Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) made his return to Congress this week after defeating coronavirus, and he immediately blasted his fellow congressional members for their efforts to give Americans relief by putting our country in debt instead of opening the economy.
“If you print up billions of dollars and give it to people, they are unlikely to spend it until you end the quarantine,” Paul said as he spoke on the Senate floor. He went on to cite some studies that concluded that experts may have overblown the mortality rate from COVID-19.
“The virus is still dangerous, and we shouldn’t ignore the risks, but we should put those risks in perspective!” he said, according to The Blaze. Paul added that these studies show that the U.S. can manage coronavirus without continuing the “draconian” lockdown policies.
“So today I arise in opposition to spending $500 billion more. The virus bailouts have already cost over two trillion dollars. Our annual deficit this year will approach four trillion dollars!” the conservative senator said. “We can’t continue on this course!”
“No amount of bailout dollars will stimulate an economy that is being strangled by quarantine!” he exclaimed. “It is not a lack of money that plagues us, but a lack of commerce!”
Paul praised the efforts Americans have made to combat the coronavirus pandemic before discussing the debt amassed by the relief bills. “With the recent $2 trillion bailout we are borrowing faster than we have ever borrowed before!” he said. “Had we practiced sound budgeting in the past, we would have been better, significantly better positioned to weather this storm.”
He then pointed out that the latest statistics show that over 20 million Americans are unemployed. “Make no mistake. The massive economic calamity we’re experiencing right now is caused by government. Passing out $1,200 checks indiscriminately, to people who haven’t lost their job, will do nothing to rescue the country!” he explained. “Our recovery only comes when the quarantine is ended.”
Paul stressed how important it is that economists be able to weigh in on how we should fight COVID-19 without harming the economy any further. “We need to get past a one-size-fits-all approach to infectious disease!” he said.
He ended his speech by slamming the fact that the massive relief bill was passed without a recorded vote. “I don’t want to see this massive accumulation of debt destroy this great country,” Paul concluded. “So my advice to the Senate and to the American people is, let’s be aware of what we’re doing by creating all this new debt and let’s think before we jump to a terrible, terrible conclusion.”
Paul hits the nail on the head here: we as a nation cannot afford for the solution to be worse than the problem. Yes, we should be worried about the coronavirus, but we also need to worry about doing damage to the economy. There will be a future after the coronavirus pandemic, and it is not going to be a bright one if we continue to ignore the economic concerns plaguing our nation in the midst of this crisis.
This piece was written by PoliZette Staff on April 24, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
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