Abstract
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is an innovative legislation introduced in February 2021 in order to rescue the economy and provide direct relief to working families. It offered incentives such as extended unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, rent relief, and emergency grants for small businesses. Applying the May-Can-Should model to the ARPA reveals the policy’s consistency with biblical principles of natural law, inalienable rights, federalism. Furthermore, it is aligned with the constitutional duty of governments to protect its citizens’ right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, the ARPA is politically, financially, and practically feasible and thus has enjoyed wide social support.
Introduction
The COVID-19 virus ignited a public health crisis that resulted in the worst inflation and rapid unemployment since the Great Depression. In order to combat these issues as the pandemic continued, the government introduced the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in February 2021 in order to rescue the economy and provide direct relief to working families (“H.R. 1319: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”). Its most significant elements included extended unemployment benefits, stimulus checks provided to families depending on their income amount, and emergency grants given to small businesses so they could hire and retain workers (“H.R. 1319: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021”). Applying the May-Can-Should model to the ARPA reveals the policy’s consistency with biblical and constitutional principles of government.
May
The ARPA aligns with the biblical principles of natural law, inalienable rights, and federalism. Firstly, providing aid to working families under a certain income bracket aligns with the biblical stance on rejecting materialism and remembering to care for the poor (Fischer, 2020). Secondly, the ARPA ensures that the inalienable human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are protected even in the midst of a global epidemic by investing in community health and promoting health equity (Cooper et al., 2021). Thirdly, The ARPA fulfills the biblical directives concerning federalism because it does not infringe on state rights and maintains the proper separation of powers. Furthermore, the ARPA is functional on a constitutional level because the government has the authority to give finance public services through federal grants. Therefore, the ARPA may be implemented because it meets both the Biblical and constitutional principles of government.
Can
The ARPA has already been signed into law because of its political and financial feasibility. Although many Republican senators were opposed to the Act, the strength of its social support is evidenced by the fact that 76 percent of American citizens, business owners, economists, and local officials supported it (Senate Democrats, 2021). Financially, although the size of the package—1.9 trillion USD—triggered some agitation about the national debt, it has been argued that these concerns stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. financial system (Lane, 2021). Congress has an obligation to stabilize the economy through inflation-neutral deficit spending in order to control inflation and ensure the continued operation of the private sector (Lane, 2021). Although the ARPA initially garnered some controversy, a closer analysis shows that it is financially feasible and thus has enjoyed wide social support.
Several steps have been taken to make the ARPA practically feasible. While the scope of the Act makes it difficult to outline the logistical aspects in their entirety, the U.S. Department of Treasury (2022) has listed recent programs facilitated by the ARPA. Over 350 billion USD has been distributed to 30,000 governments across the country to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and address historical health disparities (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2022). For example, the Emergency Rental Assistance program was instituted to fund underserved households unable to pay rent or utilities (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2022). A new user-friendly interface available in several languages was created to increase access to the Child Tax Credit (U.S. Department of Treasury, 2022). The logistic implementation of the ARPA requires the cooperation of multiple state bodies, but significant strides have already been made, and thus it can be implemented.
Should
The ARPA should be supported because it fulfills the biblical and constitutional obligations of the federal government. Biblical principles clearly state that the government has the duty to protect inalienable rights (Fischer, 2020). Similarly, the U.S. Constitution declares life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness the right of every citizen. Although neither made specific provisions in cases of global pandemics, it could be surmised that the federal government carries an obligation to avoid inflation, unemployment, and a mass economic recession. The ARPA is ultimately the best manifestation of the government using all its resources to achieve this goal. Therefore, the federal government should be involved in providing aid to relieve the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ARPA policy is right for the country.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the ARPA is historic legislation that may, can, and should be supported by all American citizens. It is an unprecedented 1.9 trillion USD package that mitigates the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on working families by offering extended unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, rent relief, and emergency grants for small businesses. It aligns with the biblical principles of natural law, inalienable rights, and covenantal federalism. Furthermore, the government has been constitutionally granted the power to protect the welfare of its citizens and finance public services. Consequently, the ARPA does not merely meet the standards of the Scripture and the Constitution, but must be implemented according to its directives.
References
Cooper, L.A., Sharfstein, J. M., Thornton, R. L. J. (2021). What the American Rescue Plan means for health equity. JAMA Health Forum, 2(4), e210658. Web.
Fischer, K. J. (2020). Biblical Principles of government and criminal justice. Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy, 1(1), 1-12. Web.
H.R. 1319: American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. (as signed by the President on 2021). Govtrack. Web.
Lane, E. (2021). On federal deficits and debt, monetary and fiscal policy. Web.
Senate Democrats. (2021). American overwhelmingly support the American Rescue Plan because families still need relief from the COVID pandemic — but Republicans say they just don’t know what’s good for them. Web.
U.S. Const. art. I. § 8. Web.
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2022). Fact sheet: How treasury’s implementation of American Rescue Plan programs prioritizes equity [Press release]. Web.