Home Committed Conservative Views Editorial: The Proposed “Stimulus” Handouts Are Grotesquely Immoral

Editorial: The Proposed “Stimulus” Handouts Are Grotesquely Immoral

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The most oppressed group in America is not based on race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation. The most oppressed group in America is young people. And, because they’re young, they don’t even know it.

A few days ago, Sen. Chuck Schumer proposed spending $750 billion on a “stimulus” bill in response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Not to be outdone, Sen. Mitt Romney the Pious proposed handing out $1,000 to every American.

When these ideas were presented to President Trump, his response should have been to say that as president, his job is to protect American taxpayers from being ravaged in this manner. But instead, he said, “Let’s go big” and proposed a $1 trillion “stimulus” bill that would include handouts of at least $1,000 to every American.

All of these politicians of both parties have to know that these measures will do nothing to stimulate the economy. Stimulus packages (whether or not they are seen as morally justified) work to stimulate the economy when the problem is a lack of consumer confidence. Such packages give people the means to engage in more commerce, which strengthens businesses, which in turn increases consumer confidence.

The problem with our economy right now is not a lack of consumer confidence. But for the coronavirus, consumer confidence was through the roof thanks to President Trump’s free-market policies.

The current problem is that people can’t engage in commerce due to the stark social-separation policies that have been implemented to deal with the epidemic. Handing out free money will not stimulate the economy if people have nowhere to spend it and are being told to stay home anyway.

Sen. Schumer, Sen. Romney the Pious, and President Trump are all smart enough to know these things, but they are pressing forward on these insane spending proposals anyway in order to pacify people politically. They do so knowing that they and the current generation of voters will not be the ones who have to repay this debt. It’s our kids and grandkids, who are oblivious to what is being done to them and who have no say in the matter, who will have to pay it back.

This is grotequely immoral.

If the government wants to take meaningful economic action, they should pass a legislation providing low- or no-interest loans to small businesses and defer their tax obligations so they can continue to pay their employees and bills during the time that they cannot be in full, or any, operation.

And that’s all they should do.

Everything else that is being proposed constitutes the theft of our kids’ future earnings to buy votes in the present. That is immoral and inexcusable.

Author: Ken Falkenstein

Ken Falkenstein is the Managing Editor of Committed Conservative and brings a wealth of experience and expertise in public affairs to the job. Ken served in the U.S. Army in the last years of the Cold War as a Russian linguist for military intelligence and the NSA. After leaving the Army, he earned his degree in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University, where he also wrote a popular column in the student newspaper. Upon graduation, Ken worked as a Legislative Aide to two Republican members of the Virginia House of Delegates. Ken also served as Corresponding Secretary of the Young Republican Federation of Virginia, managed several successful political campaigns, and managed governmental affairs operations for a local Realtor association. In 1995, Ken moved to Washington, DC to serve as a Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Warner (R-VA). While working for Sen. Warner, Ken attended law school at night, earning his J.D. with honors from the George Mason University School of Law (n/k/a The Antonin Scalia Law School). Since that time, Ken has practiced as a civil litigation attorney, including serving for three years as an Associate City Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Ken previously was a contributor to the highly-regarded political blog Bearing Drift and was a weekly co-host of The Steve Batton Radio Program. In 2016, Ken ran unsuccessfully for the Virginia Beach School Board. Ken is also a former President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads. Ken now lives outside of Denver, Colorado with his wife, Kim, and three sons, Adam, Dylan, and Joshua, who has Down syndrome. Ken’s writing is motivated and informed primarily by his concern for his kids’ future.