The number of signatures on Change.org calling for a $2,000 monthly stimulus check for every adult in the U.S. is expected to surpass 2.5 million this week.

The petition, started in March 2020 by Vermont resident Stephanie Bonin, asks that Congress "immediately assist families with $2,000 for adults and $1,000 for children" and continue "for as long as the [coronavirus] crisis continues."

"No more waiting for the government to send us the help we need," Bonin added in an update to the petition several months ago.

"Sign the petition to join the movement to get regular checks to the people."

Clearly, many people feel the same way, with some leaving messages on the petition's comments page explaining why they support Bonin's idea.

"I lost my job in July 2020 because of Covid. I am 62 years old and have worked since 1975. I and millions of my fellow Americans are struggling to make ends meet. By helping us, America will be better again. Thank you."

"I am struggling and need help. Rent, food, gas, and other expenses far exceed my Social Security retirement check," wrote another signer.

"Other counties care enough about their citizens to provide them with monthly benefits to help them get through this difficult time. Why doesn't our county care about us as much?"

"I have a son who was in the children's hospital for weeks during COVID and will not be able to go to day care until he is at least 10 months old," a third testified. 'Before this outbreak, I was making $16 an hour. Now I am home on my husband's income alone and struggling to make ends meet. We almost lost our house and our electricity has been shut off twice. All of our bills are a month late."

Bonin's petition garnered one million signatures in the first month after the CARES Act, the first stimulus package, was passed. But it lost momentum after that, and in December 2020, local media in Denver, where Bonin and her husband own a restaurant, turned their attention to the petition.

The signature rate then accelerated, reaching 2 million signatures over the winter; national media coverage in May gave it even more momentum, and it is on track to reach 2.5 million this week.

As of today (June 28), the number of signatures has reached approximately 2,440,000. If the number of signatures reaches 3 million, it will be one of the top signature counts on Change.org.

However, even with 3 million signatures, it is not clear whether the petition will move the needle politically.

Despite repeated calls for a regular check from some of the more liberal members of Congress, President Joe Biden seems unwilling to go through with a fourth stimulus check, let alone a new monthly stimulus check.

The child tax credit program included in President Biden's "American Rescue Plan" (the same legislation that provided the third round of the stimulus package) already pays parents up to $300 per child per month from July through December 2021.

The White House is now focused on splitting Biden's infrastructure plan into two parts and getting them through Congress with at least Republican support. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the White House would consider a fourth stimulus package if Congress comes up with one, but that is far from supportive.

What Bonin's petition is asking for - $2,000 per month for every American adult and $1,000 for every child under 18 - would be very expensive. By our calculations, that would amount to about $590 billion per month. If such a payment were to continue for 12 months, it would amount to a little over $7 trillion.

To put that in perspective, this annual cost would be half a trillion dollars more than the $6.55 trillion the entire federal government spent in 2020, a crisis year. The government spent $4.4 trillion in 2019 and $4.1 trillion in 2018.

To cover the costs the petition is asking for, the government would have to either raise taxes significantly at a time when the economy is recovering from the coronavirus crisis or borrow trillions more. With moderate Democrats in control of the Senate, neither scenario is likely to happen.

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