President Biden’s proposed $1,400 coronavirus relief checks would allow 22.6 million Americans to pay their bills for at least four and a half months, according to a study from data and research company Morning Consult.
The analysis comes as debates continue over the size and number of stimulus checks to be included in the next round of COVID-19 aid.
To evaluate the stimulus’s impact, Morning Consult analyzed data on household finances, determining that a new stimulus targeted at low-income adults would help to prevent worsened financial hardship, more than just digging people out of trouble.
According to the study, roughly 30.2 million Americans were unable to pay their bills in January. Out of those, 75 percent missed their bills by less than $300 — a 7 percent improvement from the month prior.
Morning Consult said this shows that while previous stimulus checks didn’t solve the recipients’ financial problems, it made their overall debt less.
The cost on the U.S. economy will ultimately be less if the government can help people stay out of debt rather than have to help them recover from it, Morning Consult said.
Stimulus checks sent out on March 1 would allow Americans to pay their bills through mid-July without falling deeper into debt trying to make the payments or tapping into their savings.
“The cost of sending significantly larger stimulus checks to everyone far outweighs the benefits of helping relatively few additional Americans,” Morning Consult wrote, adding that for maximum economic benefit, the new stimulus should focus on those who need it most.