Michigan Democrats propose a $180 check. For some, it's not enough for single grocery trip

Some who might receive $180 checks proposed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Democratic legislative leaders have greeted the plan with tepid support while others scoffed at what they see as a paltry payment that won't go very far to help ease the economic toll of inflation.

The proposal, detailed Monday by Whitmer and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, would distribute some of Michigan's record budget surplus.

Billed as "inflation relief checks," the payments are part of a bigger tax overhaul Democrats hope to enact that would also expand a tax credit for low-income workers and provide a tax cut for retirees.

While Whitmer has long promised to pursue targeted tax breaks for retirees and low-income working families, she unveiled the proposed $180 checks to every taxpayer Monday. Under her plan, one check would go to each income tax filing. So, a couple filing jointly would receive one $180 check, not two.

It's the only part of Whitmer's tax proposal that would provide relief to all taxpayers in Michigan. Here's what some had to say about the plan.

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'It's a start'

Sitting on a bench next to the ice-skating rink in Campus Martius in downtown Detroit, Tim Harris, 31, of Eastpointe, said he would probably use a $180 check to help pay for gas or food. He said the checks would provide a small offset to the cost of inflation. "But a little bit can help too," he said.

"I mean it's something to start with, but I don't think it necessarily supplements what people actually need," he said. "But it's a start, and I guess it could be worked on from that point."

'I like the idea'

Shakirah Nichols, 33, of Detroit, called the price of groceries "out of control." She said if she receives a $180 check, she would probably use it to help pay for anything her 6-year-old daughter might need.

"I like the idea," Nichols said of Whitmer's proposal. "I like that she's trying to create a solution.

"It would definitely help people who have nothing."

'It should be more than that'

Dianna Hicks, 54, of Lansing, walked out of a Lansing grocery store with five bags of groceries that clocked in at $115, and that was after coupons and bottle returns. She's seen the price of everyday staples like milk and eggs go up, and a $180 check from the government doesn’t meet her hopes for inflation relief.

“I’ll take whatever she gives, but I think it should be more than that, because you can’t hardly go into a store without breaking $100,” Hicks said.

The looming tax relief for low-income workers and retired people with pensions that Whitmer has also proposed won't help her family, she said.

“I think everybody needs it because, you know, the working class here, we’re hurting just as much as everybody else, most of them with families. There’s just no money for extras because you’re spending it all on staples,” Hicks said.

It will 'make a little dent'

Don Finney, 83, of Lansing, a retired insurance executive who still does some consulting, said a $180 check "would do nothing but make a little dent" in fighting the effects of inflation, but the estimated $800 million total cost of the plan "is atrocious," and "could be better spent."

Finney said he and his wife spend $50 to $60 a week on groceries, but his wife cans certain foods and they make use of a large freezer so they can buy meat and other items in bulk.

Finney said he often doesn't see the practical effects of the tax revenues the state collects, and spending $800 million to issue paltry checks would be another example of that.

Whitmer "preached that she was going to fix the damn roads," Finney said outside an East Lansing grocery store. "Well, driving over here I had four big holes in the pavement in a local street that have been there for five years. I have to dodge them.”

Born before 1946, Finney was exempted from the changes former Gov. Rick Snyder made in 2012 that increased taxes paid on certain pension income. So, coupling the checks with the repeal of those changes would not impact his family either, he said.

'That will help a little bit'

With a family of five, Evita Embry-Bryant, 42, of Lansing, can spend $300 a week on groceries, and like everybody else, she’s watched the prices rise. A $180 check would go right back into her household to make sure her kids get everything they need.

“I love Gov. Whitmer and I think she does a great job with helping the community, and I believe that will help a little bit,” she said of the potential $180 check.

Embry-Bryant is self-employed and, taking into account the size of her family, expects the proposed expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to have a larger effect on her family’s finances and potentially provide some inflation relief.

'How long is this going to keep holding?'

Walking out of an Aldi in west Michigan, Charlie Gilfillan, of Jenison, glanced at his receipt and said he spent $83 on groceries for the day care center he runs. As he loaded milk, bread and fruit into his truck, he said he and his wife are feeling the crunch of inflation with every trip to the grocery store.

"You’ve got to say, how long is this going to keep holding? It's just a shame,” Gilfillan said. “I go to Aldi because it's good value for what we do at the (day care) center, but also we shop here personally.”

The proposal to send $180 checks to tax filers would mean more for others than himself, Gilfillan said. He gave credit to Whitmer and lawmakers for trying to find a solution to inflation through repealing the retirement tax and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which Whitmer is now calling the Working Families Tax Credit.

“It's a catch-22 for her and the state. I know that they’re trying to figure out something. And I'm a conservative and I still applaud what they're going to do because it's wrong,” he said of rising grocery costs. “I wouldn’t throw any barbs at anyone that's trying to make it better.”

'That's a joke'

At a Meijer just outside of Grand Rapids, Steve Tompkins said he bought only about $20 worth of items. That’s not close to what he and his wife, both retired, spend on groceries normally. He said $180 wouldn’t be enough for those most in need of relief from rising grocery bills.

“That's a joke,” Tompkins said. “I mean, my wife and I have set ourselves up pretty good for retirement. It doesn't affect us that much. But there are a lot of people that are living paycheck to paycheck (and) would rather have $500 to spread out rather than $180.”

He said lowering taxes on corporations, like grocery producers and the chains that sell their products, would pass savings down to customers. He did, however, applaud the proposal to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.

“I know there are people that are working paycheck to paycheck and can't get a better job because they don't have the skills or education for that. And therefore, they're stuck in some lower-paying jobs. They need tax credits. I understand that and I hope they do get it,” he said.

'Not a lot of money'

Norma Powell's first reaction upon learning about the proposed checks? "$180 is not a lot of money." But the 63-year-old Detroiter said it "could be a lot of money" depending on someone's needs at the time they receive the check.

"It'll mean something, but not a whole lot," she said. Talking about the impact of inflation in her own life, she said she's seen her grocery bill go up. She pointed to the cost of oatmeal, which she said she's seen go from 79 cents to $1.79.

Check would feed family for 'two or three days'

Antwon Hill, of Lansing, who is married and raising four children, said his family budgets $750 a month for groceries — an amount he said that has nearly doubled amid inflation.

An $180 check "will feed my family for like two or three days," said Hill. A bigger check "definitely would have gone a longer way."

Hill, who operates a snowplow in the winter and is an irrigation technician in the spring and summer, said he earns about $50,000 a year and his wife earns a similar amount. Because of their combined income, they have a letter from the state saying they are ineligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program commonly known as food stamps, he said.

Their two teenage boys eat a lot of food, and, Hill added: "We have to make sure that they’ve got their education. We have to pay for their living expenses. Everybody is trying to get their license and get a car, get ready for college."

The fact Whitmer and the Democrats want to combine the checks with a significant increase in the state Earned Income Tax Credit did not change Hill's view.

"It’s still a once-a-year thing," he said. "I still have to take care of my family for the entire year, and for something like that, you would have to budget for the entire year. Life doesn’t allow you to go ahead and work your whole budget for a year.”

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Proposed $180 inflation relief check not enough, some Michiganders say