OPINION:
Americans are losing their will to work. That conclusion is inescapable. Fear of contagion during the coronavirus pandemic is partially responsible for the unsettling development, but it is even more likely that fault lies in the availability of easy money. With the federal government handing out trillions in benefits during the pandemic — and hundreds of billions of it stolen by bad actors — never have individuals been less incentivized to throw their muscle against the wheel of work and grind their way to prosperity.
The COVID-19 financial fraud is staggering. Thieves have spirited away as much as $87 billion — or 10% of the $872 billion in pandemic-related unemployment benefits the federal government paid as of Sept. 30, according to a Labor Department report released late last month.
The fraud could actually be much worse. A separate analysis conducted by LexisNexis Risk Solutions concluded that of more than $700 billion in unemployment payouts it tracked, 40% went to fraudsters. It’s as if every one of this nation’s 330 million residents was robbed of $850.
Even more maddening, as much as $175 billion of the pilfered funds was grabbed by crooks overseas. Hackers from Russia, China, Romania, Nigeria and Iran are among the probable culprits — some of America’s most antagonistic adversaries.
When ne’er-do-wells can stick up Uncle Sam with impunity, it’s a little easier to understand why some Americans would rather collect government handouts than break a sweat to earn a paycheck. Consequently, there are 7.6 million unemployed workers across the nation and 10.4 million unfilled jobs. With Americans electing to stay home, it’s no surprise that the U.S. gross national product, which soared by 6.7% with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions during the second quarter of 2021, plummeted to 2.0% in the third.
To be sure, there are good reasons why President Biden, and the Trump administration before him, streamlined the process of applying for unemployment benefits online. With the pandemic-triggered restrictions on businesses nationwide, millions of Americans faced the sudden loss of income and needed the $600 a week infusion of unemployment cash to survive.
The ongoing epidemic of identity theft, though, has provided ineligible grifters near and far with the means to simply log into government websites with bogus IDs and sign up for benefits, averaging $26,000 per application, they don’t deserve. As effortless as it is for bureaucrats to give away other people’s money, it is equally easy for the unscrupulous and apathetic alike to accept it.
The loss of taxpayer funds isn’t solely a symptom of COVID-19. Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, publishes an annual year-end report, replete with examples of shameful government waste. The 2020 edition detailed $54 billion in profligate spending; the upcoming 2021 version could deplete Washington’s supply of zeroes.
Only the tragedy of pandemic-caused death surpasses the grievous damage easy money has wrought on the great American work ethic.
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