Stimulus spending out of control, illogical

Posted December 2020

By Taj O'Malley

Staff Editor

The U.S. government’s stimulus spending has gotten out of control. Despite its massive budget, it fails to get serious cash in American’s hands, and this lack of individual-American based spending, on top of the recent lifting of many Coronavirus regulations in some states, makes our government’s stimulus spending illogical, to say the least.

Last year, Congress passed two stimulus package bills, one in May worth $1.4 trillion, and another in late December worth $900 billion. Overall, the U.S. government has set aside $2.3 trillion for Coronavirus relief for Americans, and that may not be the end of it, as President Joe Biden has proposed a third stimulus package worth $1.9 trillion.

These packages have been created to help prop up the economy, and the money is spent on “direct payments to individuals… boost for unemployment benefits... [creating a] lending program… grants for wages and benefits to the decimated airline industry… hospitals… contractors and 'gig' workers… protections against foreclosures and evictions… the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts… more funding for food assistance… peace corps, diplomatic programs, and refugees,” stated CNN.

I understand why the economy needs to be stimulated. The Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns made unemployment rise to nearly 15% in March, and many restricted small businesses were left without ways to make money. Congress decided that pouring money back into the economy was the best way to keep the economy afloat while we are “locked down.”

As stated, the U.S. has spent $2.3 trillion on stimulus during the pandemic, so far. There is no reason for me to conjure up any extra emphasis on the heavy load of the money that is.

To put that amount of money into perspective, there are about 255 million adults in America. If each adult in America got an equal slice of the stimulus money, and it didn’t go to anything else, each American adult’s stimulus check would be worth $10,222.22. If President Biden’s proposed bill passes through Congress, then that check’s value would rise from $10,222.22, to $18,666.66. The amount American adults have actually accumulated through stimulus checks is $1,800, which would rise to $3,200 if President Biden’s bill passes.

I am not implying that the U.S. government should have spent all of the trillions of dollars on the American people. There are other programs and groups that could also use money, but giving more money directly to the American people, and less to all of the government programs, industries, and businesses supported by the stimulus packages makes more sense because all of the people who would receive said checks make up the groups of people who would benefit from the government programs anyway.

An important factor to realize is that these stimulus packages are only being pushed forward because of the Coronavirus-based restrictions that have been put on many businesses all across the country. These businesses were restricted due to fears of the coronavirus being spread when their business commences, and these restrictions make sense to me, but my belief in the logic behind the restrictions has been shaken by recent actions from state governments.

California is currently lifting restrictions due to recent drops in case numbers, but cases are still extremely high. On Jan 24, 21,680 Californians tested positive for the Coronavirus, a number that blows the number of cases on July 24, 2020 (9,921) away. The virus numbers are trending in the right direction, but if you would have told Americans in July that California Governor Newsom would be lifting many Coronavirus regulations a day after 20,000 plus Californians tested positive, they would look at you like you were crazy, because back then the virus was much calmer in comparison to today, even though at the time, 10,000 cases a day was breaking records, and making headlines.

If businesses are seeing some deregulations in states with high Coronavirus numbers, there is no reason for a new stimulus package to be passed, and the somewhat randomness of these deregulations makes me question why businesses have been so locked up for so long.

I also know that businesses are more than willing to work with Coronavirus restrictions if it means they can stay open. If Wal-Mart is allowed to stay open with restrictions, then why can’t Joe’s Burgers and Fries stay open? I am certain that the small businesses who had to close because of Coronavirus restrictions would have rather stayed open than close and receive stimulus money.

By not putting as much money into American’s hands, the government is demonstrating a sheer lack of trust with us. They act as if we can’t prop up small business ourselves, when that’s what we’ve been doing for all of American history.

Sure, the stimulus for small businesses will help them recover from months of being closed that they can’t get back, but at what cost? Well, the cost is simply going to be at least $2.3 trillion dollars. That money adds to the already ballooning debt Americans have looming over their heads thanks to the high spending Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations.

Allowing businesses to open up sooner, decreasing the budget for the stimulus packages, and putting a bigger percentage of the stimulus money in American’s hands would have been much better options for our government.