Even The Very Rich Deserve A Cut Of Stimulus Money
– By Ed Kociela –
In his 1926 short story “The Rich Boy,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s protagonist Anson Hunter claims: “Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.” A few years later, Ernest Hemingway, that lion of American literature, picked up on Fitzgerald’s line and added: “Yes, they have more money.”
I normally care little about the rich – particularly the very rich – and their mostly ignoble lives. Spoiled, coddled, arrogant, cork-sniffers do little to touch my soul. And, let’s be honest, the path most of them have taken to their riches – nearly 70 percent of the world’s millionaires and billionaires are self-made – is usually a single lane with little room for others as they separate from the pack. Benevolence is often nothing more than the result of creating write-offs to stave off the taxman. Of course, there are others who are blessed with kind hearts and compassion. I know a couple of them and they have my undying respect, especially since they are in the vast minority. Mostly, unfortunately, I’ve encountered more along the lines of the gin-addled Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald’s least likable character. So, normally, I could not care less about the rich. Their rules, their influence, their privilege are beyond that of the working-class heroes, with whom I proudly identify with.
Except, these are not normal times.
We are head-down in the pond, gurgling for our survival as we combat a set of circumstances that could very well be the worst of our nation’s existence. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with an economy that props up Wall Street while doing nothing for the working man and woman, has us in a mess, requiring a government hand that even the staunchest conservatives must believe in their leaden hearts is necessary.
In the effort to extricate us from the mire, we are thinking this thing through improperly, trying to set a level of fairness as the government struggles to determine how much assistance to give to Americans and who will be eligible.
And, it is there where those nasty exceptions come into play.
While many will use their stimulus checks to put food on the table, pay rent, or try to keep current on their bills, the rich will look upon the stimulus money as a bonus. Most of them are set up well enough to not have to sit in lines at the foodbank or write letters begging indulgence for missing a couple of mortgage payments. That stimulus money? It is basically a gift or them. Now, I can see how some folks would say it is unnecessary, that the rich are fine and need no assistance. While that may be true, there is a very solid reason why they should not be denied the stimulus money. You see, those are the folks who will take their stimulus checks and spend them on the goods and services now collecting dust on the shelf.
The rich guy who pockets a $2,000 stimulus check is very likely going to spend it. He may purchase a television, a computer, some other goods out of his newly found walking around money. And, that’s a good thing because it will recirculate that cash into the economy, which is an important part of the COVID-19 relief package. It is spendable money that one can part with more frivolously on an indulgence or, as some people I know, will be used for charitable purposes. Either way, that money gets into the revenue stream, large or small, and gives a boost to the real-world economy, which is a good thing because it remains true to the purpose of being a rescue benefit. I know I would feel a lot less guilty about spending a little stimulus money on something for myself than if I dipped into the monthly budget for a little something.
It is, of course, imperative to get real money out to the people. We’ve been through a lot. Our foodbanks are stretched beyond their limits. We’ve all seen the long lines of cars queued up to get a box of staples to get through the week. People still need their utilities paid, their rent or mortgage is taken care of, and the other meager basics required to make it through to the next day. It’s more than an American problem. The same disturbance has swept through the rest of the world and it is of tragic proportions. Jobs have disappeared and I worry that few will ever come back. What does that do to the good, hard-working folks who scratch out a living?
Our entire paradigm has changed. How many businesses have learned, in this year of uncertainty, that they probably don’t need that office space, that their employees can be trusted to do a good job from their homes? Will we end up with a glut of empty office buildings in the United States when this is all over?
How many people have taken to doing the majority of their shopping online, whether through Amazon or some other internet retail outlet? Will we run the mom and pop shops and malls out of business?
It’s all changing, some for the better, as we realize a measurable amount of cleansing the environment by the reduction of the number of the vehicles on the road each day, to the lack of social interaction that has been forced upon us as we shutter ourselves from the raging storm of COVID-19.
We will certainly see an uptick in the quality of internet service because business will demand it as more people telecommute and turn to the ether for everything from medical teleconferencing to purchasing groceries and other necessities online. High speed downloading will no longer be needed only by gamers.
But, will we ever see a football stadium filled up again on Super Bowl Sunday?
Will we ever go back to concerts in hockey arenas?
Will we ever fill Times Square again on New Year’s Eve?
Maybe…probably…I’m not sure, to be honest.
But, the most important thing is to get through today with the least amount of difficulty
possible, and that means ensuring that there is a cash flow that will sustain those things we not only want but desperately need in our lives to make it livable.
And, if that means the rich get a little richer, well so be it.
The only difference between us and them is they have more money, right?
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