I believe that Megan McArdle is correct in her recent syndicated Washington Post column (“Stimulus checks are the least defensible part of relief bill,” March 12, Page A13). The inclusion of stimulus checks in the recent spending bill is indefensible. So were all the other stimulus checks being passed out since George W. Bush opened the spigot during his presidency, and the fact that they got included is exactly why this country needs two political parties with actual ideological differences to balance each other.
In a less polarized House and Senate, those checks would have been bargained out of the bill while much of the spending directed at COVID-19 relief would have survived. Depleted state unemployment funds could certainly use some cash to help those who lost their jobs because of this pandemic, but those of us who are working full time don’t need a stimulus, and neither does the economy.
Dan Abbott
Portland
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