From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney has proposed that every American adult receive a $1,000 check from the government to offset monetary burdens ushered in by the coronavirus pandemic.
Romney unveiled the proposal on Monday that called for Congress to take further steps to promote spending in the economy.
“Every American adult should immediately receive $1,000 to help ensure families and workers can meet their short-term obligations and increase spending in the economy,” Romney wrote. “Congress took similar action during the 2001 and 2008 recessions. While expansions of paid leave, unemployment insurance, and SNAP benefits are crucial, the check will help fill the gaps for Americans that may not quickly navigate different government options.”
Romney also introduced other policy proposals that include allowing loan deferments to recent college graduates and providing grants to small businesses.
“This would a critical floor of social insurance for hundreds of millions of Americans and would help the economy rebound more quickly when we are past the virus lockdown phase,” Jason Furman, a top economist during the Obama administration, said on Twitter regarding Romney’s proposal; Furman had introduced a plan similar to Romney’s earlier in March.
Locally, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin recently established a public emergency loan fund in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic with the hope of protecting individuals and small businesses throughout the region from expected revenue losses.
The Birmingham Strong Fund was started to protect individuals and small businesses with 50 employees of less from income and revenue loss as the virus sweeps through the nation. The fund was primarily established to help offset income losses due to the virus and stabilize employment. The strategy of the fund is to:
-
Provide a single source source of truth on how the COVID-19 is affecting our community and resources available to:
A). Individuals that have experienced income loss due to COVID-19.
B). Owners of small business experiencing revenue loss due to COVID-19.
C). Seniors experiencing disruptions in food procurement or social health.
D). Individuals who want to volunteer or donate and join the response to keep.
-
Stabilize the economy by designing programs to support small businesses and vulnerable workers.
-
Track the real-time impact of the COVID-19 on our local economy and small businesses, so that we can advocate for state and federal resources and create effective relief programs.
-
Profile the resilience of our community by telling the stories of the people that make.
The fund will be run by The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.
To donate to the fund, you can click on the following link: https://bit.ly/2TRtLpT
Support the Bham Strong campaign
In the wake of #COVID19, you should practice social distancing, you should practice good hygiene, but you should also go out and shop and support our small businesses. I encourage you all to contribute to the Birmingham Strong campaign, which will ensure there is a safety net for local businesses and their employees who may be affected by this crisis. Visit bhamstrong.com for more.
Posted by Randall Woodfin on Saturday, March 14, 2020