Riley Dulin - Political Editor
Recently, the GOP’s coronavirus relief bill was blocked by the Democrats in Congress for allegedly not being generous enough. In a time of crisis, it is natural for the government to come to the rescue for political gain, but what many fail to realize is that this government money does not simply come into existence as a result of printing more money. In reality, these relief packages are possible through enormous amounts of borrowing from countries such as China, who is one of the only nations who can handle our debt. Currently, our nation’s debt is around $25 trillion. Eventually, China will demand the U.S repay their debts, and so the last thing America needs is a greater liability to China. Another reality of the government stimulus is that many people did not spend the last one as it was intended. While one of the goals of the stimulus was to give people more money to spend, whether for necessities or otherwise, according to The Economist, only 42% of the total $1200 stimulus checks that were handed out were actually spent (The Economist). Also, an entire 27% of the money was saved, going into a bank rather than into the economy (The Economist). The fact that the government was unable to use the stimulus to achieve their economic ambitions is not surprising, but it does highlight the reality of government trying to solve the problem. An artificial “solution” from the government does not solve the problems caused by the pandemic, it only increases our debt and dependence on foreign governments we owe it to.
Shay Hafner - Contributing Writer
America is still down 11.5 million jobs from February (United States Bureau of Labor) due to the COVID Pandemic. Alone this is devastating, but it is worsened by our healthcare system. The current system typically ties health insurance to employment, meaning many people lost their jobs and their insurance in the midst of a global pandemic. Furthermore, an estimated 30-40 million Americans are facing eviction, with many of those already being evicted (Aspen Institute). Americans need a relief bill, but no help seems to be in sight with the government currently at an impasse.
The most recent bill to be blocked was a Republican relief bill that lacked the necessary assistance for American families. The bill lacked cash payments that the previous bill had and did not provide funding to states and cities to prevent massive layoffs (Washington Post).
Direct cash payments, like the ones from earlier this year, are the best way to help Americans - the money would help individuals and families pay rent, medical bills, and more. Some argue that cash payments would harm the economy, but this argument ignores corporate welfare, such as with the blocked GOP bill allocating $161 million to the coal industry and the trillions of dollars pumped into the stock market by the Federal Reserve. If massive amounts can be spent on big businesses and the stock market, why can’t money go to the millions of people in our country who are in desperate need of help?