During the COVID-19 epidemic, the U.S. government issued monetary subsidies many times, with a total of more than 10 trillion U.S. dollars distributed.
Why does the US government send money to its citizens? When did the subsidy measure come into being?
Issuing financial subsidies to citizens is actually one of the measures of the "welfare state".
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The "welfare state" first appeared in Britain after World War II . As the post-war country implemented nationalization to save the social and economic crisis, the British economy gradually got out of trouble and entered a stage of slow development.
However, with the development of the country's economy, new problems have also emerged. How to ensure the rights and interests of workers and allow them to enjoy the dividends brought by economic development?
"Welfare State" thought
The British Labor government at that time implemented social reforms for this purpose. First, it improved and protected the rights and interests of workers and abolished the trade union laws that previously protected enterprises.
Second, realize free medical care and establish a unified insurance system; third, implement the reform of the social insurance system and use insurance to alleviate financial burdens and pressures.
The above measures are actually aimed at improving the living standards of the people. With the development of the capitalist economy, long-term wealth is monopolized by the upper class capitalists, and the workers at the bottom can only accept the exploitation of the capitalists.
The resulting labor movement affected British social stability.
The birth of “welfare state” policy
So in the late 19th century, the idea of “welfare state” was born. Many bourgeois economists have studied the employment relationship in the UK and proposed that income can be redistributed to alleviate social conflicts.
At that time, Chamberlain, Prince of Wales and others also strongly agreed with the redistribution of income through state means. Increase the wages of workers at the bottom, reduce the gap between rich and poor, and ease social conflicts.
However, the UK had just carried out the "nationalization" reform and had a serious economic crisis and did not have the conditions to realize a "welfare state".
Only after World War II, under the dual economic and social crises, the British Labor government had to implement reforms and began to try "welfare state" policies.
The "welfare state" began to rise in the United Kingdom and spread to Europe. It is now said that freedom and human rights in Europe are inseparable from the guarantee of "welfare state" policies.
"Welfare state" policy
The government redistributes income through taxation and other means to provide assistance to disadvantaged groups.
Such as providing subsidies to newborn infants, education subsidies to children, subsidies to the unemployed and pregnant women, pensions and funeral expenses to widows and the elderly...
It can be said that the "welfare state" system is indeed It plays an active role in eliminating social injustice, ensuring the basic living conditions of citizens, and stabilizing social security.
However, many measures of the "welfare state" policy are to mediate social conflicts directly through the payment of subsidies, which has become a heavy burden for the government.
The United States’ move to distribute money is a testament to the shortcomings of the “welfare state.” As early as the end of 2021, the inflation rate in the United States has reached more than 6%, and the currency is depreciating at a rapid rate.
Not only do citizens living in the United States feel that money is no longer valuable as before, but also with the U.S. dollar as the most circulating currency in the world, the depreciation of the U.S. dollar is a burden that the whole world needs to bear.
has set off a bad social atmosphere. In order to obtain more subsidies, lazy people usually give birth to a large number of children, obtain large amounts of subsidies, and improve their quality of life.
Therefore, sometimes giving money is not a good thing
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