In his address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Trump announced that he’s issuing a “warrior dividend” to approximately 1.45 million eligible U.S. military service members as a thank-you for their sacrifice and service. The one-time payment of $1,776 — a symbol of America’s founding — is set to arrive before Christmas.
Reactions to the announcement have been varied. Many service members and military families have welcomed the timely $1,776 bonus, with some veterans expressing cautious optimism. Critics, both on Capitol Hill and in media outlets, have raised concerns about the repurposing of congressional appropriations originally meant for military housing allowances.
Glenn Beck has mixed feelings too.
“I don’t like when the government hands out money, but … if anybody can use it, it’s the military,” he says.
“$1,700 is a huge amount for most people in the military. … We don’t do enough for our military, and so it’s the best kind of, I don’t know, stimulus package I’ve ever seen,” he adds.
Glenn’s co-host Stu Burguiere shares the sentiment that our military members are beyond deserving; however, he can’t ignore the fact that this is “money that we don’t actually have.”
“The argument is with tariffs that we have enough, but of course that pays only for a slight amount of our deficit,” he says.
The second issue Stu has is that according to the U.S. Constitution’s Appropriations Clause (Article I, Section 9), Congress has exclusive power over spending. Even one-time bonuses like the warrior dividend typically require explicit congressional authorization.
“Congress doesn’t even pay attention to [that clause] anymore. They don’t seem to care,” Glenn says.
However, there is another upside to these warrior dividends, he says. Besides the fact that they help America’s most deserving population, the money will also stimulate the economy.
“I can guarantee you, they’re going to get it, and they’re going to use it on their family for Christmas, which will stimulate the economy so much,” Glenn says.
To hear more of the conversation, watch the video above.
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