Stimulus checks are not a limited resource. Real resources are limited resources. If stimulus checks outstrip the productive capacity of society, we could have a problem, but a certain type of problem with well-known solutions. https://mobile.twitter.com/JonSteinsson/status/1341604416621711363

If Jon is convinced that $2000 stimulus checks will outstrip the productive capacity of the United States, he needs to show his work (and re-examine it).

The United States is the richest country in the history of the world. *Of course* it can afford to increase the stimulus check amount by $1400. It’s embarrassing to suggest otherwise.

We can have a moral debate about whether we *should* cut $2000 checks to families making less than $75k a year. That’s what politics is for. But to suggest we will go broke or break the economic system by doing so is absurd and discrediting.

annual us gdp is $20 trillion, this is not serious economics https://twitter.com/JonSteinsson/status/1341621181967843328

this kind of thing is bad for the profession. if you want to see a different allocation of resources, fine. say so. it's a legitimate concern. but it is getting pretty silly to watch credentialed economists claim we can't afford things that we keep on affording.

If you’re afraid of big numbers, don’t do macroeconomics.