US states seek to ease inflation burden with direct payments

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Governors and state lawmakers throughout the U.S. are floating proposals to send checks to help residents cope with soaring inflation at a time when state budgets are bursting with cash. The relief ideas come at a time when many states actually have too much money on their hands because of billions of dollars of federal pandemic aid and ballooning tax revenue. It’s also happening as the war in Ukraine has compounded soaring prices for fuel and other essentials. According to the Wharton Business School, the average family had to spend $3,500 more last year to buy the same amount of goods and services as they purchased in previous years.