This is the goal, you're right. The tool being used is not a new one. The American Indians learned a hard lesson about Uncle Sam and his Contracts That Are So Good They're Almost Unbelievable! We're about to get a dose of that ourselves.
This is a perfect example of what happens when you trust the government to keep it's word when it's clearly just buying you off. The government is fundamentally about power, not about honor. The government will buy you off if you let it, but that's a cheap diversion to keep you voting the right way, not an eternal, holy covenant. If you forget that lesson, reality will teach a remedial class at the time of it's choosing.