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Curious to hear what others think of this. As one who walks the Earth without a degree in economics, I've long struggled to reconcile what I do understand about American fiscal policy with my intuitions about how it should be administered. By my lights, trillions of dollars in government spending are authorized each year (without a global pandemic), while political brushfires ignite and gallons of digital column ink spill over how relatively small amounts (hundreds of millions or billions) are appropriated. And even as a supporter of Universal Basic Income, I've never been totally sure how a permanently raised, government-financed income floor could be sustained without printing some of the cash flow, and how that method of financing wouldn't lead to hyperinflation.