Will my 6-year-old have to pay off the $1.9 trillion stimulus?

Free money now! Pay later? The joyful complications of the stimulus

By Brian McMillan
| 6:30 a.m. March 18, 2021

To a kid, maybe the stimulus feels like this? To me, it's quite complicated. Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

The other day, my daughter Kennedy, 6, said to me, “The government is giving us a lot of money — for no reason!”

My first reaction was to laugh. It’s always fun to hear a 6-year-old’s interpretation of the news.

But she also got me thinking.

I am grateful that I can put food on my table every day, and that my daughter does not want. I realize that makes me rich compared to much of the world. There are many in our own community who are stressed about food, and for them, I am happy that the new stimulus money will likely relieve that stress for a time.

Through my church, I make a donation every month to help provide the necessities of life for people, and I intend to increase that donation. Maybe we can all find a way to be more generous with what we have.

As I looked at Kennedy’s grin — she knew she was being clever (I think?) — I also felt worried for her. The national debt will likely be a plague in our country some day, and it may be that she and her children will suffer for it.

I pray that our leaders will be wise, for their sakes.

author

Brian McMillan

Brian McMillan and his wife, Hailey, bought the Observer in 2023. Before taking on his role as publisher, Brian was the editor from 2010 to 2022, winning numerous awards for his column writing, photography and journalism, from the Florida Press Association.