Biden will have to do SOMETHING if he doesn't want Dems to get eviscerated in 2022. I don't expect him to do a damn thing.The rise and rapid spread of the Omicron variant is already taking a toll on U.S. markets and has the World Health Organization on high alert. And that’s renewing demand for a fourth stimulus check among some people.
To date, nearly 3 million people have signed a Change.org petition calling for recurring $2,000 payments to adults and $1,000 payments for children, making it one of the platform’s most signed. And the Senior Citizens League continues to call for a $1,400 special stimulus to assist with cost-of-living adjustments.
But even with Omicron, the odds remain remarkably low, with lawmakers showing no appetite for a fourth round of checks.
The variant is certainly having a big impact in a short time. The World Health Organization has labeled it a “very high” global risk, saying that the “unprecedented number of spike mutations” in the variant could “impact the trajectory of the pandemic.” The Dow has lost roughly 700 points in the past two trading sessions on concerns over the virus, while the S&P index has dropped 54. And both markets were down sharply in early trading Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, meanwhile, will tell the Senate today that Omicron could pose a risk to the economy.
But if you face the goddamn facts, we're getting dangerously too close to multiple precipices as I've mentioned before.
He's going to have to either:
- Give out a fourth, maybe even a fifth round of stimulus checks
- Cancel student loans up to $30,000 or $50,000
- Continue the student loan pause for at least another 6 months
If he does all three, we might actually avoid another economic recession altogether. If he does none of them, expect a GOP-run legislature in 2023-2024.