Letter to the Editor: What a stimulus buys in COVID-19 times

Dear Editor:

The Senate is negotiating a stimulus package to repair the economic damage done by the COVID-19 response. This means that elected officials with differing opinions are arguing about who should get money and how much they should get.

Reports on the total amount of the stimulus bill range from 1 to 2 trillion dollars with some experts suggesting anything less than $3-$5 trillion would fall short of the goal of stimulating an economic recovery.

Thinking about these massive sums of money is worrisome because a stimulus must be paid back by current and future generations. Whatever amount is agreed upon cannot be squandered. The money is supposed to buy us some things. A good capitalist knows, it is not how much we are spending that matters; It is what we are buying that matters. So, what exactly would trillions of dollars buy?

From my perspective, the stimulus bill buys society many more years of grandparents. That’s the number one resource a stimulus package buys. Grandparents. 

The cost of social distancing, of solidly freezing most business activity, is to make sure we do not lose grandparents to a contagion during times of overrun hospitals and a severely strained healthcare system. We need our grandparents. They are a national treasure. Grandparents are the backbone of families. They teach things parents, uncles and aunts, are unable to teach. Grandparents show love and compassion in ways others cannot. Grandparents love their grandchildren dearly.

In a busy world where parents can remain largely absent, grandparents forever ingrain the concept of goodness in kids. This cannot be lost in the government tussle over money. Grandparents are priceless.

Daniel Chantre
Downey