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Whether that is true or not, now Biden is inarguably breaking his promise. Under pressure from moderate Senate Democrats, he has reportedly agreed to cut down the formula under which the checks will be sent out. In the previous packages, the amount started phasing out at $75,000 in income for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers, and vanished entirely at $100,000 and $200,000 respectively (as of 2019). Now the phase-out will start start in the same place but end at $80,000 for singles and $160,000 for couples.

The $1,400 promise clearly implied at least that the checks would go out according to the previous formula used under Trump. But now singles making between $80,000-100,000 and couples making between $160,000-200,000 will get nothing. The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein reports that roughly 17 million people who previously got checks now will not.

The supposed justification here is that moderates want the aid to be more “targeted.” In fact this formula is horribly inaccurate, because the income data the IRS uses is from the year before the pandemic (unless people have already filed their taxes — and by the way, if your income decreased in 2020, you should do that immediately). This formula is therefore doubly wrong — there are no doubt millions of people who have lost jobs and should qualify but won’t, and a smaller number that have gotten raises and shouldn’t qualify but will. And this change will only save a pitiful $12 billion.

The survival checks are one of the most popular government programs in American history. Polls have them at something like 4-1 approval. “Moderation,” for Senate Democrats, apparently means breaking their party’s promises in the service of unpopular, pointless actions that make their president seem less generous than Donald Trump.

If you’re making $80,000 a years do you really think you need the$1,400 or do you just feel entitled to have it.

The yearly income figure is based on tax returns from BEFORE the pandemic. There are people who were making $80k a year before the pandemic, but lost their job or suffered a severe reduction in income.

Even if the eligibility requirements weren’t based on tax returns before the pandemic, $80k a year isn’t enough to live in a lot of cities, especially if you’re a single parent with children. 

Here’s a screenshot from the Family Budget Calculator, showing the cost of living for a single parent and two kids living in Seattle (a city near me):

As someone who lived in Seattle in college, and who has lived in the areas surrounding Seattle in my adult life, I can tell you, that monthly housing figure is probably a LOW ESTIMATE. 

Here’s figures for New York Metro area: 

Here’s for San Francisco: 

And Honolulu: 

But please, tell me allllll about how people making $80k a year don’t need the money.

If someone doesn’t need the money, the government can always tax it back later. Means-testing is ineffective and ultimately, inhumane, as people who need assistance will inevitably fall through the cracks created by these requirements. But IF you’re going to insist on a cut-off point (which I DO NOT SUPPORT; I’m in favor of universal programs that apply to everyone and I think we all should’ve been getting at least $2k a month since the BEGINNING of the goddamn pandemic), it SHOULD NOT be $80k. It should be whatever the cost of living is in the most expensive city / area in the country, which IS NOT $80k, not even close. 

ALSO this money isn’t just about helping starving people get food. It’s also about stimulating the economy, allowing people who maybe DO have enough money to buy the essentials to spend a little extra money on restaurants or clothing or whatever. In my mind, as long as the money is spent in the economy (not necessarily immediately, because maybe people are saving up for a car or a house or some other big purchase, which can take multiple months of planning), not just sitting in someone’s bank account, then that’s a good thing. Businesses are being shut down because of decreased consumer spending, which further causes people to lose their jobs. There are restaurants I know of who have closed permanently. Stimulus checks to Americans might’ve been able to save them.

Not to mention, if Biden is saying that the $600 check was part of the $2000 check he promised to give people (which is itself a lie), then you CANNOT change the eligibility requirements. Doing so admits this is a completely separate check / assistance package, which is opposite to what the Biden administration is saying.

People are/were depending on those checks to afford food. Now some of them won’t get them. 

