New Aid Package from Congress is Near Useless for Ebay Self-Employed?

[home2thesea]

I know a lot of people on eBay sell part-time or just for a side hustle and don't depend on it for serious money, but I do. I'm a full-time caregiver for an elderly parent who is too frail to be left on her own and my only way of making money has been to source items at thrift stores to sell online. I get an hour here or there to leave the house, no more. I haven't been selling long on Ebay but I've been selling clothing for a couple of years now on another site, which shall remain unnamed. This is my sole income.

Now, during the Coronovirus lockdowns (which may go on for 10-12 weeks) all thrift stores in my area have closed. I've already listed everything I have to list and my sales are slowing down as a consequence. We literally live sale to sale. If I make a sale, I get to go buy something we need at the store. I scrimp and save little bits to add up for utilities.

I was hoping that the aid package Congress is working on would be some help, but from what I'm reading, there's nothing in it for the self-employed, especially those surviving at the low end. If I'm lucky, I might qualify for the $1000 direct payment, but how do they expect that to last people for up to 3 months? 

[mam98031]

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@bar-29368 wrote:

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

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@bar-29368 wrote:
Last I read it was $65k

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Every one I know would qualify.  Thanks, I'll let em know.

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Update - I misread, looks like $75k per individual.

But as they keep chopping and changing we won't know for sure until it's a done deal.

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I don't think that is the area they are looking at to change.  At least not from what I've read or heard on the news.

[lostweekendshop]

They can be, assuming you're willing to do the necessary follow-up/fact-checking afterwards. 

[lostweekendshop]

Who cares about the cruise line industry? They barely pay taxes as it is because they are incorporated overseas and fly the flags of other countries. Let Panama bail them out.

Your point is taken on the other industries, though I would like to see any bailout come with the stipulation that they can't use those funds to do stock buybacks. 

[lostweekendshop]

The main sticking point for the Democrats is the $500 billion that would be allocated to big corporations with the details of the distribution of those funds being kept private for six months. 

This is a time-sensitive issue, as McConnell reminded everyone yesterday and today. Then again, it was a time-sensitive issue when he took several days off last week to travel to Kentucky for a non-vital gathering.

And of course, the real potential hair in the soup is that we don't know what Trump is going to do next. Based on the last 24 hours, it seems like he's impatient to get things up and going again, regardless if it's medically wise to do so. But let's say he does open things back up once the 15-day period has passed, then a stimulus bill suddenly doesn't seem as necessary. Which isn't to say I don't think it would be poor judgment to "open" the country again at that time, even if we're seeing no slowdown in reported cases/deaths. Businesses will not rebound enough that quickly to justify risking that many lives.