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It just seems that asking antiquated unemployment systems to handle a huuuge increase in users in a time of pandemic where employees are getting sick or staying

It just seems that asking antiquated unemployment systems to handle a huuuge increase in users in a time of pandemic where employees are getting sick or staying home just seems like a monumental scaling task. I still believe that in times of crisis it's easier to go for a simple solution (just giving automatic, direct, unconditional cash to people) than to try to make a complex solution even more complex (changing the rules on who is considered unemployed, where millions now had to figure out how to use a system they've never used before). Why couldn't they just take that $600 extra per week and distribute it to every adult in the country?

InTheArena 6y ago
That's 9 trillion dollars worth of money. Each party is dedicated to making sure that their constituents and only their constituents get money. After all, if the other guys can write endless checks for you, why on earth would they vote for the other guy. Also, sooner or later the US dollar's reserve status will disappear, and all of a sudden, all of the money supply we have flushed into the economy will manifest as inflation.
- jimkleiber 6y ago
  > That's 9 trillion dollars worth of money. I'm not sure how you're getting 9 trillion dollars. If there's approximately 250M adults in the US, at $600/week/adult, that would be $150B/week, or $600B/month. So far, over the course of 10 months, that would be $6T. Also, that would be the max amount so far and could ask people who don't need the money to either opt out of receiving it or to donate it to an org or person they think needs it. > Each party is dedicated to making sure that their constituents and only their constituents get money. After all, if the other guys can write endless checks for you, why on earth would they vote for the other guy. Fair points. I think often political parties can get so insular they miss the point that for some problems, we are all on the same team. > Also, sooner or later the US dollar's reserve status will disappear, and all of a sudden, all of the money supply we have flushed into the economy will manifest as inflation. I don't know too much about what you mean here regarding the reserve status and how it prevents inflation, but I'm curious to learn more, so thank you for mentioning that.

InTheArena 6y ago

That's 9 trillion dollars worth of money. Each party is dedicated to making sure that their constituents and only their constituents get money. After all, if the other guys can write endless checks for you, why on earth would they vote for the other guy. Also, sooner or later the US dollar's reserve status will disappear, and all of a sudden, all of the money supply we have flushed into the economy will manifest as inflation.

jimkleiber 6y ago
> That's 9 trillion dollars worth of money. I'm not sure how you're getting 9 trillion dollars. If there's approximately 250M adults in the US, at $600/week/adult, that would be $150B/week, or $600B/month. So far, over the course of 10 months, that would be $6T. Also, that would be the max amount so far and could ask people who don't need the money to either opt out of receiving it or to donate it to an org or person they think needs it. > Each party is dedicated to making sure that their constituents and only their constituents get money. After all, if the other guys can write endless checks for you, why on earth would they vote for the other guy. Fair points. I think often political parties can get so insular they miss the point that for some problems, we are all on the same team. > Also, sooner or later the US dollar's reserve status will disappear, and all of a sudden, all of the money supply we have flushed into the economy will manifest as inflation. I don't know too much about what you mean here regarding the reserve status and how it prevents inflation, but I'm curious to learn more, so thank you for mentioning that.