Getting relief where neeeded

I read with interest a letter-to-the-editor that appeared in the Daily Herald on Feb. 13 from a gentleman who expressed his frustration that he had received two COVID relief checks last year that he felt he did not need and that he expected that he would soon receive another. He regarded this all as a waste of taxpayer money.

I suspect that that sentiment is shared by a lot of people. The word "targeted" has been used a great deal as the COVID relief bill takes shape in Washington. Theoretically, the checks that are forthcoming are not economic stimulus but disaster relief, so they should go to people whose lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic - people who can't put enough food on the table, can't pay for Internet so their kids can attend classes virtually or are facing eviction.

What we have learned in this pandemic is that the state systems tasked with providing unemployment benefits have not been up to the task. Old computer systems and too few employees have meant long waits, foul-ups and maddening frustration. There is a long history of grousing about "welfare queens" and people needing to "get off their backsides," so we have not funded these systems. We want to make it hard to apply for unemployment and make the benefits skimpy to push people to go out and find a job. However, when one actually needs some help from the government, we expect it to be forthcoming and done efficiently.

The letter writer wondered why we could not figure out who really needs the money and get it to them, and I would argue that Americans, often very wary about the intrusion of the government into their lives, might not be all that comfortable with a system that had that much of a handle on their economic circumstances. This is not a Scandinavian welfare state where the government prepares your tax forms and sends them to you to simply sign, as they do in Sweden.

So, I have a suggestion to perhaps help the government out. If you receive a COVID relief check and you truly don't need it, then donate that money to a charity that helps with food insecurity or provides legal aid to people facing eviction or perhaps spend the money at a local business that is struggling to stay afloat. Those who didn't need the first two checks, tended to bank it, defeating the purpose. Those who needed it, created a "three-fer" - it helped them, it supported local businesses and the sales tax revenue helped state and local governments. Seventy percent of the U.S. economy is driven by the consumer.

The Charities Aid Foundation World Giving Index has found that the United States has been the world's most generous nation over the past decade, a tick ahead of New Zealand. We have a long tradition of giving generously helped by our tax laws and the bounty of America. As we struggle as a nation to get through this pandemic, we have asked the government to do a lot to mitigate the worst impact of the economic fallout that has attended the arrival of the Corona Virus.

At the same time, many local charities have been overwhelmed in trying to provide help. America has always relied on private giving to fill in the gaps rather than expecting government to do it all. Many see that as more democratic - Americans get to choose where their money goes at the grassroots level. So, if you receive a COVID relief check and you really do not need it, there are certainly a lot of people out there who do. Help the government find them.

Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State.