CARES Act unfair

Who gets and does not get a check from the federal stimulus provides a fine illustration of the difference in political clout between young and old. CARES Act stimulus payments were intended to provide income for those who lose their job or are unable to find work because of the national shutdown.

Initially, checks for $1,200 were only going to seniors who filed a federal tax return. On Wednesday, a letter from 41 U.S. senators, including every New England Democrat, urged the Treasury Department to send checks to all Social Security recipients including those that do not file a return because they had no earnings. Later that day, Treasury reversed course and now will send checks to all seniors regardless of whether they file a return or not.

What’s wrong with this? First, many of the checks to seniors will go to individuals who are already out of the labor force. This amounts to a windfall rather than an offset to lost earnings. To avoid this, checks should only be sent to seniors that reported some wage income on their previous tax return. Second, many young people will not be getting a payment at all. This includes many college students. In addition, parents also don’t get a check for children over the age of 16 though prospects for their summer employment are bleak. It is young people, not the elderly or middle-aged, that will be most severely harmed by the massive increase in unemployment resulting from the national shutdown.

What should be particularly galling to the young is that the stimulus payments to individuals already out of the labor force will further increase federal borrowing the cost of which will ultimately be borne by young Americans through higher taxes, reduced future government benefits, or both. It is little wonder that most young Americans believe that elected politicians do not serve their interests.

— James Bohn, Carlisle