The United States and its people are in a big predicament during this pandemic. They have received a first stimulus check, but as the situation and Covid-19 continues to break havoc in the so called, more powerful nation in the world, the financial sector is getting weaker and weaker by the minute.
The slow response of its leaders is not helping at all, and now a second stimulus check has become a question of food or no food for many Americans or housing or homelessness. Democratic and Republican party leaders are making little progress in their talks for another stimulus package, which would include another round of stimulus checks and enhanced jobless benefits. And if they don’t make progress or a deal soon, they might not pass anything, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters.
The White House, Senate Republicans and House Democrats all support sending another round of $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans, however, they can’t come to an agreement for the broader stimulus bill in which the checks would be included. Democrats want more money for state governments and unemployment benefits, while Republicans want the extra $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit reduced and COVID-19 lawsuit immunity for businesses.
“They [GOP leaders] repeated again today which is if there’s not a deal by Friday, there won’t be a deal. At some point you have to set a deadline or just continue this Kabuki dance every day and nobody wants that,” Senator Roy Blunt, R-MO told CNN Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he’ll delay the start of the August recess and remain in session next week. That would provide the time needed to pass legislation if both parties come to an agreement.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was more upbeat, telling MSNBC that she’s “confident that we will have an agreement.”
Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies saw a huge increase in value during the days after the first stimulus check was distributed, giving signs that many US citizens are aware of the excessive amount of quantitative easing (the printing of money) that is undergoing in the United States, leading to a devaluation of the United States Dollar. Bitcoin ATMs operators as "YCO Bitcoin" in California also saw a huge increase in demand after the first stimulus check was given to families in the US. YCO
Bitcoin now offers the option to buy several cryptocurrencies from their website (http://www.ycobitcoin.com) and they are starting to see an increase in traffic and demand from their site as well. During the past few days we have seen cryptocurrency values increase up to 20% which is another indicator of the sentiment of citizens when we think of Fiat and this new, not so new, digital currencies.
It will be very interesting to see how this second stimulus, when it arrives, influences the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as well as if it changes the demand on businesses like YCO Bitcoin.