President Donald Trump’s term is ending in utter disgrace thanks to his countenancing of mob violence against Congress. How ironic, then, that Congress might nevertheless embrace one of Trump’s policy proposals after Jan. 20.
We refer to $2,000 direct payments to U.S. households, which Trump belatedly demanded as a condition of his signature on the $908 billion bipartisan stimulus package in late December.
Of course, many people not only like money but also need it—especially now, when so many are hurting because of the pandemic and the economic hardship, lately increasing, it has caused. The problem with the $2,000 plan, at least in its most recent incarnation, was that it would have benefited 99 percent of the population, not just those who need it the most.
There was nothing progressive about this; to the contrary. Nor was it optimal in terms of stimulating the economy, since there are relatively few ways for people to spend new cash given travel, restaurant and entertainment restrictions. A far more efficient way to help people would have been, and still would be, extending and beefing up unemployment benefits, especially now that the economy has resumed shedding jobs.
Biden nevertheless favors direct payments, and the incoming Senate majority leader, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has said he wants to pass a bill promptly. By contrast, Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W. Va., has urged Schumer to proceed with caution, citing the need to target aid more precisely. Manchin, a pivotal voice in the 50-50 Senate, recently called himself a “West Virginia conservative Democrat,” but on this point he is the true progressive.