Do you remember when Barack Obama gave Americans $400 of stimulus money to help them get through the Great Recession? Neither do I. Sadly, that was by design. Democrats, high on a supply of Cass Sunstein nudge-ism, didnāt want you to know they were sending you money.
A decade and a reality television president later, Democrats have realized that a little garishness goes a long way. On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. Two days later, people are getting their $1,400 direct deposits from the IRS. One of the few good things on Twitter right now are the posts about the āstimmyā coming from a president who has been labeled MoneyBaggJoe.
I just got 6 text messages from friends and family who said they received the #stimmy
Me: pic.twitter.com/ZzpAKT2TMI
— Nalia.M (@amby691) March 12, 2021
No more #SleepyJoe. Black Twitter has officially given #POTUS the nickname "Moneybagg Joe" ššš¤£#MoneyBaggJoe pic.twitter.com/RvWOWQ5kJr
— Tiffany's Opinion (@tiffanyopinion) March 12, 2021
This is all a rather dramatic shift from when Democrats enthusiastically embraced what was termed ālibertarian paternalism.ā The idea back in 2009 was that, according to some behavioral economics research, people would spend more of their stimulus money if they thought it was extra income rather than a one-off lump sum. So, Obama officials helped devise a system whereby workers temporarily got an extra $45 or so per month tucked into their paychecks. Aside from the paltriness of the sum, it was hard for Democrats to take credit for money whose origin theyād hidden from their infantilized constituents.
The zeitgeist was captured by a 2009 New Yorker piece titled āA Smarter Stimulus.ā After a then-obligatory name check of Nobel-winning economist Richard Thaler, James Surowiecki concluded, āIf you want people to spend the money, you donāt want to give them one big check, because that makes it more likely that theyāll think of it as an increase in their wealth and save it.ā Instead, he added, āyou want to give them small amounts over time.ā The people are them and the technocrats manipulating them are you.
Democrats learned their lesson. āNot only did Dems get you another #stimmy, but we increased the child tax credit to $3000 per child & made it so that you could get a monthly cash advance of this credit starting in July,ā Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) tweeted Friday. āMoney is money & it will be in your pocket soon! This is incredible! Fighting for more!ā Money is money. What an idea.