{"id":76768,"date":"2021-03-13T16:13:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T16:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=2ae027eb09f2c4e650377487c5ff1b66"},"modified":"2021-03-13T16:13:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T16:13:58","slug":"the-stimulus-payments-big-delivery-snafus-need-to-be-addressed-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/03\/13\/the-stimulus-payments-big-delivery-snafus-need-to-be-addressed-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The Stimulus Payments\u2019 Big Delivery Snafus Need to Be Addressed \u2014 Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\"The<\/a>

Now that President Joe Biden has signed the third economic-stimulus bill \u2014 the American Rescue Plan Act<\/span> \u2014 into law, those administering the distribution of the one-time direct payment of $1,400 at the Treasury Department and IRS and their vendors need to ensure the last relief payment does<\/em> get delivered \u2014 even for the \u201chard-to-reach.” <\/p>\n

This was a significant problem with the $1,200 and $600 payments, mostly to recipients in the lower quartile of the 99 percent (33 million households<\/a><\/span>) who need money the most. They are the demographic instantly buying goods and services, paying rent and mortgages, or paying down debts. The \u201cmultiplier effect\u201d means their<\/em> purchases fed expenditures of their landlords, utility companies, gas and diesel service-station corporations, banks, supermarkets and suppliers \u2014 thus, boosting the economy.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, vendors hired by the Treasury and IRS to dispense the first two payments to those without<\/em> bank or credit union accounts failed to deliver. Eight million eligible recipients<\/a><\/span> reportedly didn\u2019t get their $1,200 payment last May, indicating many of the same<\/em><\/a> people<\/a><\/span> probably didn\u2019t get their $600 in late January.<\/p>\n

Treasury funds certainly were available for those first two payments ($290 billion<\/a><\/span> for the $1,200, $166 billion<\/a><\/span> for the $600). The $456 billion payout was \u201creal <\/em>money,\u201d as Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-Illinois) was wont to say about federal allocations.<\/p>\n

Small wonder then that the first distribution of $1,200 starting in March 2020 was followed by the Treasury\u2019s stunning admission<\/a><\/span> that \u201chundreds of thousands\u201d of the checks or pre-paid VISA debit cards were unused. This raises the question of whether the Treasury and IRS and their vendors for this crash project tried hard enough to reach the lower third of the U.S.\u2019s 99 percent. At least one Treasury spokesperson told CNBC <\/em>that they and the IRS planned to build on \u201clessons learned over the past year.\u201d One successful contact method for thousands of the \u201chard-to-reach\u201d they seemed to have bypassed was well-advertised street signups. The Sanders committee should ensure they do them for the $1,400 payment.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s second priority was to speed money to the eligible recipient base. That meant individuals <\/em>with a gross annual income<\/a><\/span> under<\/em> $75,000 or couples under<\/em> $150,000. Couples also were set to receive $500 per child under 17.<\/p>\n

Millions of eligible recipients were in several federal databases that Treasury\/IRS staffs could have used: tax filings and refund payments, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, the Railroad Retirement Board, and departments such as Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Labor, Agriculture and the Census Bureau. But too many recipients seem to have fallen between the cracks of what should have been a rigorous search despite the short deadline.<\/p>\n

According to MarketWatc<\/em><\/a>h<\/em><\/a><\/span>, many of those 8 million people probably fell into six categories:<\/p>\n