April 12, 2021
In a sky-is-blue revelation, it turns out Americans who are eligible for $1,400 direct payments under the American Rescue Plan support direct government payments to individual Americans.
When including the latest nearly $2 trillion stimulus plan, total spending earmarked for COVID-19 relief now come comes to around $6 trillion. That’s roughly $41,870 in federal spending per current federal taxpayer.
Put differently, in lieu of spending $6 trillion to fight COVID-19, the government could have written a check for roughly $20,000 to every American adult, whether they pay taxes or not.
The current relief plan was marketed pandemic relief. However, the problem is only about 10 percent or less of the stimulus will go toward COVID-19 spending. The rest will go to a laundry list of pork barrel spending.
Surprised? I did a recent radio show about how dangerous this type of spending is because once it’s in place, it’s difficult (if not impossible) to unwind.
For instance, look at the child tax credit. For single people under $75,000 of income or a married couple under $150,000, a child under age 6 will bring in $300 a month, direct to the checking account. Children age 6-17 will bring in $250 per month.
Think about someone who has four kids, one under age 6 and the rest between ages 6-17. The family income may likely be less than $150,000 per year, in which case, they’ll receive $1,050 every month from the federal government to help raise the kids.
I’ve heard it described as Social Security for kids. While that may invoke a chuckle, the description isn’t far off. As we know, Social Security is quite popular. So, while the child tax credit money could very well help families across the country, it could also become a permanent fixture in American life.