Residents from all over United States have supported an online petition for the fourth stimulus check. The proposal has already received more than 2.9 signatures and is recognized to be one of the most signed petitions on Change.org. Unfortunately, this petition would unlikely sway the IRS and legislators.
At the start of the pandemic, lawmakers proposed direct payments to give immediate financial relief for Americans who lost their jobs and accrued debts. The strategy proved effective. Despite the lack of income, bills were paid, residents kept their houses and leftover money was immediately used for groceries. This strategy helped many Americans fight off poverty during the pandemic.
The federal government released three waves of stimulus checks. Afterward, they decided the country had recovered enough and stopped the program. Americans from all over the country voiced their disagreement.
Fourth Stimulus Check Tracker: $2000 Payments for Americans
Stephanie Bonin, a restaurant owner in Colorado, started a petition last year about recurring stimulus checks. She emphasized how consistent recurring payments would be critical to many Americans.
Since it seems unlikely for the pandemic to end any time soon, Bonin said, "we need immediate checks and recurring payments so that we can keep our heads above water. Congress needs to make sure that we won't be left financially ruined for doing our part to keep the country healthy," per Change.org.
At the time of writing, Bonin's online petition has reached 2,919,496 signatures out of its 3 million goal. Its near completion inspired support from every state in the country.
$2000 Online Petition Gets Boost From California, Texas, Florida and New York
Newsweek contacted Change.org and received the statistical breakdown for the 2.9 million signatures. These signatures came from different states. However, most of the signatures came from just four states.
California, Texas, Florida and New York are four of the most populous states in the U.S. These four states are accounted for 995,000 signatures in the online petition, with 30 percent of those signatures coming from California. However, keep in mind that 344,000 Californian signatures are relatively tiny number when compared to its 39 million population.
Other states, like Illinois and Pennsylvania, contributed more than 100,000 signatures. A total of 11 unmentioned states contributed 50,000 to 100,000 signatures, too.
Another 11 states, Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, contributed less than 10,000 signatures each.
Lastly, 97 percent of the signatures were contributed by people in the U.S., while 3 percent were signed by outsiders.
With all these numbers laid out, it is worth noting how the number of signatures is minimal when compared to the state's population.
Newsweek calculated that even if the online petition reached 3 million signatures, they would barely account for one percent of the country's population. Regardless of the milestones Bonin's online petition has achieved, it stated that this number of support is hardly enough to convince the Congress and the Biden Administration to approve a fourth stimulus check.
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