United States Government Coronavirus Stimulus Package / Trump Bucks

Submission 8,696

Part of a series on COVID-19 Pandemic. [View Related Entries]

For up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 coronavirus, including prevention and treatment, please visit CDC.gov.

Overview

United States Government Coronavirus Stimulus Package refers to an economic plan to help American citizens suffering from financial issues due to the coronavirus outbreak. The plan includes a $1,200 check for adults that earn less than $75,000 a year, which some have criticized as too low a figure for average expenses. Online, the stimulus checks are often referred to as "Trump Bucks."

Background

Following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the United States in March 2020, the U.S. economy crashed as did the stock market.

On March 27th, 2020, United States President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion economic stimulus bill that passed with bipartisan support by Congress.^[1] The stimulus program includes $1,200 for adults who made "an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less" and $500 for children 16 years old or younger.^[2]

Developments

Online Reaction

On March 27th, 2020, Redditor ^[3] SevenandForty shared a chart explaining where the money for the stimulus package will go. The post received more than 69,000 points (95% upvoted) and 3,500 comments in less than four days (shown below).

Other threads about the stimulus package on /r/blackpeopletwitter, ^[4] /r/politics,^[5]and /r/coronavirus^[6] all received more than 43,000 points in less than one week.

Some online joked about the reality of $1,200 in the modern economy, expressing that it is not enough money to cover expenses. For example, on March 27th, Instagram ^[7] influencer @tank.sinatra posted a version comparing the payment between residents in Alabama and New York. The post received more than 124,000 likes in less than one week (shown below, left). Throughout the week, others posted variations on the subject (examples below, center and right).