of the situation. Incarcerated people and immigrants do not experience the pandemic and recession less than anyone else. On the contrary, prisons and jails are hotbeds for COVID-19 (CNN), and immigrants are more likely to be exposed to infection as essential workers (fwd.us). 

Many Americans who received the stimulus check used it to pay outstanding debts or buy household necessities. About 19% were able to put most of it in savings (CNBC). Others looked into how they might invest their stimulus in stocks or financial instruments to reap future profit (The Motley Fool). 

If you were one of the stimulus recipients with enough financial security to use it for savings or investment, consider donating that money in whole or in part to people who received no stimulus at all. By practicing mutual aid and demanding more for oppressed communities, we can not just fight against the inequities that have emerged with COVID but also work to create a society better than the one we had before the pandemic.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Millions of people in America missed out on their stimulus checks.

  • Though eligible, incarcerated people face severe obstacles to actually receiving their money.

  • Undocumented immigrants and many visa holders received nothing. 

  • Those who missed out on stimulus checks included groups with some of the least social power and wealth to begin with.

  • Instead of saving or investing, people with resources who don’t need their stimulus checks can instead redistribute their money to those who received nothing.

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