Economist Stephen Moore said during an interview on Sunday that the $2.2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package signed into law this week by President Trump does not “create income” for Americans nor does it “encourage production.”
“We shouldn’t use the term stimulus, because this bill really isn’t a stimulus bill. You don’t stimulate the economy by printing dollars and sending checks out to people,” Moore, who has ties to the White House, said Sunday on John Catsimatidis’s radio show.
“It mostly redistributes income. It doesn’t create income. There’s nothing in this package that actually encourages production.”
Moore’s critique of the stimulus package comes after the bill gained widespread support in Congress, passing by a unanimous vote in the Senate and a voice vote in the House. President Trump signed the bill late this week to much fanfare.
Among other things, the law beefs up unemployment insurance for four months, provides checks directly to Americans making under $99,000 and provides billions of dollars to hospitals and industries impacted by the outbreak.
“This legislation provides for direct payments to individuals and unprecedented support to small businesses. We’re going to keep our small businesses strong and our big businesses strong. And that’s keeping our country strong and our jobs strong,” Trump said at Friday’s bill signing.
The legislation did come under some last-minute fire from a handful of lawmakers who claimed that the unemployment benefits were too generous.
“One of the big problems I have is the four months of … paid leave for people at 100% of their paycheck,” said Moore. “And in some cases… people get even more than 100% of their paycheck. In some cases we may be paying people more to stay home rather than go to work. And that could be a problem once we get to the recovery phase.”
John Catsimatidis is an investor in The Hill.