Thomas Massie made waves on March 27, 2020 when he tried to prevent a “voice vote” where none of his fellow House members would have gone on the record to vote on the gargantuan $2.2 trillion spending bill.
Instead, he wanted his colleagues to formally cast their votes for or against the stimulus bill, which is the largest spending bill in history. Having politicians on the record would give voters an idea who is in favor of fiscal restraint and who opposes fiscal recklessness.
Indeed, the government should offer some form of reparations for the shutdown it has caused. But it should be transparent and not be filled with all sorts of goodies for politically-connected groups that don’t need the money.
Massie noted this in a tweet, “The stimulus package that just passed is the biggest wealth transfer from common folks to the super-rich (Wall Street and bankers) in the history of mankind. Done in the name of a virus with $1200 checks as the cheese in the trap. This will be obvious in short order.”
The stimulus package that just passed is the biggest wealth transfer from common folks to the super-rich (Wall Street and bankers) in the history of mankind.
Done in the name of a virus with $1200 checks as the cheese in the trap.
This will be obvious in short order.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) March 29, 2020
Given how long this bill is — more than 800 pages long — this bill is likely filled with all sorts of corporate welfare and handouts to organizations that clearly have the resources to sustain themselves without government aid.
Massie is right to question the suspect nature of how policymakers draw up spending bills on the fly, without debate and filled with last minute provisions that are not subject to legislative scrutiny.
That’s how Congress operates.
If Congress wants to get its act together and actually become fiscally disciplined, it needs more elected officials like Thomas Massie
