- A study published Thursday by the Urban Institute showed that wealthy and white households received economic-relief payments faster than Black and Hispanic families, as well as individuals below the poverty line.
- Nearly three-quarters of non-Hispanic white adults said they got their payment, according to the study. The proportions dropped to 69% for non-Hispanic Black adults and 64% for Hispanic adults.
- The report arrives as lawmakers argue over the need for additional
stimulus checks and who they should be sent to.
Roughly three months after the Internal Revenue Service began sending economic relief payments, data shows wealthier white households got their economic stimulus checks faster than Black and Hispanic families, as well as those below the poverty line.
About 70% of adults said they received their checks by mid-to-late May, according to a study released by the Urban Institute on Thursday. Yet "significant disparities" in payment delivery by income, race and ethnicity, and family citizenship status marred the program's effectiveness. The gaps are even direr after considering the virus's disproportionate economic toll in lower-income communities and communities of color.
Roughly 59% of families with incomes at or below the poverty level said they received payments, while 78% of adults with incomes above the threshold reported getting their checks.
Nearly three-quarters of non-Hispanic white adults said they received their payment, according to the study. Yet the share dropped to 69% for non-Hispanic Black adults and 64% for Hispanic adults. Just 54% of Hispanic adults in families with noncitizens reported getting their check.
One reason for the disparity could come from lower-income households missing out on checks by not having filed tax returns in 2018 or 2019, the study said. Such individuals should be eligible for receiving the $1,200 payment after filing for a 2020 return.
Other lags could be tied to those who reported income data without a tax return. The IRS pulled data from past filings in order to send advance payments before the next tax season. With $30 billion in stimulus checks still waiting to be sent out, it's possible the IRS prioritized tax filers before sending checks to self-reporters.
The Urban Institute's study arrives as legislators spar over the need for additional fiscal stimulus. Democrats have pushed for an extension to expanded unemployment insurance as well as another round of $1,200 payments. Republicans have pushed sending additional payments to only those making less than $40,000 a year, a plan that could omit roughly 20 million Americans.
The White House is mixed on how to send another round of checks. President Donald Trump has indicated he is open to such policy, but Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said in June that new checks should only go to "people who lost their jobs and are most in need."