Over the past few weeks, the global stock market has experienced record lows and turned the 11-year bull market in the U.S. into a bear market. A bull market is when the market is growing, and a bear market is when the market is receding.  In a NPR/Marist poll conducted the week of March 8, already 18% of households reported someone had been laid off or had reduced hours because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Early Wednesday morning, Senate leaders and the White House were able to strike a deal on a $2 trillion package to aid the American economy. This agreement comes five days from initial negotiations. According to CNN, the plan would provide direct payments up to $1,200 for individuals and $2,400 for couples and scale down for individuals earning $99,000 and couples earning $198,000. The Washington Post said under this package, $150 billion would go to regional stimulus funds and $130 billion would go to hospitals, while ensuring no taxpayer-backed loans would go to firms owned by White House officials or Congressmen. On Friday, the bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

Republican leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy have said they want to wait and first see the results of the payments. According to USA Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) has said she hopes further bills will include benefits such as more funding for regional governments and health centers, further direct payments, and protections for workers.  Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo believes that the package does not cover fully his state’s revenue loss from coronavirus.

“It [the stimulus package] would really be terrible for the state of New York,” Cuomo said. “This doesn’t do it.”