So why would we want to use taxpayer money to pay off their debt and widen the wealth gap even further?

I don’t. What I want is for the government to begin administering its budget to benefit the economy, not making the economy balance the budget. We have to stop thinking of money as a “thing” that is finite. Since we left the gold standard in ’71 the US dollar is a no-cost commodity that Congress can use to achieve socio-economic goals. We don’t have to sell Treasury debt to “fund” anything, but even if we decide to continue bond issues we can never involuntarily fail to pay any obligation denominated in US dollars. Monetary inflation is not possible until all resources are being deployed and employment is at 100%.

When Congress is properly seen as the monopoly “creator” of the US dollar and not a competing “user” of the currency that functions like a household a world of potential opens up. We could actually spend on the things that would increase our productivity, such as an educated workforce, that would benefit everyone. There is no reason to think in terms of “payfors” or any revenue constraint as long as the resources exist to accomplish goals we deploy money for. We can offer free higher education, trade schools, and on the job training subsidies, all while increasing Social Security benefits and making high-quality healthcare a right of citizenship.

Can we do it all at once? Probably not, because all economics are about resources, not money. Inflation is a real concern and if we try to use more resources than are available we will surely cause it. However, we always have tools to mitigate inflation should we run into it, such as taxation, debt, and spending cuts. Inflation control has always been their primary purpose. The concept that the wealthiest nation on earth that can produce its currency on demand needs to beg rich people and corporations for money to spend is absurd, and it is holding us back from our real potential. We should heavily tax extreme wealth because it is harmful to our democracy, but we should never consider that to “pay for” public purpose spending.

Any misery or failure to achieve our potential in America that can be mitigated with spending is strictly a political decision, not economics.