Under the American rescue plan the federal government allegedly gave out $783.5 million in stimulus checks to incarcerated persons.
Fox News reported, In response to a public records request from conservative group American Crossroads, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed that the money flowed to 560,000 individuals who were incarcerated for the full tax year 2020.
Passed in March, the American Rescue Plan granted $1,400 in stimulus money to people making less than $75,000 per year.
Those imprisoned by the state do not pay taxes, they also aren’t struggling. Their entire lives are funded by taxpayers.
So why should these people who act as a burden on the U.S. tax payer and have no daily cost be awarded stimulus checks?
These stimulus checks are meant to ensure that people don’t struggle during the pandemic. Surely prisoners can’t struggle if the government provides everything they need to survive.
Some argue that the prisoners need the money for their struggling families. In this case, the prisoners family would be eligible for stimulus checks themselves.
Inmates receiving stimulus checks however was not unique to the American Rescue Plan and was also present with other previous checks.