The world had 260,000 new Coronavirus cases reported on Saturday - a new world record, according to the WHO. Coronavirus deaths have also risen, with 7,360 new fatalities reported Saturday - the highest one day increase since May.
Alongside the many health concerns that come with COVID-19, many people are also worried about the financial toll the pandemic will take on them. However, there are some Americans who are actually feeling more financial freedom since the lockdowns began...
Some Americans have been lucky enough to stick with their long-term investment strategies, and have even been adding more to their retirement plans during the pandemic.
“It’s conflicting. In one way I want the world to go back to normal because we miss our friends and our fun activities,” 31-year-old Sarah Walker says. “But it’s also nice to save more money and see those retirement balances shooting up.”
Congress will reconvene this week, after a two-week recess, to vote on another unemployment benefit package under the CARES Act. They will decide on whether or not more stimulus checks should be sent out, as well as how to best help employers and businesses through the economic troubles surrounding the pandemic.
“Another round of stimulus is badly needed,” says Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist of Oxford Economics.
And more than two-thirds of Americans agree with Daco, saying they are still in need of a second stimulus check, according to recent data from tax preparer Jackson Hewitt. Only one quarter of those polled said they would not need the second government payment.
But some experts say the last thing the government should be doing is sending out more stimulus checks, pointing to the growing U.S. budget deficit.
“If we do need more stimulus, let’s give it more time and reconsider,” says Dr. Michael Busler, a public policy analyst and a professor of finance at Stockton University in New Jersey. “We could be going through a second wave of the pandemic, which could slow the economic rebound. But if the recovery is strong enough, it could withstand it.”
Check out more details on USA Today.