By BOB BELL
Let’s take a look at this “free” money from the stimulus plan. The $1.9 Trillion American Rescue Plan is touted as what the American people want by both Democrats and Republicans. because the government is handing out “free” cash.
You have to ask: “How free is that cash?”
So far, the feds have spent $4 trillion on pandemic relief and rescue. There are 330,000,000 souls in the United states so that figures out to about $12,100 per capita. For those of you who received the $2,000 of “free” cash, it only cost you $12,100. Those of you who didn’t qualify for the stimulus money, well you still owe the $12,100.
Sorry about that.
Next, we need to think about where the government gets this money. It gets it from you either directly (income taxes) or indirectly by taxing businesses. Remember, when the government taxes Home Depot and Safeway, those companies pass the cost on, so you pay more for a pair of pliers or a can of beans.
Another nifty little fact is that when government extracts money from the private sector, it takes money from productive endeavors that produce wealth and puts it in the hands of politicians who don’t. In this case we have the feds handing out “free” money, financing pet projects, bailing out local and state governments, foreign aid, and lots of other “needs” that don’t produce anything but debt. This money has to be paid back and it is we, the private sector, who will have to come up with it. Government skims money we could have used to produce goods and services thereby creating more wealth.
When the central government extracts more and more money from the private sector, the economy contracts and wealth creation slows. History shows us that this scenario eventually results in economic collapse. Look at Cuba, the Soviet Union, China before 1990, and Venezuela. They embraced this economic model to their detriment.
Would the American people really want this stimulus plan if they knew what is really cost them? I think any loan shark would loan you $2,000 if you signed a note for $12,100. It would probably be a better deal in the long run.
It is time for our politicians to stop telling us what we want to hear and start acting in the best interests of the American people instead of paying for government boondoggles such as handing out “free” money. They should be doing what they can to encourage economic growth through support of the private sector. Create a more friendly regulatory environment, lower taxes, and just get out of the way.
If someone has a good paying job, he or she doesn’t need a stimulus check. The politicians need to quit trying to rescue us with our own money. You can earn a lot more votes by creating private sector jobs than by trying to deceive people into thinking you rescued them when, in fact, you are making their situation worse.
They say there is no such thing as a free lunch. Well, there is also no such thing as free government money.
Bob Bell is a civil engineer who ran for Senate in 2012 and is the author of Oh No! We’re Gonna Die Too: More Humorous Tales of Close Calls in Alaska’s Wilderness
