This is a very similar situation to student loan forgiveness, and for a very long time I shared your attitude. You are correct in the sense that programs like

This is a very similar situation to student loan forgiveness, and for a very long time I shared your attitude. You are correct in the sense that programs like this incentivize being irresponsible, on the surface. I went through all of college working extra-hard to make sure I came out debt-free, while other people racked up debt partying - and now they maybe get to get these loans completely forgiven? It feels similar. But one thing I came to realize is overall, the people who are actually being benefited here are typically not people who wanted to not pay rent. They are people who wish their livelihoods weren't necessarily uprooted due to an unforeseen pandemic. It punishes the "responsible" in the same vein that a libertarian might view taxes as punishment. But this is overwhelmingly helping those who got affected the hardest in society - so I think "punishment" is the wrong mindset, and it could really be viewed as just "helping" those who need the help the most.