From The Hill article titled “Senior GOP senators object to direct payments at caucus meeting”:
“I personally think that if we’re going to help people, we ought to direct the cash payments maybe as a supplement to unemployment not to the people that are still working every day, just a blanket cash check to everybody in America that making up to $75,000. I don’t know the logic to that,” Shelby told reporters after the meeting.
Graham made a similar argument to GOP colleagues.
“I’d rather take that $250 billion and put it in a system that will give people sustainable income,” Graham said. “Direct payments make sense when the economy is beginning to restart, makes no sense now because it’s just money."
“What I want is income, not one check. I want you to get a check you can count on every week, not one week,” Graham added. “Here’s what I’m focused on: You have unemployment insurance that is totally inadequate, let’s beef it up."
I have to agree that instead of bailing out corporations and sending folks who haven’t been laid off checks seems odd when I think the money is best spent on those that have been hit hard by the shutdowns. This would include small businesses forced to close and folks who have been laid off from work.
I think the “send everyone a check” is Trump’s attempt at buying folks off for votes in the upcoming election more than it is a targeted and smart use of money for helping those who really need it right now.
As mentioned in the quotes from the article, direct cash to everyone under a certain income level may at some time in the future be useful once we are in a recovery type mode. We aren’t there yet. We should be laser focused right now on helping those who need it most not spreading around cash to everyone.
Just my two cents and a strange feeling to be agreeing with conservative Republican Senators.