It seems President Trump is at it again with his iconic flair for dramatic announcements. This time, he’s proposed giving most Americans a $2,000 stimulus check from the profits of tariffs collected by his administration. Well, folks, here we go again on the merry-go-round of stimulus checks. Remember those lockdown days when checks rained down from the sky? It’s like deja vu, but with a different spin—tariffs instead of a pandemic.

Trump’s grand vision involves spreading this newfound wealth to most people across the country, except for the affluent, although he didn’t quite spell out who would be excluded. The president took a swipe at critics of his tariff strategy, calling them… let’s just say “uninformed.” But let’s get serious for a moment—Trump reckons this tariff cash could help treat every American to a sweet dose of extra cash. Sounds like a win-win, right? But maybe not so fast.

While it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of an unexpected windfall, there’s more to unravel here than meets the eye. Critics argue that just handing out cash won’t fix the issue at heart. The real elephant in the room, they say, is our ever-skyrocketing national debt, which looks more like a towering Jenga game than a sustainable budget. With $38.9 trillion weighing us down, the conversation needs to shift from quick fixes to long-term solutions.

There’s a case to be made that simply giving away money isn’t the right move. It’s like getting a sugar rush—it feels great for a while, but the crash is brutal. Some suggest a better plan might be cutting taxes or trimming regulations to let the hard-working folks in this country keep more of what they earn. Reward the workers, not the loafers—goes the logic—or as some would call it, the productive class versus the parasitic class debate. In simpler terms, you want to fuel the fire of those who keep the economy humming along.

But let’s sprinkle a bit of humor on this policy pizza. Imagine using your stimulus check for a down payment on a 50-year mortgage, or perhaps you fancy a shopping spree of investment in those hip new social media stocks. Who wouldn’t want to make sure the stock market stays red-hot? Yet, in between the laughs, the serious question lingers: How can we hand out more when we’re already drowning in debt?

The answer isn’t exactly black and white, but maybe it’s a little clearer now: We need to stop patching the holes with band-aids. Perhaps more productive solutions, like tax cuts, could be the golden ticket. After all, it’s about time the productive Americans, the ones carrying the weight of the economy, get to breathe a little easier. So while the idea of a $2,000 check sounds tempting, maybe it’s worth considering the cost of the strings attached. Let’s hope our leaders can find a way to balance prosperity with responsibility.