Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tom-wolf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Wolf</a> (D-PA) renewed a push to greenlight $2,000 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/stimulus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stimulus checks</a> for <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pennsylvanians</a> earning $80,000 or less.
Wolf argued during a Monday <a href="https://www.wtae.com/article/pennsylvania-2000-dollar-direct-payments-gov-wolf/41018907#">event</a> in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, that the “Pennsylvania Opportunity Program” will help families cope with surging inflation. The initiative would <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/wolf-administration-continues-push-for-2000-direct-payments-to-pennsylvanians-as-prices-soar/">cost</a> $500 million and draw funds from the state’s $15 billion budget surplus.
&#8220;We can actually help families get lifesaving medicine out of state funds. We can help families stay in their homes,” Wolf said. “We can help families afford to eat. Why on earth wouldn&#8217;t we do it? Especially now, again, when we have the money sitting in the bank.”
Pennsylvania Republicans, who control both chambers of the state legislature, have spurned the proposal over concerns of inducing additional inflation — a claim Wolf rejects.
&#8220;It&#8217;s just mind-boggling, the sense that giving somebody who is trying to put food on the table or pay the rent, that that is somehow inflationary, when how many trillions of dollars did we give away to the very wealthy during the Trump years in tax breaks?&#8221; he continued.
Other Democratic governors have proposed various stimulus measures as living expenses remain elevated. According to the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>, year-over-year inflation reached 8.5% in July 2022, with a slight moderation from the 9.1% reading in the previous month <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-starts-victory-lap-amid-slightly-less-dismal-inflation-reading">driven</a> by lower energy prices — even as costs for food, new vehicles, medical care, and shelter continue to rise.
Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) recently <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/06/30/governor-newsom-signs-budget-putting-money-back-in-californians-pockets-and-investing-in-states-future/">signed</a> a $308 billion state budget that includes $1.95 billion in emergency rental assistance, $1.4 billion to help citizens pay utility bills, and $9.5 billion for tax refunds of up to $1,050 per household for many Californians. As fuel prices soared in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Newsom <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsom-pushes-400-gas-price-relief-payments-as-california-fuel-prices-reach-record-levels">proposed</a> an $11 billion plan to send $400 stimulus checks to Californians for each registered vehicle.
“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Newsom said in a statement. “But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices, and advancing clean transportation — providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects.”
After the federal government passed multiple rounds of stimulus checks in reaction to COVID and nationwide lockdowns, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidenomics-how-inflation-got-out-of-control">evidence</a> that the payments contributed to inflation has continued to mount. Enhanced weekly unemployment benefits of $300 per person — passed under President Donald Trump and extended under President Joe Biden — lasted in many states through September 2021, while other states opted out of the program in the interest of fostering a recovery in their labor markets. Indeed, economists Harry Holzer, Glenn Hubbard, and Michael Strain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/surprise-enhanced-unemployment-benefits-significantly-increased-unemployment-study">said</a> in a recent paper that states which prematurely nixed the benefits saw “the flow of unemployed workers into employment increase by around two-thirds.”
Biden has instead pinned rising inflation on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-says-exxon-made-more-money-than-god-this-year-blames-them-for-gas-price-spike">corporate price gouging</a> and “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-biden-blames-vladimir-putin-for-record-high-inflation">Putin’s Price Hike</a>.” As year-over-year inflation reached its highest levels in June, the commander-in-chief <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-inflation-is-worse-everywhere-but-here-thats-not-even-close-to-true">falsely claimed</a> that rising price levels are “worse everywhere but here” — though developed nations such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, and Japan had been experiencing lower inflation than the United States.

