A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

Mar 26, 2021

Stimulus Checks Have Already Caused 45 Percent Increase In US Credit, Debit Spending

Stimulus checks - aka 'Stimmies' - are stoking the economy.  JL

 Sarah Hansen reports in Forbes:

As the latest round of federal stimulus payments reached bank accounts, credit and debit card spending soared 45% last week on a year-over-year basis and 23% over two years. Most of the gains in spending came from those earning less than $50,000 per year who received stimulus aid. (They) spent 69% more than two years ago last week, while high-income consumers who received stimulus aid spent 29% more. Furniture, online electronics, and clothing saw the largest spending. 127 million stimulus payments have been sent out, worth $325 billion.
As the latest round of federal stimulus payments reached bank accounts, credit and debit card spending soared 45% overall last week on a year-over-year basis and 23% over two years, according to data aggregated by Bank of America.

Bank of America’s researchers noted that the one-year change is much larger because it includes the severe economic contraction caused by lockdowns and businesses closures during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The effect of stimulus checks on consumer spending is clear, the report shows: those who received government aid spent 49% more than they did during the same week two years ago, while those who did not receive aid spent just 9.7% more than they did two years ago. 

Most of the gains in spending last week came from low-income consumers—those earning less than $50,000 per year who received stimulus aid spent 69% more than they did two years ago last week, while high-income consumers who received stimulus aid spent 29% more than they did two years ago.

Furniture, online electronics, and clothing saw the largest gains thanks to stimulus check spending.

BIG NUMBER

127 million. That’s how many third round stimulus payments have already been sent out, according to data released Thursday by the Internal Revenue Service. Those payments are worth a collective $325 billion. 

SURPRISING FACT

Consumer confidence increased more quickly following the signing of the American Rescue Plan earlier this month than it did after the two previous stimulus bills were signed, according to data from Morning Consult

KEY BACKGROUND

President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan authorized a third round of direct payments in the amount of $1,400. Eligibility is based on income: individuals earning less than $75,000 per year will receive the full $1,400 payment, as will heads of household earning less than $112,500 per year and couples filing jointly earning less than $150,000. The payments phase out as income rises above those thresholds. The first round of stimulus payments was widely credited with boosting household spending, though households with larger incomes tended to save rather than spend them. As top Democrats worked to finalize the American Rescue Plan earlier this year, some lawmakers criticized the checks as an inefficient use of federal relief funds and pushed to target them more narrowly.

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