We’re All on Welfare Now
Welcome to Socialism
In December, the United States began issuing stimulus checks to American citizens. These $600 checks are designed to keep the average American worker afloat while the nation’s economy continues to stall under the pressure of the COVID-19 virus.
This marks the second round of stimulus checks the United States has issued since the pandemic started. These come on top of billions in PPP loans that bailed out struggling business owners.
It was only a decade ago that an economic crisis forced the American government to issue stimulus checks. In 2009, congress issued the Economic Stimulus Act and sent out $14.2 billions in aid to everyday Americans.
Over the last ten years, the US treasury has dumped billions of dollars into the economy in the form of quantitative easing and other financial manipulations. And this was without a pandemic forcing the global economy to a halt.
Why the need for so much stimulus? If the United States is the bastion of laissez-faire capitalism, why does the government keep putting its finger on the economic scale?
The question has bothered so many Republicans that GOP Senator Lindsey Graham has felt the need to comment.
“With all due respect to my Republican colleagues, a $2k direct payment for individuals and families who are struggling is not socialism,” Graham tweeted.
The truth that Mr. Graham won’t acknowledge is that throwing piles of money at the average worker is socialism, and it’s the only thing keeping this country afloat.
“Government is not a solution to our problem government is the problem.”
― Ronald Reagan
Lindsey might want to check with fellow Republicans how they feel about government spending. For instance, after President Trump suggested boosting checks to $2000, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denounced the effort as “socialism for the rich.”
“Borrowing from our grandkids to do socialism for rich people is a terrible way to get help to families who actually need it.” — Mitch McConnell.
Senator Bernie Sanders replied to McConnell, promising that “virtually nothing goes to the very, very rich. The overwhelming majority of those funds go to the middle class, the working class, low-income people who in the midst of the pandemic are in desperate economic condition.”
Perhaps Lindsey Graham is confused about what socialism is. This week, in an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Graham admitted that “if you had a stand-alone vote on the $2,000 check, it might pass.”
And herein lies the problem. Graham has hit upon the truth without knowing why: socialism is not “when the government does stuff,” socialism is the acknowledgment that if we were to have a stand-alone vote, our democracy would vote to redistribute wealth in a way that was necessary to our survival.
