Next stimulus package will be “very dramatic”

We still don’t know exactly what the next stimulus package will entail but we now have some reason to believe that the package could be more robust than initially believed.

In an interview with Nexstar Broadcasting, Trump was asked about the possibility of Phase 4 stimulus payments this summer.

And here’s what he had to say:

“I think we’re working on something that’s going to be very dramatic, very good… I think we are looking at a Phase 4. Phase 1, 2 and 3 have been fantastic for people, generally…small business owners, also. But we’re looking at doing something else in addition.”

It’s very interesting that he used the words “very dramatic” as that definitely seems to be contrary to what Republican leaders initially described the new package to be.

For example, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell initially stated that this would be the last round of stimulus funding and that the price tag would be capped at $1 trillion.

Yet, we have heard the president come out and say that they expect the stimulus package to be at least $2 trillion and that it could possibly include $1 trillion in infrastructure funding.

It’s still not clear what will happen with the potential second round of stimulus checks, but there’s been a lot of talk about the $4,000 tourism tax credit that may come out.

That would allow you to offset your taxes up to $4,000 for expenses related to travel such as lodging, meals, and transportation.

It will be interesting to see if the government decides to focus on a tax credit for travel because a lot of people probably will not benefit from that.

There are still a lot of people who probably do not want to travel until the virus is much more under control or even until a vaccine is readily available.

Then there are the people who have been impacted severely financially and simply don’t have the disposable income to go out and travel.

So while the idea of a vacation credit makes sense for a lot of people, it will not do much for many who are truly struggling.

Given the recent trends of coronavirus cases spiking across the country in significant ways, I think there is a strong argument mounting that the economy is not going to be able to recover as quickly as we wanted.

I think about the reopenings just like someone trying to find that perfect temperature with a faucet.

Sometimes you have to get the water a little too hot before you pull it back to keep it at just the right temperature.

That’s what it feels like is happening with reopening the economy — I think we are in the process of figuring out how far to turn the faucet when it comes to our economy.

But whether or not that perfect temperature calls for more stimulus checks is not quite clear yet.

H/T