One of the most significant topics discussed today is how to help American families during the pandemic. With businesses shut down or working at smaller capacity and schools offering a plethora of virtual or in-person learning options, the American economy has suffered like nothing we have ever seen in our lifetime. Under Trump, citizens began receiving stimulus checks approved by Congress, and President Biden now seeks to hand them out under his plan. Many other politicians have their ideas for the dollar amount each family should receive, but there are larger questions at play here. 

How large can the national debt grow, ballooning into the trillions, before the dollar is affected? What happened to the American dream, where someone starts with nothing and works their way into their own definition of success and prosperity? 

Americans have now received two direct stimulus payments, with a third one being negotiated currently. Democrats, and surprisingly, some Republicans, like Mitt Romney, are now proposing monthly IRS payments to families with young children. Democrats also want to forgive $50,000 in student loans, while President Biden is pressing for $10,000. These plans could cancel all of the debt for 80% of federal student loan borrowers. This may be especially beneficial to women and people of color, who make up a considerable portion of student loan debts. Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and others have proposed a universal basic income to be handed out to everyone for nothing. 

While all of this may sound good to some at the moment, we have to acknowledge that Congress is now offering payments to folks who are not typical recipients of our regular social safety programs. My middle-class family, for example, continues to receive P-EBT benefits when, quite frankly, we do not need them. And it’s criminal of us to give them away. Instead, I’m projecting that my family will owe at least $2,000 in state and federal taxes this year. A policy that would help us would be to apply those P-EBT funds to our tax liability.

We have used past stimulus money not to buy food, groceries, or TVs but to pay down debt. I support providing for the poor and less fortunate, but giving handouts to those who do not necessarily need it is a band-aid approach to policy. I am very thankful for the efforts our leaders and financial experts have made to solve a massive economic crisis. I am simply critical of the one-size-fits-all approach. 

This reminds me of when politicians swoop in after natural disasters and promise a lot of federal and state support. They unbutton their shirts long enough to expose the Superman S on their chest, only to go back to their political ways in a matter of days or weeks. We don’t need short term solutions to fix long term bad decision making. 

Whatever happened to tax credits and tax deductions in these scenarios? How many more payments will people expect in the future before we declare the pandemic over? 

The utter reliance and potential household budgeting for future stimulus payments disincentivizes Americans from using their skills and creativity to find a way to meet their obligations. The unintended consequence of stimulus payments may very well be a methodical way of killing the American dream by taking away all incentives of hard work and individualism. 

Our country is on a very slippery slope right now, and we need to return to some kind of normalcy. The kind where hard work gets you ahead, not bailouts. The kind where patriotism means to sacrifice for the greater good. The kind where statesmen serve and common sense prevail, rather than political expediency.