What the Stimulus is and Isn’t

When the White House finally signed the Stimulus bill affording the most expensive stimulus package to date, people received it with mixed emotions. Some are applauding the President saying that the work he is doing to help the American people at this time is a great thing. Others are less than enthused. Some have been very expressive regarding the outcome of a bill that they did not like.

What It Looks Like For The People

The points in the bill include a $1200 stimulus payment for single taxpayer making under $75000 per year. Couples will be given $2400 and an extra $500 for every child in the household under the age of 17. A caveat to this package is that for every additional $100 you earn above $75000, $5 will be deducted from your stimulus payment and if you make $99000 or more, you won’t get the check because, well you don’t need it. Another thing to note is that these stimulus payments will only be going to taxpayers who are legally eligible to work, which includes U.S. Citizens, permanent alien residents (green card holders), and H1B and H2A visa carriers.  

Drama Tweet

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) (AOC), being among the many in Congress who have voiced their disregard for the bill, was all too noticeable. In a Tweet, she wrote about the injustice of what this bill represents to her, which we all know that it can be summed up as “racist!”  Her tweet states, 

“To clarify, $1200 checks are ONLY going to some w/social sec numbers, NOT immigrants w/ tax IDs (ITINs). 

Thanks to GOP, these checks will be cut off the backs of *taxpaying immigrants* who get nothing. Many are essential workers who pay more taxes than Amazon. 

Wall St gets $4T”

AOC Tweets

Then we get this fine expressive display which you can see here.

Let’s Look Deeper

So we shall we break this tweet down and make sure to educate ourselves on the matter? *First off, the term “immigrant” here is referring to illegal immigrants because legal immigrants are given social security numbers. Note: they do not use tax ID numbers. Illegal immigrants get a fake Social Security Number and fill out an I9-form for employment.

Thus easily allowing them to pay taxes, because the IRS allows any form of documentation needed on that form to be presented upon hiring. Illegal immigrants who do file for an individual tax return, are doing it out of their good moral character. This ensures that if they apply for citizenship or get caught, it can help their case if they have been paying taxes for years. According to the IRS in 2015, 4.35 million people used an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to pay over $13.7 billion in taxes.

Most of these tax payers were undocumented immigrants. If we were to do the math, and each tax paying illegal immigrant gets that $1200 payment, it would amount to about $5.2 billion. This is about 38% of what they paid in taxes. Say we were to simply extrapolate the stimulus payment for children. Even with 10% of that 4.35 million ITINs who claimed a child, it would amount to $217.5 million, as a conservative estimate.  

The Mis-characterizing is Strong With This One

Next, to single out the GOP is unfair, as many Democrats would not like sending money to illegal immigrants. Even according to the bill released by the DNC, an eligible individual is someone other than any non-resident individual. Remember, this language was in the bill that the House Democrats wrote up and that every single Senate Democrat voted for. AOC goes on to demonize Amazon, yet forgetting that Amazon is an American company, thus is legally able to be present here.

Let’s also not forget that for 2019, Amazon had over $1 billion in Federal income tax expense. Then the claim that Wall Street gets $4 trillion is insane, since the package is only $2.2 trillion. For someone who graduated with a Business degree from Boston University, math poses to be a challenge with this Congresswoman. Or she can do math, just not honesty.

Saving The Economy

It is worth noting that the bill has set aside $500 billion dollars for loans, loan guarantees, and other investments. This will aid businesses, municipalities, and states. So when you hear AOC talk about “bail outs with few strings attached” and “slush fund”, quickly realize that it is both factually inaccurate and morally bankrupt. It also exhibits illiteracy of the highest caliber.

She failed to read the part where the strings are described. Like if these loans are granted, the Executives of those companies are restricted from salary increases. Also companies cannot issue stock buybacks. We can also be sure that there will be a Congressional Oversight Committee which will deal these loans out.  

Not the Best GOP Move

It is clear that pleasing everyone just won’t happen with regards to the handling of this package. There is the $17 billion that will go to Boeing, which many are yelling at the GOP for. Yet, others are feeling the notion that the $500 billion is going to some good uses. Versus pork like:

• $75 million going to PBS
• $75 million to the National Endowment for the Arts
• $75 million to the National Endowment for the Humanities
• $13 million going to Howard University (which already has an endowment of over $700 million)
• An extra $25 million to the JFK Center For the Performing Arts.

About that last nugget, let it be known that hours after the President Trump signed that bill, the Kennedy Center laid off all their musicians. Many are not happy with how the GOP folded and allowed these points to be included. This a bill meant to help Americans off their feet, most of the pork has nothing to do with the Wuhan Virus. The Congress seems to look after the interests of it’s contributors first, even when it’s life or death.

So How Did AOC Vote?

That seems to be the question, especially after her tirade. If she voted “Yay”, then progressives might accuse her of hypocrisy and not standing up for her principles. If she voted, “Nay”, then it would hurt her politically, as she would be standing against a bill and against people who would benefit from this package. If she voted “Present”, then she could be labeled a coward. All we know is while Congress voted on via a voice vote, she sat aside playing on her smartphone.