Who the Heck Have We Become?

A family where one spouse is a citizen, the children are citizens, and the other spouse is not is ineligible to participate in the stimulus package because that one member of the family does not have a social security number?

The CARE act and its related legislation are pouring money into every corner of the country in an attempt to moderate the pain of this economic crisis. About $200 billion of it is being sent out to every person that the government can find as a direct subsidy, particularly to every taxpayer below a certain income level… that is, to every taxpayer except those filing a joint return where one member of the family lacks a social security number.

Let me repeat… the family pays their taxes; it is through their tax filing that they are disqualified. They are legally present, and three of the four members of the family are citizens. They are excluded from the support of our government in a time of crisis. How is that logical? Do they pay fewer taxes because of their status? No, they do not. Do they provide the same economic benefits to our country as any other family? Yes, they do. But somehow, about one million of these couples are intentionally being treated differently.

It is ridiculous, petty, and inexplicable that we can take their taxes, acknowledge the citizenship of three of the members, but still discriminate against them in this fashion. It can’t be an economic decision — we’re talking about a rounding error, about a tenth of one percent of the money just in that particular pot. For gosh sake, we’re not even paying the actual citizens in the family, but rather punishing them for having what, married a non-citizen? Is that the crime for which we say to them — sorry, we don’t care about your issues, you’re less worthy than those who married Americans?

Shame on the government for this disgrace. Shame on the legislators who had to intentionally place this undeserved penalty into law. Shame on the media for not raising their voices against the inequity of this nationalistic garbage. We must fix this mistake immediately, and raise our sights on being a better nation, a more equitable America.

Right is right.