If $2k is good, why not $10k for everyone? I mean it's all just monopoly money at some point when we're printing trillions of dollars out of thin air. Inflation? Bah, who cares. $1 million in VTSAX may not mean a whole lot in the future if we keep running multi-trillion dollar deficits.
Senator Rand Paul had a good take on this, calling out both sides for spending money we don't have.
Senator Paul: Stop Piling Debt on Future Generations, Open the Economy, and Cut Waste in the Budget
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p7P4EOqCG8
There's a pandemic right now and a lot of people are out of work. I assume you haven't watched the news lately.
And many of us who are still employed are going to get a bunch of "free money" that we don't really need, paid for in future inflation or higher taxes.
I'll make around $100k this year and I'm going to get $4,800. Is that really going to help the millions who are out of work or struggling? Probably not.
We're well into bread and circuses territory at this point and it can't last forever. At some point we'll have to pay the piper for tens of trillions in debt.
IIRC your wages have a federal govt connection , which is a relatively steady paycheck, and although covid protocols have had some adverse affects for federal employees, there aren't many who have had to apply to their state's unemployment offices for help.
2 quotes from a recent Dec 17th op-ed written by Rand Paul. "I have great respect and honor for those who serve in uniform. In fact, I recently introduced a bill to give each soldier who served in the war on terror a $2,500 bonus and at the same time officially end the war in Afghanistan. Ending the war in Afghanistan would save us about $50 billion a year. "
" Another problem with our insatiable appetite for more military spending is that it requires conservatives to make bad compromises. If you want $40 billion in new defense spending, then you have to give the other side $40 billion in new domestic spending. That’s the nature of today’s bipartisanship: you can have your money as long as we get our money."
{ How far back do his proposed $2500 veteran bonuses go back, retroactive to anyone with military service since 2001 ? - thats a lot of folks who've gone on to solid jobs, who might not really need the money }
You could spend the $4800 your family expects to receive by....
a] giving it to those who you feel actually are in need .
b] writing a $4800 dollar check to the treasury. and direct them to apply it to the national debt.
c] placing it into UGMA "gift to minors" type account individually @ $600 for each of your kids - which they can use to pay for something when they turn 18 . They can use the money in the future to offset some of the inflation on an item costing $600 today.