Congress is trying to come to an agreement on another bill to “lubricate” the economy again.
There are many people out there who will need the funding to pay their everyday bills. Unfortunately, Congress just keeps “shooting from the hip”. The funding should be focused on jump starting the economy, otherwise, in another couple of months, companies and individuals are just going to be “coming back to the well” for more.
I’ve had tough times in my career where the cards just didn’t come up to my favor, so I can understand the need for funds by some individuals. Sometime we get the short end of the stick and lose our footing.
At the same time, Congress’s quick move to throw money into the economy was not thought through. For example, unemployment compensation is always less than the wages someone earned prior to being out of work. Congress essentially gave “bonuses” to individuals out of work and created a disincentive to look for work. It is similar to a kid of a wealthy individual who has lots of money so they have no incentive to work. Those bonuses are just recycling back to shareholders of the companies as they are spent.
Our highways and general infrastructure on crumbling. Why not create the kind of programs such as TVA and the US highway system that were done to get us out of the Great Depression. That way, unemployed people get paid a wage and are able to contribute. In the end, the United States will have tangible assets that were created from this unfortunate circumstance. The way Congress is going now, there will be nothing tangible in the end, the need for additional funds will continue and the economy will not be jump started.
On the business side, in a free economy some businesses usually fail in a recession. It looks like Congress is funding big businesses that should be allowed to fail. Keeping the economy artificially up by continually pumping money into the economy without the ability for the economy to self-sustain itself, is just pouring money down the drain.
The potential depreciation in the value of the dollar is a real concern. The dollar is not backed by gold. It is solely backed by the confidence the world has in the US economic system. While the US has had a strong economic history, nothing ever continues forever. The question is not if it will end, but when.
In capitalism, there is SOME creative destruction as Adam Smith’s invisible hand fosters the continuity of the economy. Otherwise, we’re evolving to the Soviet model of a “totally managed economy” and we see how that has worked for Russia.
