For most Americans, there’s little doubting that the current Omicron-driven coronavirus pandemic wave and red-hot inflationary pressures are making life difficult.

It is against this highly concerning backdrop in which millions of hardworking Americans are trying their best to make ends meet for themselves and their families on a daily basis.

Congress was well aware of widespread financial struggles early in the pandemic when it approved the delivery of three much-needed stimulus checks to most Americans. A $1,200 check arrived in April 2020, $600 in December, and a $1,400 payment in spring 2021 under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

More Stimulus Just a Pipe Dream?

However, for many cash-strapped, pandemic-weary Americans, those three checks are far from enough. But can Americans expect more government-issued stimulus checks in the future?

“Unless conditions get dramatically worse, it’s unlikely that more direct stimulus checks will be sent out next year,” Carter Seuthe, CEO of Credit Summit Payday Loan Consolidation, told the personal finance resource site GOBankingRates.com.

“The current administration has shown little appetite for passing such measures by executive order, and Congress has been dragging its feet on passing major infrastructure spending,” Seuthe also said.

Despite the seemingly low chances of another round of stimulus checks being passed, that hasn’t stopped ordinary Americans from voicing their opinion on the matter. In fact, seven petitions for further stimulus checks are currently circulating. Those petitions have collectively amassed well over five million signatures and continue to lock in more each and every day.

Among those passionate calls, the most popular one by far is the Change.org petition that was launched by pandemic-hit Denver-area restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin.

“I am one of millions of Americans who fear for my financial future because of this coronavirus crisis,” reads the petition, which recently eclipsed its stated goal of three million signatures.

“I’m calling on Congress to support families with a $2,000 payment for adults and a $1,000 payment for kids immediately, and continuing regular checks for the duration of the crisis,” it continues.

Look to California?

Washington policymakers have stayed mostly silent on the issue of needing more stimulus payments, but it appears that California has already stated that more stimulus checks will be on the way to its residents.

“We expect in the May revise language when I update the budget that we are likely to have an additional rebate to the taxpayers,” Governor Gavin Newsom recently told reporters.

The state is currently issuing the final batch of the Golden State Stimulus checks of $1,100. Roughly two out of every three residents in the state are eligible for a share of the $12 billion in stimulus payments.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.