By Kevin Robillard
Two coronavirus relief packages passed by Congress sent personal income skyrocketing across the country, according to government data released Tuesday.
Personal income rose at an annual rate of 59.7% in the first three months of 2021, according to the data from the nonpartisan Bureau of Economic Analysis. Some of the biggest gains came in states whose Republican senators voted against legislation that sent an overwhelming majority of Americans a $1,400 coronavirus relief check.
Almost all of the growth in personal income during the first three months of the year was a result of the two coronavirus relief packages, which combined to transfer an additional $2.3 trillion into the pockets of Americans.
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Democrats are hoping that legislation, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, will remain popular and help win over working-class voters and stave off midterm defeats. Party strategists are planning to paint Republicans as hypocritical for touting the benefits to their states.
Indeed, the state-by-state data from the BEA shows many of the states with the largest gains in personal income are represented by GOP senators and representatives who voted against the plan.
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