Sarah T. Roberts, Ph.D.May 31, 2023

During the height of COVID, rental assistance, job assistance, food assistance and more were given to those in need. Student loan payments were paused. The US did not collapse due to these policies. In fact, consumer spending went up.

So, given that these things are possible and even economically favorable, one can only conclude that ending them benefits some small but powerful portion of the populace who wants to keep the rest of us under control and in relative, if not full-on, poverty.

Show threadPaul CrabtreeJun 1, 2023
@ubiquity75 to be fair, all this assistance is partly what ballooned the national debt under the trump administration
Show threadSarah T. Roberts, Ph.D.Jun 1, 2023

@paulcrabtree If you mean Trump’s tax cuts for the super rich, then sure. If you mean social programs like feeding children and helping people be housed, you should know that so-called discretionary spending is 33% of all government spending, and 50% of _that_ 33% is military spending, which was not reduced in any capacity in spite of hand-wringing about the debt ceiling.

In other words, you’re wrong.

Show threadPaul Crabtree
@ubiquity75 I'm no fan of tax cuts for the rich either, but what about this 5.1 trillion dollar expenditure? https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/11/us/how-covid-stimulus-money-was-spent.html
Where $5 Trillion in Pandemic Stimulus Money Went

It is the largest government relief effort in recorded history, and two years after Covid-19 crisis began, money is still flowing to communities. Here’s where it went and how it was spent.

The New York Times
Jun 1, 2023 at 5:37pmWeb
Show threadSarah T. Roberts, Ph.D.Jun 1, 2023
@paulcrabtree Well, quite a bit of it went to fraud committed by sitting elected officials. That said, do you think the pandemic was without cost? It’s unclear to me what you’re arguing.
Show threadPaul CrabtreeJun 2, 2023
@ubiquity75 not arguing, I'm on your side here, just pointing out the expense involved . No one deserves to go without food, housing, and healthcare.