Paltry $600 payments out of touch with reality for struggling families
The end-of-year economic stimulus package, signed by President Donald Trump after he threatened not to, is similar to a lot of legislation cobbled up in Washington and Columbia – it is ridiculously out of touch with the reality of millions of Americans struggling to feed families and pay the rent.
The realities of a public health and economic crisis seemed to escape most Republican representatives and senators. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had a package from the House (controlled by Democrats) but did not set a Senate vote on the second pandemic package. The first gave $1,200 to most Americans, without regard to need. That was a problem for many Republicans.
Finally, the House and Senate reached agreement. The amount of checks (deposits to accounts) was a sticking point, and Senate Republicans were unwilling to approve more than $600 per person.
The president had said he would sign the bill, negotiated by his people, then declared the package a disgrace and for days threatened not to sign. He seemed in a sort of “King Lear of Mar-a-Logo” mode, continuing to rant about the outcome of the Nov. 3 election.
LEAR’S OWN UNDOING
President-elect Joe Biden won by comfortable margins, both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
“King Lear” is William Shakespeare’s acclaimed tragedy about a British monarch who divides his kingdom in his own interests and brings about his undoing.
Trump then signed the bill, but continued to demand $2,000 payments. The delay was costly for people depending on unemployment benefits. For South Carolina folks, it means missing a week. They may correctly blame Trump.
It may have appeared Trump was going to bat for ordinary citizens in demanding $2,000, but his tactic was more about himself in the media spotlight in the waning days of his one-term presidency.
As $600 payments were made, McConnell blocked the $2,000 idea, noting that the Senate could consider “smart targeted aid.” He was speaking to the concern about payments to people who no more need borrowed federal money than Trump, Nancy Pelosi (speaker of the House) or Chuck Schumer (Senate minority leader).
Some Republican senators were between a rock and a hard place politically, facing a choice between Trump’s priorities and McConnell’s firm position on $600, for now. The Georgia senators, in a runoff election that could flip Senate control, could say they supported Trump’s $2,000 change, but not have to vote on it.
Some Republicans are in the same out-of-touch position in saying they will challenge the results of the Electoral College.
POLITICAL POWER MISUSED
The money goes to households with up to $75,000 annual income. The cap could be less without financial hardship for people who have kept their jobs. Of course, millions who desperately do need more than $600 will be hurt.
Obviously, a married couple who have lost both of their jobs needs more than $1,200. A retired pair with adequate income may well like to receive an additional $1,200 (on top of the earlier $2,400) but do not need it.
Like a great deal of legislation, both in Congress and to a lesser degree in the S.C. General Assembly, the federal stimulus package is flawed. As are the Democrats and Republicans who use political power to achieve personal, partisan goals above doing the best thing for their constituents.
The flawed package also illustrates the necessity of compromise in the legislative process. Bipartisan work in the Senate produced the package, and that is promising, even if $600 payments are woefully out of touch with reality for millions of Americans struggling for survival.