AOC's Dubious Project to Overcome Our 'Work Ethic Culture'

The federal response to the pandemic offered US households a record $2 trillion benefit explosion, including unprecedented temporary payments to nonworking adults. Originally billed as needed due to pandemic shutdowns, those extraordinary benefits have mostly run their course, with even President Joe Biden conceding last year that it “makes sense” that federal unemployment benefit expansions expired. But for progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), it’s not enough because, when it comes to government benefits, it’s never enough. Her recent comments blaming America’s “work ethic culture” for not renewing pandemic benefits unconnected to work is an admission of how out of touch her policy positions really are.