As COVID-19 business grows and more companies are forced to close, the United States is waiting for outgoing President Donald Trump to ratify the $ 900 billion economic stimulus package he approved Monday night. Congress.
Trump, who retired from the negotiating table over the stimulus plan months ago, followed this Tuesday on Twitter immersed in his own conspiracy theories about the November 3 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
The White House has assured Trump will sign the initiative, a vital step for the bailout to take effect, but has not detailed when he will take that expected step, which could even last until next week, as the deadline for this expires on 28. from December.
Meanwhile, concerns are worrying those waiting for a contingency plan that took months to arrive and was approved at a time when the United States is registering about 3,000 new cases every day, prompting some states to make new decisions. restrictions.
DIRECT PAYMENTS AND SUSPENSION OF PERFORMANCE
In particular, Americans are waiting for instant payments of $ 600 for anyone with an annual income of less than $ 75,000, a measure similar to the previous aid package approved in March and worth $ 2.2 trillion. dollars, the largest in the country’s history.
The previous bailout involved direct transfers to civilians of $ 1,200 per person.
In the current package, $ 300 per week is given to every unemployed person, and a rule suspending evictions is being extended until January 31, which was due to expire at the end of the year.
It also includes 325,000 million in aid to small and medium-sized businesses, 45,000 million in public transport, 13,000 million in food aid, and 82,000 million so that schools can restore their facilities and adapt to education in the midst of the pandemic.
In addition, the airlines will receive 15,000 million to pay the salaries of their employees.
A SHIELD TO PROTECT HIGH COST PATIENTS
The text contains other measures of great importance as a kind of shield to prevent patients from receiving unexpectedly high bills for their medical care, an abuse that was exacerbated during the pandemic.
The initiative serves to prevent patients from receiving tens of thousands of dollar bills for medical care that they were unaware of was outside their insurance coverage.
For example, when some Americans are admitted to intensive care for COVID-19, they have been charged for the services of anesthesiologists who were not covered by their policy, despite the rest of the doctors and the hospital itself being covered by the insurer.
In the US, access to health is not a right and while the health reform promoted by former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) improved the situation, thousands of families have to file for bankruptcy every year because they cannot. pay your medical bills.
On the other hand, the legislation includes $ 20,000 million for the purchase of covid-19 vaccines and another 20,000 million for tests.
BUSINESS LUNCH WITH “TRES MARTINIS”
Despite the Democrats’ victory over those health issues, the party has voiced its frustration with the inclusion of a tax exemption ironically dubbed “three martinis business lunch” that makes companies pay taxes on business meals.
Since the 1980s, U.S. companies have been able to deduct 50% of their business meal expenses from taxes, but as of now, that percentage would be 100%.
This measure was personally promoted by Trump with the idea of giving an oxygen balloon to the hospitality industry, especially affected by the pandemic; But progressives argue that the main beneficiaries are business giants who don’t need help.
The incentive package also includes other non-traditional measures, such as tax exemptions for circuits where car races are held, such as NASCAR.
CENTRAL AMERICA, THE WALL, MUSEUMS AND TIBET
The bailout is part of a broader package of federal spending, known as omnibus, worth $ 2.3 trillion in total, of which $ 1.4 trillion will be for government funding through September 2021.
Congress has taken advantage of that spending proposal to include measures that have nothing to do with the U.S. economy.
Specifically, there is a provision requiring the US President to notify Congress of designated corrupt Central American officials and another initiative supporting the election of the next Dalai Lama by Buddhists in Tibet, a process China wants to step in.
In addition, the law allocates $ 1.4 billion to Trump’s wall with Mexico and authorizes the creation of two museums within the Smithsonian group: one dedicated to Latinos in the United States and the other to women’s history.
This is the first stimulus package that Congress has passed since March, when it approved a bailout of more than $ 2.2 trillion, the largest in US history.
Outside of the stimulus package was a request from Democrats to help local entities, which saw their incomes fall due to lower taxes, and another proposal from Republicans to legally protect companies with outbreaks of Covid-19.