Member-only story
The 1% have literally no sense of the value of money
It’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost?
With millions of unemployed and the economy in free fall, congress approved the $2.2 trillion Cares Act that provided, among other things, $1200 stimulus checks for everyone earning less than $75,000. To date, stimulus payments have been received by 130 million Americans.
While a welcome relief to many families (yours truly included), $1200 just doesn’t cut it for most. According to data by Experian, the median rent across the U.S. was found in Texas, at $1359/month. You don’t need to be a mathematical genius to figure out that a $1200 bung when you’ve lost your entire income and rent is due isn’t going to get very far.
Yet try telling that to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who confidently predicted those payments would keep the economy afloat and families fed and housed for about three months. This is the same Steven Mnuchin who has a $400 million fortune, mostly in cash and investments.
Stimulus payments are still being distributed, with some recipients expected to wait up to five months before they get their cash. That’s five rent or mortgage payments. Five months of mouths to feed and bills to pay and sleepless nights worrying how you’re ever going to get back on your feet.