Tom Wolf

Pennsylvania Governor Calls For More Stimulus Checks, Says It’s ‘Mind-Boggling’ Anyone Would Worry About More Inflation

Pennsylvania Governor Calls For Stimulus Checks

Economy

Pennsylvania

Stimulus Checks

A Republican congressman is demanding the IRS look into just how many terrorists and death row inmates received stimulus checks during the pandemic, after reports confirmed that dangerous criminals, such as the Boston Marathon bomber, received checks.
As The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/irs-probed-for-stimulus-checks-sent-to-terrorists-murderers/">reported</a>, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) sent a letter earlier this month to IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig requesting “information regarding the payment of Covid-19 Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to incarcerated persons.”
In his short letter, Bacon requested answers to the following questions:
<ol>
<li>How many EIPs have been disbursed to incarcerated individuals at the federal and state level?</li>
<li>How many EIPs have been disbursed to incarcerated individuals on death row at the federal and state level?</li>
<li>How many EIPs have been disbursed to incarcerated individuals serving life sentences without the possibility of parole?</li>
<li>In what format have EIPs been disbursed – via paper check or debit card?</li>
<li>How many EIPs were received as the recovery rebate credit?</li>
<li>To date, what is the total dollar value of EIPs disbursed to incarcerated individuals?</li>
<li>How many EIP requests are backlogged due to paperwork processing delays?</li>
<li>Have EIPs that were clawed back by the IRS prior to the court decision been disbursed again?</li>
</ol>
The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/boston-marathon-bomber-received-1400-covid-relief-check-from-bidens-stimulus-bill-reports">reported</a> in January that the Boston Marathon bomber, who will not be named due to company policy regarding notoriety for mass murderers, received a $1,400 COVID relief check in the summer of 2021. Federal prosecutors reportedly sought to seize the money in order to pay restitution to the bomber’s victims.
At the time, Boston 25 News <a href="https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/boston-marathon-bomber-dzhokhar-tsarnaev-got-1400-covid-relief-payment/BVKRJUHHHVEIFBVS5IM3INNDNI/">reported</a> that the convicted terrorist’s account received numerous deposits after he was sentenced:
<ul>
<li>The Defendant received a $1,400 COVID relief payment on June 22, 2021.</li>
<li>Between May 2016 and June 2021, the Defendant received multiple deposits from the Office of Federal Defenders of New York. The amounts varied between $40 and $250, totaling approximately $11,230.</li>
<li>Between August 2015 and August 2021, an individual residing in Indianapolis, Indiana, made monthly deposits between $30 and $60, totaling approximately $2,555.</li>
<li>Between August 2015 and December 2017, an individual residing in Bloomfield, New Jersey, made monthly deposits of $50, totaling approximately $1,450.</li>
<li>Between September 2013 and December 2018, an individual residing in Frederick, Maryland, made periodic deposits between $50 to $200, totaling approximately $950.</li>
<li>$3,486.60 from 32 other individuals.</li>
</ul>
“In light of the Defendant’s payment history and incarceration status, the United States requests that this Court enter an Order authorizing the BOP to turn over all funds, held in the Defendant’s inmate trust account, including any funds subject to an administrative hold by BOP, to the Clerk of Court as payment toward the outstanding criminal monetary penalties imposed against the Defendant,” prosecutors said at the time. “The United States submits that the requested relief is reasonable and appropriate in this instance, especially in light of the Defendant prioritizing payments to his siblings over the victims of his crimes.”
The Free Beacon noted that after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) warned out the potential for terrorists like the Boston Marathon bomber to receive COVID-relief funds, so-called fact checkers said he was wrong. They later backtracked after it was confirmed the Boston bomber did receive the funds.
The Daily Wire’s first original film, Shut In, has made its cinematic debut, being met with rave reviews. The Daily Wire is building an alternative to the leftist entertainment industry, one gripping movie at a time. Join us in this mission and stream Shut In today by becoming a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Row of Prison Cells

GOP Congressman Wants IRS To Investigate How Many Terrorists, Death Row Inmates Received Stimulus Checks

