The polls consistently show that the Biden relief bill is extremely popular, even among Republican voters. Why, and what does it tell us?
It’s the $1,400 payments to middle class people, of course. More targeted payments, unless they go to very well-defined, sympathetic groups, don’t go over well with relatively affluent white people who love subsidies and tax breaks, but hate “welfare.”
What this tells us is that expansions to the welfare state, to have any staying power, need to include something like universal benefits. That may be bad policy in some cases, and it clearly increases costs, but it is definitely good politics.