On Wednesday, House Democrats are likely to vote in favor of a 1.9 trillion dollar COVID relief bill. A bill some worry will tempt Americans to become more dependent on the federal government.
Under the American Rescue Plan Act, some parents could get several hundred dollars a month in tax credits per child. Add that to food stamps and Medicaid benefits, and a family of 3 could be getting close to 20 thousand dollars a year. The concern among some is that the money provides an incentive not to work, but to stay at home.
“It is meant to increase the number of people who don’t work for a living,” S.T. Karnick, with the Heartland Institute, said. “And there’s a good reason for that. People who like big government need for people to be dependent on government so they will vote for more government.”
Karnick says Democrats could be laying the groundwork for a UBI (Universal Basic Income) or other big government programs. One reason why Republicans have been fiercely against the bill.