stimulus, a thread :
unlike other recessions, this one is totally and completely the result of state action. whether those actions were justified, the argument that state intervention is not warranted to counter the damage done to the economy is mouth-frothingly stupid.

that said, we have to choose between essentially two models of stimulus: a convoluted, means tested, bureaucracy controlled gaggle of programs like the ppp, pua, peuc, etc. or you can opt for the relatively clean and consumer choice based model of simply sending tax payers money

i’m not going to reveal which stumbling dinosaur of a government agency i work for, just know that i work face to face with the recipients of all these well meaning but inefficient economic programs, and i assure you they are a total, almost comedic disaster

how could they not be? state governments received virtually no time to implement them or work through the practical logistics. the programs are weighed down with seemingly endless federal mandates and convoluted requirements. it took months of implementation to even find faults..

... let alone fix them. Its been a nightmare. its cost taxpayers trillions, and its left millions of americans hurting, unassisted, or having to repay the government thousands due to some silly administrative oversight when they are on the cliff’s edge of poverty

Option B is to drop kick all this statist gobbledygook and just send taxpayers direct payments. This isn’t UBI, its one, or a short serious of payments, and rather than empowering government to be intrusive and obnoxious, it shoves state actors out of the way and empowers people

There is no legitimate limited government argument against a stimulus payment as a replacement for, or at least a supplement to the Abominable CARES act.
Consumers will allocate that money better than government. Full stop.

Happy New Year