Republican Can't Afford Americans $2,000, But Can Afford Endless War
A House Republican, according to Newsweek, lamented that America "can't afford" $2,000 tariff checks directly to citizens. This fiscal alarm, however, appears suspiciously selective, given this same body of lawmakers routinely finds billions for offshore ventures without a second thought. For context: U.S. military aid to Israel alone, a consistent bipartisan favorite, averages $3.8 billion
annually, frequently bypassing even the most basic fiscal scrutiny. Historically, these 'fiscal conservatives' often find their 'affordability' objections vanish when defense contractors' stock prices are at stake. One might wonder where this sudden burst of economic caution goes when proposals for, say, a $14 billion aid package to Israel, like the one voted on in April 2024 (H.R. 815, which
passed 366-58), sail through Congress. Many of the same voices decrying hypothetical $2,000 citizen checks have no qualms authorizing funds that dwarf those amounts for foreign military operations. The principle, it seems, is not about affordability, but about who gets the check: 'We can't afford you, but we can always afford war.'