Neediest Left Out of Republican Coronavirus Rebate Plan
Basing the checks on income earned is the wrong approach in an emergency.
Go home and wait for the check.
Photographer: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Republicans in Washington understand that in a crisis such as the one we are facing, a lot of the usual rules have to be discarded. They know that the coronavirus has made it necessary to engage in a lot of deficit spending of the kind they usually, at least rhetorically, oppose. But they have not quite broken with old habits, which is why the emergency relief that Senate Republicans are seeking to give individuals is inadequate — especially for the low-income Americans who need it most.
Their legislation would provide “rebates” based on a household’s income in 2018. If a single adult had little or no income-tax liability that year but at least $2,500 in qualified income, the household will get $600. A single adult who made more in 2018 will get $1,200. But not if it was too much more: The size of the rebate starts to shrink for a single adult making $75,000, and disappears completely at $99,000. These numbers double for married filers: The low-income household gets $1,200, and the rebate phases out at $198,000.