Here's today's quick stimulus and stimulus package update for Friday December 11. In today's video we talk about three big pieces of news:
- The emergency 1 week government spending extension that was passed today
- The current sentiment that Senator McConnell is to blame for delays
- The case for $3,000 stimulus checks from the nation's billionaires
If you don't want to watch the video we've done a brief recap at the bottom.
The Case for $3,000 Stimulus Checks and Latest Stimulus News
Today's Stimulus News Video Notes and Summary
The biggest news was in the Senate where they voted today to clear a 1 week stopgap spending bill. This prevented a government shutdown at midnight tonight and gives lawmakers 1 more week to agree on not only a stimulus package but government funding more broadly.
Next week is shaping up to be a very interesting week in the Senate — as several lawmakers have said "we're not going home for Christmas until a deal is reached". Let's see if it finally happens.
Meanwhile, there was some blame among lawmakers that Senator Mitch McConnell is holding up the stimulus talks for one main reason: the liability protection issue. Republicans — led by Mitch — want corporations to not be able to be sued by pandemic-related lawsuits. Democrats have strongly pushed back on this. The criticism is that Mitch is funded by many of these corporations and so that's why he's holding out on this point.
Finally, the US billionaires have made over $1 trillion since March. If they donated that lift in their stocks over the last 10 months, they'd be able to give everyone in the US $3,000 stimulus checks and still have made money during the pandemic.