Coronavirus Relief

A recent analysis suggests that Florida’s labor market drastically improved after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) opted the state out of enhanced federal unemployment payments.
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan — passed in March of this year — extended enhanced unemployment checks through the beginning of September. Arguing that they encouraged millions of workers to stay home rather than seeking a job, governors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-of-americans-are-suing-their-governors-for-opting-out-of-extra-federal-unemployment-handouts">opted</a> out of the federal program months before its automatic expiration.
“Normally when you’re getting unemployment, the whole idea is that it’s temporary, and you need to be looking for work to be able to get off unemployment,” DeSantis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gov-desantis-tells-unemployed-floridians-collecting-benefits-to-start-looking-for-a-job">said</a> in May. “I think it’s pretty clear now — we have an abundance of job openings.”
The <a href="https://thefga.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/How-DeSantis-Kicked-FL-Economy-Into-Overdrive-10-07-21.pdf">Foundation for Government Accountability</a> — a Florida-based think tank working to reform welfare initiatives — compiled data showing that DeSantis’ decision to remove his state from the enhanced handouts paid significant dividends.
For instance, hiring increased after the state left the program:
<blockquote>From late May — when Gov. DeSantis announced he was ending the $300 weekly unemployment bonus — through late August, Florida employers hired nearly 1.3 million new workers. Nearly 400,000 of these new hires were recorded in the first three weeks following the unemployment bonus’s elimination. As the bonus ended, employers’ hiring rates spiked, allowing them to fill needed open jobs. For the first time in months, the number of unfilled positions in Florida began to decline in August, as more Floridians left unemployment and returned to work.</blockquote>
Likewise, citizens launched tens of thousands of new businesses:
<blockquote>With Floridians off of unemployment rolls and back in the workforce, businesses can truly thrive, including new businesses. In fact, entrepreneurs created nearly 150,000 new businesses since the unemployment bonus ended — in no small part thanks to pro-entrepreneur initiatives passed in the most recent legislative session. More businesses are created in Florida than in any other state in America, with a new Florida start-up launched an average of every 46 seconds in 2021.</blockquote>
The Daily Wire previously reported that several companies — including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-moves-thousands-of-jobs-from-california-to-floridas-business-friendly-climate">Disney</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-goldman-sachs-considers-moving-asset-management-division-out-of-nyc-to-florida">Goldman Sachs</a> — have weighed moving some of their divisions to Florida.
“This new project will create a dynamic environment to support our expanding business — a brand-new regional campus which will be built in the vibrant Lake Nona community of Orlando, Florida,” said Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro in a recent letter to staff members. “In addition to Florida’s business-friendly climate, this new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint.”

Man handing Stimulus check to people with the USA flag on the Background.

Why Ron DeSantis Was Right To Pull Florida Out Of Extra Unemployment Checks

Readers Pass

Ron DeSantis

Officials in President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration vowed that $1,400 relief checks for millions of Americans would go out almost immediately.
Twelve days later, millions of Americans are still waiting.
Now, a group of Democrats in the House are demanding answers.
In a letter posted on Twitter by one Democrat who signed it, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), the lawmakers asked the heads of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) to move the payments more quickly.
&#8220;The American Rescue Plan was intended to provide much-needed economic stimulus and assistance to people across the country — immediately — and we are counting on your agencies to ensure that beneficiaries are not left behind in the seamless delivery of those payments,&#8221; wrote the Democrats, who also included House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), as well as Reps. John Larson (D-CT) and Danny Davis (D-IL).
Of course, they blamed former President Donald Trump. Pascrell said slow payments to U.S. military veterans and Social Security beneficiaries can be blamed on &#8220;Trump appointees.&#8221; &#8220;Their inability to get out stimulus checks is another reason they need to be shown the exit,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A few weeks ago I called for President Biden to fire the trump appointees trying to dismantle Social Security. Their inability to get out stimulus checks is another reason they need to be shown the exit. <a href="https://t.co/0JxKhiKjeO">pic.twitter.com/0JxKhiKjeO</a>
&mdash; Bill Pascrell, Jr. 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@BillPascrell) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillPascrell/status/1374138289930842115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But there&#8217;s still time. The Treasury Department and IRS said Monday that another batch of payments is set to hit bank accounts by Wednesday.
&#8220;The IRS said a &#8216;large&#8217; portion of the second batch of payments will be mailed, though it did not provide an exact figure. &#8216;Taxpayers who do not receive a direct deposit by March 24 should watch the mail carefully in the coming weeks for a paper check or a prepaid debit card,&#8217; the agency said in a statement,&#8221; <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/more-stimulus-payments-will-hit-bank-accounts-by-wednesday-march-24.html">according</a> to CNBC.
“We urge people to carefully watch their mail for a check or debit card in the coming weeks,” said IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.
&#8220;The IRS is making approximately 17 million direct deposits with a payment date of March 24 and is beginning to mail about 20 million checks and debit cards, according to a banking industry official,&#8221; The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/22/irs-sending-second-1400-stimulus-payments/">reported</a>.
Americans earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income are eligible to receive up to $1,400, with couples filing jointly and making up to $150,000 eligible for $2,800 payments. The payments are cut off completely for individuals earning more than $80,000. The payments are based on either 2019 or 2020 income, depending on when a taxpayer files their 2020 tax return.
The $1.9 trillion stimulus package, signed into law by Biden on March 11, also expands the child tax credit for one year. It will increase to $3,600 for children under 6 and to $3,000 for kids between 6 and 17.
Biden said shortly after signing the bill that help was on the way. &#8220;The American Rescue Plan is already doing what it was designed to do: make a difference in people’s everyday lives. We’re just getting started. By the time all the money is distributed, 85% of American households will have gotten their $1,400 rescue checks,&#8221; Biden said.

