President Trump recognized the economic impact of COVID-19 on U.S. citizens and offered a stimulus package to support workers and businesses

As news of a second stimulus check from the Trump administration surfaces, it might seem that the primary check did the trick and so the country is asking for its continuation. The stimulus checks were surely welcome, but according to Bernie Sanders, a single check for $1200 is not enough to cover most individual’s monthly expenses. The intention of the stimulus check was in the right place, and now the idea needs to be expanded.^[3] Although some companies praised President Trump’s stimulus checks and their effects on business, many others saw no difference in sales. Many companies found it not significant enough or impossible to determine its responsibility in any upticks in sales they did experience. CNBC reminds us that the pandemic’s enforced quarantine has drastically altered the flow of money in unpredictable patterns anyway. Perhaps the most potent of the many critiques of this stimulus check is the fact that its success is unsustainable.^[2] Forbes recommended that people save the stimulus check, and many of those who could, did so. But those who could not save, because they needed to use the check for expenses, were the ones who stimulated the economy. And as the check disappears for some and is stored away by others for security, the economy falls flat again.^[1] According to CNBC, households among “income brackets ranging from less than $35,000 to $150,000, about two-thirds of the stimulus money went into savings.” The National Bureau of Economic Research notes the potential of another stimulus check, but suggests that the most helpful option would be to assist particularly low-income households. These individuals were not saving their initial checks anyway due to expenses, so these secondary stimulus checks would flow directly back into the economy.^[2] While well-intentioned, stimulus checks are a temporary fix for deep-rooted problems that the pandemic is exposing.