PanamaTimes

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Florida sending 'inflation relief' stimulus checks to families: What to know

Florida sending 'inflation relief' stimulus checks to families: What to know

Florida families can receive stimulus payment of $450 per child

Some Florida families are set to receive a one-time stimulus payment in order to help offset the impact of searing-hot inflation, which surged to another 40-year high in June.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, announced Thursday that his administration is sending checks worth up to $450 per child to lower-income families in the state. An estimated 59,000 families will qualify for the money. Florida is paying for the initiative by reallocating $35.5 million that it received from President Biden's signature COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan.

Eligible recipients include foster parents, relative and nonrelative caregivers and families receiving funds from the Florida Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or Guardianship Assistance program, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Officials expect the money to arrive between July 25 and Aug. 7, which is before Florida's "back-to-school" sales-tax holiday.

"Florida families: These letters are real," Christine Pushaw, a spokesperson for DeSantis, tweeted.


The decision comes one week after the Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price for everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 9.1% in June from a year ago. It marks the fastest pace of inflation since December 1981.

Scorching-hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more everyday necessities like food, gasoline and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price fluctuations.

Although American workers have seen strong wage gains in recent months, inflation has largely eroded those: Real average hourly earnings decreased 1% in June from the previous month when accounting for higher consumer prices, according to the Labor Department. On an annual basis, real earnings actually dropped 3.6% in June.

Inflation has become a major political liability for President Biden ahead of the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are expected to lose their already razor-thin majorities. Republicans, including DeSantis, have blamed the president for higher prices, accusing him of stoking inflation with energy policies that discourage oil production.

Biden, meanwhile, has pointed the finger at oil companies that he has said gouged consumers in order to raise their own profits.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
U.S. Treasury Yields Slip as Energy-Driven Inflation Anxiety Cools
Extreme Spring Heatwave Blankets Europe Raising Summer Climate Alarms
European Union Faces Widespread Local Backlash Over Mega Data Centers
Washington Prepares Cuba Contingency Plans Amid Escalating Havana Pressure
U.S. Maintains Strategic Trade Tariffs Despite Advancing International Pacts
Canada Defies U.S. Defense Contractors With Swedish Arctic Surveillance Fleet Purchase
Wall Street Hovers Near Record Highs as Retail Sector Defies Inflation Constraints
Caesars Entertainment Agrees to $17.6 Billion Acquisition by Fertitta
White House Accelerates Infrastructure Security Following Violent Incidents
Prediction Market Legal Battles Escalate as Kalshi Sues Minnesota
World Health Organization Issues High Alert on Mutating Avian Influenza
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
Cuba adopts electric tricycles for transport amid fuel shortages
Cuba's fuel crisis leads to mounting waste in Havana
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Cuba Warns It Has Only Weeks of Oil Remaining as US Pressure Tightens
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
×