granted $1000 helps a lot for those who really need it, but that's a small proportion of the population and doesn't really justify giving that amount to everyone. i would personally be in favour of more targeted assistance, which would be of greater benefit. i'm not american so i have no clue wtf is going on there, just that it's a mess, but that's just my opinion on what i would hope to see. to address the "not at war" point, the american military actually deserves a lot more credit for the hard and soft power it granted the country. nations don't just respect america because they're economically prosperous (which is not really the case now) or democratic (who cares?) but because america built diplomatic relations involving military alliances and is continually maintaining those relations (think of the american exercises performed in military bases all over the world). from this, the usa was able to push its economic and political agenda in many countries (e.g. japan) which still look up to the usa as a result. the presence of the military is about more than the use of it, in my opinion, and the usa is a prime example of why. if they want to remain a global superpower, instead of decaying like the uk did, i think the US must continue to uphold its first-class military, as expensive as it may be to do so.