Inflation relief checks by state news summary | 30 October 2022
Inflation relief checks: live updates
Headlines: Sunday, 30 October 2022
- Dow Jones on track to have best October ever
- The economy and increasing healthcare costs are at the top of mind for voters.
- US registers 2.6% GDP growth in Q3
- NYC salary transparency law to take effect 1 November
- Median home price hit $470,000 in September, up 13 percent from one year ago.
- California continues to send inflation relief checks to millions across the state.
- White House moves to create new rules to protect consumers from "junk fees"
- Some still may be eligible to receive the $3,600/$3,000 child tax credit
- Final deadline to claim stimulus checks approaching
- The student debt forgivenessapplication deadline is coming up
Big oil rakes in massive profits
Bloomberg analysts point to the boom-and-bust nature of primary goods, like oil, which can experience high levels of price volatility. When the pandemic began, oil prices fell quickly, and now they are reaching record highs, driving up prices for other goods in the market.
Traditionally, when oil profits are high, capital expenditure to increase production typically increases.. but this time many tracking the actions of Big Oil are not seeing that happen.
Without these increased investments in capital expenditure to increase production, consumers could face high prices for some time. This year, Exxon Mobile is expected to spend around $24 billion on capital expenditure, which is equal to their earnings just in the third quarter of this year. Many looking at this picture believe that this just will not be enough to bring prices down.
What stimulus checks will arrive before Thanksgiving and how to apply
The sending of relief payments for inflation relief continues in the USA. We explain what stimulus checks will arrive before Thanksgiving and how to apply.
Salary transparency law in NYC: what it is and when it will take effect
Starting November 1, the pay transparency law goes into effect in New York City. Here are the details of the new law and what it consists of.
US economy grew more than expected in the third quarter
Economists had been expecting the US economy to grow by around 2.3% in the third quarter, so the report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce showing a 2.6% bump in GDP was welcome news.
It helped Wall Street finish the week on a positive note, with the Dow Jones racking up its four straight week of gains, the most since a five week run in November 2021.
Georgia has begun to send direct payments to those in need
About a month ago, Georgia began sending direct payments to residents who are enrolled in a welfare program like SNAP and WIC. The state will send a one-time $350 payment to hundreds of thousands of households around the state to help them keep up with inflation.
The funds will be delivered as a virtual gift card. However, some people began reporting issues using the cards. The state responded saying that cards may be declined by retailers who do not accept giftcards or if the payment is not processed as a debit transaction, which requires a pin.
The first to see their cards in the mail are those who have email as their preferred mode of communication with the state.
Folks, hidden "junk" fees are unfair. And they hit the most vulnerable Americans hardest, especially low-income folks and people of color. They benefit big corporations – not consumers or working families. My Administration is ending them.
Get a jump on your tax planning for 2023, know the new standard deduction amounts
While inflation has been hurting households incomes it had the knock-on effect of raising significantly the standard deductions that Americans will be able to take on their 2023 tax bill. Likewise the IRS adjusted the thresholds for the seven income tax brackets to avoid "bracket creep" which could lower the tax burden for those whose salaries haven't kept pace with inflation.
Carlo Allegri / REUTERS
Dow on track for best October ever
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 2.6% on Friday despite poor earnings report from Amazon. The positive end to the week was the fourth straight for the 30-stock index and is on track to have its best month since January 1976 and its best October ever after surging over 14% this month.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: "This is not an economy that’s in recession"
If you look around the world, there are a lot of economies that are really suffering not only from high inflation but very weak economic performance, and the United States stands out. We have unemployment at a 50-year low.
Consumer spending and investment spending continued to grow. We have solid household finances, business finances, banks that are well capitalized. This is not an economy that’s in recession and we continue to do well.
How has inflation impacted consumer spending?
Given the intense pressure of inflation in the market, levels of consumer spending remain high, increasing by 0.4 percent from August to September.
However, in September, the personal savings rate fell to 3.1 percent from 3.5 percent, one of the lowest levels recorded since the 2008 Financial Crisis. This is concerning because if the economy does begin to experience a recession and unemployment rises, the rate of savings could create severe financial pressure on households who have seen inflation cut into their purchasing power.
Higher prices for Halloween candy not frightening Americans
Halloween, "the Superbowl" of the candy industry is just around the corner. This year Americans are seeing higher prices for sweets they'll use to bribe hordes of children from pranking them.
However, the elevated prices aren't scaring shoppers away from having full bowls on hand of kids' favorites. While the price change percentage-wise might seem eye popping the treats are relatively inexpensive as is.
Nonetheless, households will be tightening their belts somewhat this year with other planned outlays for the holiday. Respondants to the National Retail Foundation's Halloween Spending Survey said they will reduce spending by around $2 billion to a little more than $100 billion.
A United States appeals court has imposed a temporary block on the student loan forgiveness plan introduced by President Biden. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on the program while an appeal from six Republican-led states is considered.
Biden had promised to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loan debt but some Republican states had argued that the President had overstepped his authority by unilaterally declaring the measure without consent form Congress.
The student debt forgiveness plan has been unveiled. Pell Grant recipients and non-grantees will be able to cut $20,000 and $10,000 in student loan debt, respectively, so long as they make under $125,000 a year ($250,000 for married couples).
According to the Department of Education, the application period will be short, and the deadline for the application is 31 December 2023, giving student plenty of time to access it.
Millions of eligible Americans have already applied for the debt forgiveness via the online application form, with the latest figures at 26 million. If you used the Beta form, you will not need to resubmit your application.
Read more on debt cancellation in our full coverage.
President Biden responds to third quarter GDP growth
For months, doomsayers have been arguing that the US economy is in a recession and Congressional Republicans have been rooting for a downturn. But today we got further evidence that our economic recovery is continuing to power forward. This is a testament to the resilience of the American people. As I have said before, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. Our economy has created 10 million jobs, unemployment is at a 50 year low, and U.S. manufacturing is booming. Today’s data shows that in the third quarter, Americans’ incomes were up and price increases in the economy came down.
As the US economy came roaring back after one of the deepest but shortest recessions in US history, the disruptions caused by the pandemic and other world events has driven inflation to its highest level in over 40 years. While the clip of rising prices slowed in the latest Consumer Price Index report, at an interannual rate of 8.2% in September, households are still reeling.
To help ease the higher costs to households, various states have issued tax refunds or stimulus checks.
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Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, the amount of the Child Tax Credit increased for tax year 2021. For those who have yet to claim the benefit on their taxes, you may be eligible to receive $3,600 for each dependent under six and $3,000 for each child ages six to seventeen, $3,000.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) distributed half of the credit in monthly checks from July to December 2021: $300 for families with children under 6 years old and $250 for families with children from 6 to 17 years. However, if you did not receive these monthly payments and have not filed your taxes, you must do so to receive the total value per child.
Read more on eligibility in our full coverage.
During the pandemic trillions of dollars was spent by the federal government to ensure that Americans were able to cover the cost of essentials and to keep the economy from slowing to a complete standstill.
More than 9 million individuals and families have been contacted to inform them of key tax benefits and the IRS has just issued letters to inform them of the vital relief payments that they are missing out on.
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The US government approved the sending of three stimulus checks to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it had finished sending the third payment, also known as Economic Impact Payment (EIP), some people can still claim the $1,400.
Hello, and welcome to AS USA
Hello, and welcome to AS USA's blog on inflation relief payments. We’ll keep you up to date on measures that have been approved in states around the US to help residents cope with the high price of food and gas.
While some states initiatives have already been sent out, others are just making their way to residents.