In the absence of federal stimulus checks, several states have come up with their own stimulus checks, and this trend is still continuing. Most recently, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has proposed sending stimulus checks to residents. These Minnesota coronavirus stimulus checks are being popularly referred to as “Walz Checks.” Through Walz Checks, the governor aims to provide $700 million in direct payments to Minnesotans.
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Walz unveiled this plan a couple of weeks back and will use Minnesota's "historic" budget surplus to fund the stimulus checks.
“To continue growing Minnesota’s economy, we must invest in the people who made it strong in the first place," the governor said in a news release. “This plan builds our economy by putting people—our strongest asset—at the center of the blueprint.”
The governor's coronavirus stimulus checks would benefit about 2.7 million households in the state. However, the money that most Minnesotans would receive wouldn’t be much. For instance, single tax filers with an income of up to $164,400 would get $175, while married couples with a joint income of up to $273,470 would get $350.
Walz’s proposal would need to be passed by the Minnesota legislature to become law. Republicans are opposing this Minnesota coronavirus stimulus checks, calling it an “an election-year gimmick.”
“We’ll propose permanent, ongoing, targeted tax relief for working Minnesotans so they see savings every single year,” Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller.
The Democratic governor, who was elected in 2018, is now running for a second term this year.
Other Proposed Economic Benefits
Separately, Walz’s economic package sets aside $1 billion for front-line workers, including those working for health care or long-term care facilities, child-care workers, grocery store staff and retail employees. It is estimated that about 667,000 workers would benefit from this program.
“In this budget, if you are a frontline worker with children, earning up to $70,000 per year, you will get about $2,000 back in your pocket," the governor said.
Along with Walz Checks and money for frontline workers, Walz's proposal includes many other provisions. One such provision aims to permanently reduce home energy bills by putting additional investment in the Weatherization Assistance Program.
Also, the proposal recommends $10 million annually to boost “rigorous coursework and career and technical education for historically underserved students and students in Greater Minnesota.” There is also a proposal to invest $15 million in the Tech Youth Training program.
Walz has also proposed lowering taxes for families and small businesses to enable middle class and workers to keep more of their income. There is also a provision to invest $170 million to complete the task of “bringing border-to-border broadband access to all Minnesotans,” as well as $10 million to help farmers and livestock producers in the state.
