Trump has somehow made free money toxic to Americans: Inflation has outpaced wage gains for six months and counting. Gas prices have averaged over $4 per gallon for most of the past six months. It’s unlikely consumer prices will come down anytime soon — Congress is on the sidelines, and the president shows no signs of reversing course on his tariffs and the never-ending Iran war.
Under these bleak circumstances, you would think receiving cash with no strings attached from the federal government would be something people would welcome with open arms. But President Donald Trump has achieved something remarkable: He’s made free money toxic to many Americans.
Since early September, Trump has promised to issue a $5,000 “dividend” to every American adult if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. He has repeated this pledge throughout his midterm rally blitz. Despite its eye-watering $1 trillion price tag and the fact that federal law bars election-related payouts, Trump hopes the promise will butter up frustrated voters.
“If the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pockets,” the president said at a Georgia campaign rally on Friday. He implored the audience to trust him: “I’ll do it, I always do it.”
Multiple polls demonstrate that most Americans aren’t buying Trump’s $5,000 dividend promises or don’t think it’s a good idea.
The $5,000 checks are just the largest of several freebies Trump has offered. Less than 24 hours later, he also announced $500 “refund” checks to Americans who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, saying they were overcharged for their premiums. The White House estimated the checks will reach about 1 million Americans in 30 states.
Then, in early October, the Trump administration launched another one-time payment program: $90 for about 20 million seniors receiving medical coverage through Medicare. This initiative is funded by the questionable use of a $2 billion fund for improving Medicare.
I spoke to three people who have received Trump’s last-ditch payouts. Two of them received the… https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-5000-checks-medicare-obamacare-aca