Here’s some articles for you to read that explain why your pro-austerity argument is a bunch of bullshit. Please educate yourself:

The Pandemic Has Totally Undermined Any Argument for Means-Tested Policies

Means-Testing Has Nothing to Do With “Getting Help to Those Who Need It Most”

Further Means Testing of the Stimulus Will Be Disastrous for Suffering Americans

There’s Absolutely No Reason to Means Test the Stimulus Checks

I don’t have time to respond individually, so I’m going to compile some common (shitty) arguments and respond to them here:

1. “Why are you blaming Biden for this? He’s not responsible. Manchin (or another conservative Democrat) is responsible.”

We blame Biden because Biden did not do everything in his power to get us stimulus checks. It’s okay if a politician tries and fails. It’s not okay when a politician can’t be bothered to put forth even minimal effort.

Biden is President. He has the bully pulpit. Not only that, but we KNOW that he’s not afraid to be confrontational when he feels like it (he has a history of being extremely confrontational to voters who ask him questions he doesn’t like). He has the ability to put immense pressure on his Senators to get them to fall in line. He could’ve called Manchin into his office and told him, “If you don’t support my legislation, I will endorse a challenger in your next primary race. I will go to your state, I will hold a ton of town halls, and explain to your constituents what you’ve done. I will literally ruin your career and your reputation forever, if you fuck over the American people.” He could rally the base to put pressure on Manchin to change his mind. And if Manchin didn’t cave to the public pressure, then so be it. But he could do his best to make sure Manchin went down, just like the legislation he refuses to support. If politicians refuse to support good legislation, you make them pay a political price.

Joe Biden did none of this. It’s been reported he didn’t even attempt to negotiate with Manchin AT ALL. He changed the eligibility all on his own. It’s not a fucking demand Manchin made. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure Manchin is thrilled that the eligibility was changed to fuck over more Americans, but he wasn’t really demanding it, because there were NO TALKS with Biden.

I’d be willing to give Biden the benefit of the doubt if he had used his executive powers to push for more change. But he hasn’t. He simply DOES NOT CARE. Stop defending a guy that doesn’t give a shit if you live or die.

The fact that people DO NOT understand how the game of politics CAN and SHOULD and IS played is beyond pathetic.

2. “Okay, Biden isn’t great. But why isn’t this article / your post blaming Manchin?”

We DO blame Manchin. I’ve got dozens of fucking posts on my blog that document what trash Manchin is. But not every single post is going to be about him. Nor is every single author going to write about him. No one is saying that it is ONLY Biden’s fault. This article just happens to be about him.

If you create a post that is critical of Trump, I don’t automatically assume it means you’re cool with McConnell. People simply don’t have time to make every single post about every single thing. Duh.

3. “You’re being dishonest because the cutoff point is $80k for unmarried adults. Dependents get checks, so actually a single parent with two kids would get more money.”

I’m not being dishonest. The person I was responding to was pretending to be stupid and acting like if you make $80k a year, it’s unfathomable how you can’t afford to live. I was pointing out to them that IF YOU HAVE KIDS, it’s actually hard to afford basic necessities on $80k a year in a lot of cities.

But here’s the thing. Even with the additional checks for your dependents, it’s STILL NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE COST OF LIVING FOR A MONTH IN ANY OF THOSE CITIES. And these checks are supposed to last us multiple months.

The monthly cost-of-living in Honolulu for a family of three (one adult, two kids) is $8856. But a single parent with two children will be getting a total of $4200 in stimulus. Hey morons, $4200 is LESS THAN $8856. I wasn’t being dishonest. I just assumed y’all could do basic math. Jesus Christ.

4. “This package isn’t perfect, but you can’t please everyone.”

Yeah, I don’t really care about pleasing everyone. I care about making sure everyone who needs assistance, gets assistance. That bill doesn’t do this. I’m not okay with that. You are. Difference in morality.

