The way people in the US experience the coronavirus pandemic has been different for almost two years now, depending on where you live. And the same is also true for the recovery from the pandemic. Since geography, of course, is also a major determinant of when a new stimulus payment goes out — and who gets one.
To be sure, what we’re talking about here are stimulus payments from states, separate from the relief checks that continue going out from the federal government. The latter are broad-based payments, for Americans across the country. And, in fact, more of those kinds of payments are going out in just two weeks from now. A sixth and final child tax credit payment is coming on December 15 to millions of Americans. Below, meanwhile, we’ll take a look at some of the more local stimulus-related efforts around the country. Efforts that, to be sure, will become all the more important as the fate of new monthly stimulus payments from the federal government in 2022 still looks uncertain at the moment.
New stimulus payments around the US
The kinds of stimulus-related payments we’ll discuss here run the gamut from back-to-work incentives to bonus checks for teachers. This roundup, by the way, is also not a comprehensive recap of every possible stimulus check or related benefit from every state and city around the country. There are just too many to flag all in one go. Which, depending on who you ask, is a good problem to have.
Nevertheless, this does reflect the different kinds of steps being taken to mitigate the financial pain from the pandemic. For example, just to dive right in, speaking of the student aid we noted above?
The Ohio State University announced in September it would distribute another $46 million in federal aid to students. Since the start of the pandemic, Ohio State said more than $87 million has gone out to students in pandemic-related assistance. Thousands of them got a piece of that aid in the form of emergency grants.
And then there’s California, which has targeted statewide stimulus checks totaling several hundred dollars to lower- and middle-income residents. While states like Arizona and Connecticut have sent out $1,000 checks to residents who rejoin the workforce. Connecticut’s check is for workers who do so after eight weeks off of unemployment. While Arizona’s $1,000 check is for workers who take a part-time job (full-time work is worth $2,000).
More states
Elsewhere in the US, New Mexico in recent days announced that more than 3,000 low-income households will get a one-time payment of $452 in emergency financial aid. According to the state, “The one-time payment is for low-income state residents who did not receive the federal pandemic stimulus payments. An initial round of payments was issued earlier this year in July 2021.”
Additionally:
- In Oklahoma, state officials there recently announced the following. Almost $13 million in federal relief funds would go toward eligible college students. Specifically, that money is for their work as student teachers.
- Teachers and administrators in Florida also got a $1,000 bonus earlier this year. And in recent weeks, state Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed another round of the bonus payments.
