Congress' rescue aid: A dose of support, but is it enough?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The $900 billion economic relief package that emerged from Congress over the weekend will deliver vital aid to millions of households and businesses that have been struggling for months to survive. Yet with the economy still in the grip of a pandemic that has increasingly tightened curbs on business activity, more federal support will likely be needed soon.
And it's unclear whether or when the government might provide it.
For now, the package that congressional leaders agreed to Sunday will provide urgently needed benefits to the unemployed, loans to help small businesses stay open and up to $600 in cash payments to most individuals. It will also help families facing evictions remain in their homes. The measure includes no budgetary help, though, for states and localities that are being forced to turn to layoffs and service cuts as their tax revenue dries up — a potential long-run drag on the economy.
Months from now, economists say, the widespread distribution and use of vaccines could potentially unleash a robust economic recovery as the virus is quashed, businesses reopen, hiring picks up and consumers spend freely again. Until then, though, the limited aid Congress has agreed to won't likely be enough to stave off hardships for many households and small companies, especially if lawmakers balk at enacting further aid early next year. And a widening financial gap between the affluent and disadvantaged households is likely to worsen.
“Some aid is better than no aid,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm. "It’s positive. But it’s likely going to be insufficient to bridge the gap from today until late spring or early summer when the health situation fully improves.”
President-elect Joe Biden has said he will seek another relief package soon...