And look, even if I was personally cool with the change in eligibility, you know who is really pissed off about it right now? The people who got that initial $600 check, and now won’t get the remaining $1400 because the rules changed. Electorally, this is about the stupidest decision the Dems could’ve made. A lot of you people claim to want to stop Trump and the GOP AT ALL COSTS, but you don’t actually care about winning, do you? If you did, you’d be screaming at Biden and the rest of the Dems that this isn’t good enough. With this decision, Dems are on track for an absolute electoral bloodbath during the next midterms.You don’t break campaign promises like this and NOT pay a political price; we’ve seen it happen time and time again. How do you think we got Trump in the first place: in large part, Dems failing short of their campaign promises.

5. “Do you want Trump to get a check??!?!?!?!”

I already said we can TAX BACK the stimulus check from any rich assholes who really don’t need it, Trump included.

I’m not interested in fucking over the average American so that I can deny Trump $1400 that can easily be taxed back later.

You people would literally let people starve to own Trump, lmao.

6. “$80k isn’t that much in some parts of the country, but it is in others. The federal government doesn’t cater to regions, so this is how it has to be.”

Precisely because this bill DOES NOT cater to regions (which btw, I would be totally okay with; sure, go ahead and give people who live in lower cost-of-living areas less stimulus money) is why it needs to set a higher floor.

7. “If you make $80k last year, you should’ve saved up money.”

Did you literally not look at the cost-of-living in those areas I showed you? Saving money how? If you made $80k, all your money is going towards expenses necessary to life. Even if we assume that those aren’t perfect estimates, I doubt they’re that far off. But if they are, then please cite credible sources that show the average cost-of-living in Seattle for a family of three is significantly less than $88k a year. I lived in Seattle. That number is a low estimate.

In fact, I ran the numbers for a single adult living in the area I live in (not disclosing because of privacy concerns), and it is WAY TOO LOW. I know, because I live in the area. Good luck finding an apartment for one person for $800 a month. The lowest you’ll be able to find is around $1200. If you earn the minimum wage in my state, you would be unable to live on your own, even if you use the estimates provided by the budget calculator.

And remember, “cost of living” is NOT the same thing as “amount of money you need to earn in order to live in an area”. Why? Because of TAXES. Someone may have a salary of 80k a year, but that’s not their TAKE HOME PAY. You need to account for taxes when you think about the amount of wages/salary needed to cover cost-of-living expenses.

8. “You don’t have to live in an expensive city. You can just move.”

Moving costs money, a lot of money (I’ve moved several times). Most jobs don’t pay for moving costs. Also, you might not be able to get a job in a rural town. I grew up in a rural town. Employment opportunities were slim. After college, I went back to live in my hometown. I was unable to get employment in town and had to work remotely from a company in California, and eventually ended up moving because of job opportunities elsewhere. I would’ve moved sooner, but again, it’s expensive to move.

9. “People making $80k a year don’t need stimulus. I make $50k a year and can afford everything *I* need, so why can’t other people?”

As the statistics show, some do need the money. Some of the most populous cities in the US are insanely expensive to live in. It’s amazing to me that people don’t understand that the value of a dollar VARIES depending on where you are in the country. You are extraordinarily stupid, so please shut up. Words cannot express how dumb some of you are.

Even so, as I already explained, this isn’t just about helping people afford food. Stimulus checks are ALSO about stimulating the economy. People using their stimulus checks to buy food from restaurants, or clothes from a clothing store, or booze from the liquor store, is GOOD. Why? Because it allows these businesses to stay open, which in turn allows people (a lot of whom are LOW WAGE WORKERS) to be employed. They need the employment, because we’re not giving them proper assistance through a recurring stimulus check program. It’s actually a good thing if we can keep people in their jobs.

10.  “Anyone who is earning a normal salary shouldn’t get a stimulus check. This should only go to people who lost their jobs because of Covid, not for any other reason.”

“Normal” salary isn’t necessarily a living wage. Why are you okay with people going hungry? We literally spend SO MUCH MORE MONEY on killing brown people in other countries, but a fucking stimulus check is what people want to fearmonger about. Just admit you hate poor people and move the fuck on.

11. “We could just let places re-open.”

