\n\n“That’s the problem with almost all government bail-out schemes. You gotta be in the room where it happens\u2014metaphorically, at least. Successful businesses will always have an advantage over those who lack the lobbyists, name recognition, or culture cachet required to cash in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand, the federal government’s firehose of COVID relief spending\u2014$5.9 trillion<\/a> and counting\u2014means it is easier than ever to get bailed out. So far, the government has responded to the pandemic by sending money to people who earn six-figure paychecks<\/a>, paying fully vaccinated people not to work<\/a> even though there are millions of available jobs<\/a>, bailing out state governments that are running huge surpluses<\/a>, and using the pandemic as cover for a massive bailout of union-run pension funds<\/a>, among other things<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like with Hamilton<\/em>, there doesn’t seem to be any consideration of when or how much government aid is necessary. We’ve pumped so much money<\/a> into the system\u2014nearly all of it borrowed<\/a> and added to the country’s long-term debt problems<\/a>\u2014and it has to go somewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did a bunch of fake celebrities whose only claim to fame is being former contestants on The Bachelor<\/em> need the federal government to dump as much as $20,000 apiece into their bank accounts? Nope, but they got the cash anyway, according to data gathered by ProPublica<\/a> and reported in a variety<\/a> of media outlets<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n