The US government is very capable of handing out $1200 checks to everyone as we have seen. It is also extremely popular with the people. I mean I guess the only impediment is courageous politicians but that might be a large obstacle.

I wonder if they gave out the $1200 checks every year and funded it by taxing the top brackets, that would cause a large surge in consumer spending (mostly on essentials but also on luxury goods as you go up the income bracket).

I think you inadvertently pointed out the whole problem. The US government will hand out checks in emergencies, funded by debt, but won't actually increase taxes on top brackets in a meaningful way. So you end up with wealth redistribution being a non-starter.

> I believe we are too far gone at this stage

When irrationality and straight-up lying are so entrenched, you wonder what it would take to shake up the system.

The only thing I see is some major catastrophe, like a meteor strike or something on that scale.

I think we are seeing the slow disintegration of the system as we speak with the pandemic. Or rather, we are seeing an acceleration in the slow disintegration that was already happening. The rise of the populist right all over the world is a troubling sign of things to come.

The people are not content. Look at the BLM protests in the US, they were the largest uprising in American history. They were bigger than the MLK riots. Content people do not riot. Needs are not being met, or at least perceived needs are not being met.

The pandemic should've been enough but... meh.