Partial view on a US Treasury payment check

Where’s Your $1,400 Stimulus Check? Democrats Demand Answer For Slow Payments.

Stimulus

Democrat President Joe Biden is reportedly open to narrowing who qualifies for the next round of stimulus checks, which comes as critics from Biden&#8217;s own party have suggested that he has already broken his promise of $2,000 stimulus checks.
The news comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pelosi-schumer-file-measure-that-sets-up-process-to-ram-through-biden-stimulus-without-gop-support">introduced</a> a joint budget resolution on Monday that sets up the reconciliation process which would allow them to pass President Joe Biden’s coronavirus stimulus package without needing support from the Republican Party.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/02/02/biden-stimulus-checks/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Biden has publicly expressed willingness to negotiate the stimulus payments, which under Democrats’ current plans would begin to diminish at $75,000 for individuals and couples making $150,000 a year. Biden is also aiming to provide $1,400 per every adult and child under that threshold, on top of the $600 per adult and child approved by Congress in December.
One proposal discussed by senior Democrats includes lowering the threshold for the payments to begin phasing out above $50,000 for single taxpayers, $75,000 for people who file as the heads of households, and $100,000 for married couples, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss internal planning. These people stress that the conversations are fluid and legislation has not been finalized.</blockquote>
The Biden administration is reportedly not considering lowering the payments below $1,400, however, even that number is causing problems for Biden from within his own party.
&#8220;Biden unveiled the $1.9 trillion package on [January 11] that includes an additional $1,400 stimulus payment to many taxpayers and their dependents. The incoming president says the payments will top off the second round of $600 checks which were guaranteed at the end of 2020, bringing the total to $2,000 per person,&#8221; CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/critics-say-bidens-covid-relief-plan-breaks-promise-of-2000-dollar-checks.html">reported</a> last month. &#8220;But some critics of Biden’s new plan, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), say that Democrats need to fulfill their campaign promise and provide full $2,000 payments.&#8221;
The Post noted that during the Senate runoffs in Georgia last month that &#8220;Biden vowed $2,000 stimulus payments would be sent &#8216;immediately&#8217; if the two Democrat candidates won, which they did following a disastrous showing by the Republican Party.
“Their election will put an end to the block in Washington — that $2,000 stimulus check — that money would go out the door immediately, to help people who are in real trouble,” Biden said at the time. “Think about what it will mean to your lives — putting food on the table, paying rent.”
Biden is also facing pressure for saying that they they payments would &#8220;go out the door immediately,&#8221; when Schumer has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stimulus-check-1400-dollars-2021-02-02/">indicated</a> that it might not happen till the middle of March—which would be at least six months into the Biden administration.
Rosemary G. Boeglin, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement this week, “The President remains committed to finishing the job on delivering $2,000 in direct relief to Americans who are struggling to make ends meet during this crisis.”

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Stimulus Checks

Pennsylvania Governor Calls For More Stimulus Checks, Says It’s ‘Mind-Boggling’ Anyone Would Worry About More Inflation

GOP Congressman Wants IRS To Investigate How Many Terrorists, Death Row Inmates Received Stimulus Checks

Why Ron DeSantis Was Right To Pull Florida Out Of Extra Unemployment Checks

Where’s Your $1,400 Stimulus Check? Democrats Demand Answer For Slow Payments.

Biden ‘Open To Narrowing’ Who Qualifies For Stimulus Checks; Critics Suggest He’s Breaking Promises