Stimulus Shock: Stocks Tumble After Dem Senator Manchin Will "Absolutely Not" Support Biden $2,000 Stimulus Checks...UPDATE PG 4

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Wall Street - which is now certain that the Democratic sweep will lead to trillions in new stimulus (Goldman yesterday revised its outlook to expect as much as $750BN in fresh stimulus as soon as next month) - may have to put the champagne on ice (if only for a few days until the backroom negotiations are completed) because as the WaPo reports, "Biden’s plans for a major new economic relief package boosting stimulus payments to $2,000 have run into possibly fatal opposition from his own party Friday as Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said he would “absolutely not” support a new round of checks."

Manchin, who as the WaPo describes as "a moderate who will hold great sway in a Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans" made his views known even as the Biden team worked to develop a coronavirus relief package that would include new stimulus checks, extended unemployment benefits, and much more. The only problem: Biden did not expect one of his own to turn against him in what appears to be a reversal of the blue wave.

Biden has made new stimulus checks a central promise, specifically telling Georgia voters that they would be getting $2,000 payments if Democrats won Senate elections in the state this week. Little did Georgia's Democratic voters know that one of their own Senators was about to crash that plan, even though following the Georgia wins, Chuck Schumer also pledged that the $2,000 checks would be an early priority.

The problem is that with a slim margin of just one vote in their majority - one which assumes Kamala Harris will be the Senate tiebreaker - Biden and Schumer can't lose even a single Democratic vote if they attempt to move legislation under special Senate rules that allow bills to pass with a simple majority, instead of the 60 vote margin generally required

Last Edited by The Don Of Nantucket on 01/08/2021 04:56 PM