Places ARE re-opening. My state has been doing an excellent job of gauging when to shut things down, and when to slowly re-open (we’ve had to go back and forth throughout the pandemic). However, financial damage has been done to the American people. That’s not something that can be solved overnight. Businesses that shut down won’t magically re-open when their local government lifts restrictions. Those businesses are gone for good. It’s going to take time to re-build the economy, create more jobs, etc. It’s the government’s responsibility to make sure people don’t starve in the meantime.

12. “Those budget calculations mean nothing. What does it even mean by “other necessities?””

Other necessities include clothing, essential non-food items like cleaning supplies, school supplies, etc. Not that hard to understand. How privileged must you be, that you don’t understand people need to buy things other than food to live? Do you have a butler or mommy that just buys this shit for you, never requires you to get it yourself, so you think it just magically appears in your house?

13. “My mom was a single parent with two kids and she made it on less than $80k.”

Good for you. That’s not everyone. A lot depends on the area of the country in which you live. The logic of, “Well I didn’t experience it, so it must not be valid,” is laughably self-centered and dumb.

14. “The eligibility requirements are based on 2019 or 2020 tax returns.”

A lot of people haven’t filed their 2020 returns yet. Good for you if you file immediately, but nobody is legally obligated to do so. They just need to meet the deadline, which isn’t until April (pretty sure we’ll be getting checks before then). As someone who worked as an independent contractor for a few years, I can tell you that it’s not uncommon for people in that employment situation to file taxes closer to the deadline, simply because the process is insanely complicated and takes a lot of time. It’s even more confusing if it’s your first time filing that way. 

Of course, I would encourage people to file as soon as they can, as a general rule. But also, there’s a lot of reasons people might wait and it’s not really my place to pry or shame them for not filing their taxes immediately. I don’t know them. I don’t know their situation. 

15. “If you live in a high cost-of-living area, but are poor, the $1400 isn’t really going to help you anyways because everything is so expensive, so who cares?”

Not help? $1400 could buy you food so you don’t starve. Like what the hell is this logic?

16. “I pay more than $1400 a week in taxes, and don’t want my money going to poor people.”

If you pay that much in taxes per week, then you’re making AT LEAST ~$230k a fucking year (likely more because the math assumes you didn’t take advantage of any of the loopholes or benefits available to rich people in our tax code). No one cares about your opinion.

And it’s not as though you’re going to somehow pay less in taxes if we deny people help. It’s not as though you’re going to get your tax dollars back. But I suppose you’d rather your money goes towards making shitty fighter jets and subsidizing fossil fuels, instead of helping people out in the middle of a pandemic. 

The money isn’t the point, because this rich asshole would not be losing any money; we’re not taxing him more (Biden has sworn not to raise taxes on people making $400k a year, iirc). The cruelty is the point. 

I’ll also note that most working Americans pay more in taxes per year than they’re getting back in stimulus money. Including “poor people”. The average American isn’t actually taking money from anyone, they’re just getting their own goddamn tax dollars back. 

To be clear: I’m fine with someone needing government help, and taking more from the system than they put into it in tax dollars. The issue isn’t welfare spending. It’s all the other shit we spend our money on, like the goddamn defense budget.

It’s obvious to me that people simply DO NOT read the links I posted. A lot of them explain why means-testing is wrong, which would’ve avoided the inane comments shrieking about, “But what about rich people?”. If you don’t read the post, then you really shouldn’t respond. People who do so have no interest in even engaging in proper debate, they simply want to spread pro-austerity propaganda. In short: READ THE FUCKING LINKS BEFORE YOU FUCKING COMMENT.

As well, anyone who is pro-austerity (especially for the pseudo-intellectual reasons provided, where it’s clear you’re frantically trying to justify your pro-austerity stance - coming up with a dozen shoddy reasons as why it’s cool to deny needy people assistance - and still feel like a moral person) should stop calling themselves a leftist. You cannot be pro-austerity and still call yourself a leftist, because pro-austerity is literally a tenet of hardcore right-wing ideology. 

