Buttigieg said in recent days that the kids of millionaires and billionaires would not receive free public college tuition under his plan. And a number of progressives have jumped on him for it. Their criticism is that the way such government programs work is that everyone must receive the same benefits no matter how poor or rich they are, and that Buttigieg is reckless or a dupe for suggesting otherwise.
But these critics are forgetting about Medicaid, food stamps, and similar federal programs that confer their social welfare benefits only to people who need them. Does this mean these programs are unfair to rich people? Of course not.
Why these progressives are attacking a Dem candidate for not being nice enough to rich people is a headscratcher. News flash: rich people don’t need us to fight their battles for them. They already have the GOP for that.
I recognize Buttigieg is leading (probably only temporarily) in Iowa and NH, and other campaigns are out to knock him down a peg. And our party is certainly prone to circular firing squads even in the best of times. But come on, people. Yes, some federal programs should have universal benefits, but not all of them have to.
If I’m missing something, let me know in the comments. Thanks.
[Photo by Bill Davenport from FreeImages]