As the U.S. economy slowly reopens, Americans across the country are still grappling with job loss, furloughs and economic uncertainty. To combat these financial woes, President Donald Trump said Tuesday he sees tax cuts to companies as the economic answer not additional checks to individuals in forthcoming stimulus packages.
During a press junket touting the success of the Paycheck Protection Program, Trump answered questions about future plans to aid the economy. In the meeting in the East Room of the White House, the president was asked about the possibility of Americans receiving another stimulus check.
He answered that he would “love to see” payroll tax cuts versus a “big distribution,” referring to the massive stimulus checks that have been doled out to citizens the last couple of weeks.
“It would really be an incentive for people to come back to work and for employers to hire,” Trump said. “That’s what I like...Something like that could happen.”
Earlier Tuesday, White House official said the administration was “studying carefully” another $1,200 payment to citizens.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told the media the administration is determining whether to provide those who qualify another round of stimulus checks. The additional financial support could be included in a phase 4 deal.
No word on when the package would be presented the House, but, with the virus still looming, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the media Tuesday that the House will no longer come back next week after speaking to House physician, according to a tweet by Politico congressional reporter Sarah Ferris.
"We made a judgment that we will not come back next week,” Hoyer told reporters.
While the new stimulus checks are being considered, some Americans have not yet received the first round of checks. The IRS began cutting stimulus checks in mid-April. As of this week, about 90 million people have seen the economic bump in their accounts, according to economic news site Market Watch.
The hope is that the checks, which average about $1,200 a piece, will encourage spending and quell the financial pressure to pay essential bills as the COVID-19’s impact has shuttered manufacturing plants, retail stores and limited business hours for dozens of companies.
The IRS had distributed about 88.1 million stimulus checks as of April 17 and paid out $157.96 billion, according to statistics released April 24. That’s more than half of the $290 billion put aside for direct payments to individuals in the $2.2 trillion bill called the CARES Act.
Consumer confidence is still low
The Conference Board Tuesday reported that its consumer confidence index tumbled in the month of April, as millions lost their jobs and others feared for the current and future work conditions.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its confidence index plunged to a reading of 86.9, down from 118.8 in March. The index is composed of consumers’ assessment of present conditions and expectations about the future.
The present conditions index dropped from 166.7, to 76.4, a 90-point drop that was the largest on record. The expectations index, based on the future outlook, improved slightly from 86.8 in March to 93.8 in April.
The numbers in the present conditions index “reflects the sharp contraction in economic activity and surge in unemployment claims," said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.
Kathy Bostjancic, chief U.S. financial economist at Oxford Economics, said the confidence declines were worrisome because “consumers' downbeat views about future income prospects can restrain consumer spending and the overall economy.”
Consumers drive about 70% of all economic activity in the U.S.
Many economists believe the country has already entered a recession that will be the largest economic disruption since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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