And I’ll remind people: not everyone who has more money than you is your enemy. When we talk about “the rich”, we’re referring to people who earn at least hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, not $80k. Earning $80k wouldn’t put you even in the top 10% of earners in the US. 

In some states, teachers make an average of $80k (like New York, where the cost of living is also very high). Those aren’t the bourgeoisie; they’re fucking working class people who are likely underpaid and over-worked. And your broad contempt for anyone who you perceive to have more privilege than you is counter-productive to building a left-wing coalition that can actually transform our economy and government. Please educate yourself, or exit the movement.

I found another helpful resource that people can use to look up what the living wage would be in your area, what the current wage is, and what the cost of living is (broken down into categories) based on your living situation (number of members in your family): 

https://livingwage.mit.edu/

Some more points to address: 

17. “Politics is about negotiation. Don’t expect a politician to make a promise and keep it, because they’ll have to negotiate to actually pass things.”

[a] Yes, but you start off the negotiations from an EXTREME position. You don’t start negotiations from a weak position. 

Biden was ALREADY “negotiating” from a compromised position. His promise – his “starting point”, in your framing – was a weak, compromised position of ONE CHECK, means-tested, $2000. If he had said recurring checks, until the American people have economically recovered from the pandemic, no means-testing, $2000 per check, along with giving us a huge check making up for the months we hadn’t been getting assistance, then your point about negotiations would, in theory, make more sense. But he didn’t do that. Not to mention…

[b] There is no reason the Dems needed to negotiate. They have control of the House, Senate, and presidency. They can pass whatever they want, as long as they have the political will to do so.

“But, but, but, what about Manchin,” you pathetically whine. Yeah, I already explained to you how Biden could bring the scummy neoliberals to fucking heel. You can politically browbeat people into submission. It’s not that hard. It’s just that the Democrats never try (because they don’t actually want to get shit done).

18. “We need people to get involved, not throw their hands up and do nothing. Posts like this inspire cynicism.”

My job is to tell the truth. What people do with that truth is their business. I’m not going to lie to them and tell them that Biden is totally cool. He’s not. Sometimes the truth is inconvenient. That’s life. Grow up. 

If you’re soooo concerned about people feeling like nothing matters, then come up with links / suggestions that would help them get involved so we can make sure this doesn’t happen again. If you fail to do these things, you’re not REALLY concerned about people’s lack of activism; you just don’t want this particular story getting out.

Also, it’s impossible to predict how a person is going to react to a news story. For me, personally, anger is what motivates me better than anything else when it comes to politics. So actually, this is precisely the kind of story that compels me to act more, not less. Entire movements are created because of “negative” stories in the news. It’s one reason why #BLM has gotten so huge. People get inspired to act when they see bad shit happening. This hand-wringing and fearmongering about, “Oooohhhh, negative news stories will make people lazy,” is not based in reality. People and their motivations are more complex than that.

19. (Not really a point against the stimulus checks per se, but I’ll respond.) “I make $0 and I haven’t gotten stimulus checks, so I’m tired of hearing about people who do make some money not getting checks.”

That’s exactly the type of scenario I was referring to when I talk about people falling through the cracks when you means-test.

If these checks weren’t means-tested, you most likely would’ve gotten a check. Means-testing not only blocks a lot of people from getting money due to requirements, but it also means that people who DO qualify won’t get checks due to errors in the system. 

For example, when you filed taxes, maybe you (accidentally) checked a box saying someone COULD claim you as a dependent. Even if no one did, the system still classifies you as a dependent (maybe it’s not supposed to, but it certainly does). Which means you wouldn’t qualify for all the stimulus checks. Little things like this can be avoided if we just issue EVERYONE a check. 

Also, lmao @ the people who literally say shit like, “I don’t want to sound like a bootlicker, but [defends austerity and makes excuses for right wingers].”