Fox News Guest: People Who Need Stimulus Checks Are ‘Pretty Much Screwed Already’ So They Might As Well Just Stay Poor And Deal With It

Conservative financial guru and talk radio host Dave Ramsey stopped by Fox News on Thursday where he offered his blunt opinion on the second round of stimulus checks that’s currently working its way through Congress. According to Ramsey, he thinks the checks are just like the Biden administration’s plans for student debt relief, “a political gimme by progressives trying to buy votes.” He also had some pretty callous remarks about the effectiveness of providing financial relief to Americans who have been struggling since the start of the pandemic. Via John Whitehouse on Twitter:

Well, I don’t believe in a stimulus check because if $600 or $1400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already. You got other issues going on. You have a career problem, you have a debt problem, you have a relationship problem, you have a mental health problem. Something else is going on if $600 changes your life. And that’s not talking down to folks. I’ve have been bankrupt, I’ve been broke, and I work with people every day who are hurting.

Ramsey then equated the stimulus checks with “peeing on a forest fire” before calling the whole thing “absolutely ridiculous.” It was a stunningly privileged stance to take considering the checks aren’t supposed to “change your life,” but provide at least some form of financial relief by quickly getting spendable cash into people’s hands. Cash that can be easily used to feed families, keep a roof over your head, or afford a much-needed doctor’s visit. It’s actually downright heartless of Ramsey to dismiss those concerns, but it shouldn’t be surprising. While he claims to have been bankrupt, The Daily Beast reports that Ramsey ran into some problems in the 1980s when he overleveraged his multi-million dollar real estate portfolio. He quickly rebounded and became a self-help author, which is not the experience of most everyday Americans.

You can watch Ramsey criticizing stimulus checks below:

(Via John Whitehouse on Twitter)