Corona Daily 294: No Bar on Receiving Money

In United States of America, every individual has a right to launch a case against the government. Colin Scholl and Lisa Strawn launched a class-action suit against Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). This class action was on behalf of some 1.5 million Americans.

Colin Scholl currently resides at Salinas Valley State Prison. Lisa Strawn at the time of launching the case was incarcerated at San Quentin State prison in California. Understandably, they represented the 1.5 million Americans who are in prisons.

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As you know, in March, the USA passed the CARES act (Coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security Act). America’s tax office, the IRS, started sending $1200 to individuals. You may remember my earlier article about 1.1 million dead people receiving stimulus checks.

IRS also stated on its website that Americans in prisons were not eligible to receive the $1200 help. However, by mistake, 85000 prisoners were sent the checks. This was nearly $100 million. Realising the mistake, IRS asked the prisoners to give the money back. (Imagine asking someone in prison to return the money. And if they don’t return it, what are you going to do, lock them up?)

The 85000 inmates who had received the checks were upset. The remaining 1.4 million were upset because they had not received any money. Colin Scholl and Lisa Strawn employed the law firm Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein to file a class action complaint in court.

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The IRS website once again confirmed dead people and prisoners were not eligible to get aid. It asked prisons to intercept the payments going to prisoners.

IRS knew the government didn’t want to give monetary help to prisoners. (Most prisoners have no voting rights, why help them?) America can’t be distributing money to murderers, felons, gangsters, robbers, and illegals.

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This week, the judge rightly pointed out the CARES act did not exclude prisoners. In 2009, Congress had explicitly excluded prisoners from receiving payments. Therefore, the judge said, it clearly knew how to exclude them. It has actively decided not to do so this time. (For all we know, it may simply be a careless act in Trump’s America).

The judge declared the 85000 can keep the money. And the remaining 1.4 million can apply for the $1200 (the total bill $1.5 billion). Most US prisons don’t allow the prisoners internet access or personal email accounts. Prisoners are now allowed to file a paper application until 4 November. Many law firms will offer free service to prisoners to facilitate the payment.

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Loss of freedom is already a severe punishment. Free people and the State usually think prisoners can be punished endlessly. The majority of US prisoners spend on average seven months behind bars. When they come out, they still must face the pandemic. Inside the overcrowded prisons, for no fault of theirs, they are exposed to a high risk of catching the virus. Disproportionately large number of prisoners are black, Hispanics, poorer and more vulnerable than the average.

Though the Trump administration intends to appeal against the decision, it may cease to exist before a verdict is delivered.

Ravi