Stimulus package...

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

...is insane.

Under what rationale does a government of the people, by the people, for the people infuse money into the economy? Economic policy is one thing;
A tax cut or increase. Same for tariffs. Cut spending. But to actually just put money out there is madness.

I just don't have a clue as to what Bush thinks anymore nor where his thinking comes from in terms of being a Republican or a conservative.

This is insane.

[Lilypad]

Didn't Clinton do that too back a while ago 2001? I seem to remember gettin' a check in the summer a few years back.
Maybe it's a prepayment on our '08 returns?

[tater]

Originally Posted by Lilypad

Didn't Clinton do that too back a while ago 2001? I seem to remember gettin' a check in the summer a few years back.
Maybe it's a prepayment on our '08 returns?

Umm, that was Bush



Yes, taking it out of one pocket and putting it in the other is pretty silly... but I'll take it. Seems though that peeps that dno't even pay taxes will also be getting a check too

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by tater

Umm, that was Bush



Yes, taking it out of one pocket and putting it in the other is pretty silly... but I'll take it. Seems though that peeps that dno't even pay taxes will also be getting a check too

...as you get what you see to be yours, that's OK, but not anyone else?

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by Larry Gude

Economic policy is one thing;
A tax cut or increase. Same for tariffs. Cut spending. But to actually just put money out there is madness.

Larry, this is a one time tax cut. I don't know why they're so scared to say it is, but when you drop the lowest tax bracket from 10% to 0%, how can it be anything but a tax cut?

[Dupontster]

I had a stimulus package one time and then it went down.....Oh, sorry, different package.....Nebermind

[MMDad]

Originally Posted by Larry Gude

...as you get what you see to be yours, that's OK, but not anyone else?

I see it as similar to the upcoming smoking ban. I can be happy that I'm getting a check, just like I'm happy not to have to smell smoke as much, but that doesn't change the fact that the government is doing the wrong thing on both issues.

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by MMDad

Larry, this is a one time tax cut. I don't know why they're so scared to say it is, but when you drop the lowest tax bracket from 10% to 0%, how can it be anything but a tax cut?

...cut is when we are required to send less in to the government, right?

This is a rebate, a return of taxes paid, for anyone who paid taxes. For many, many people, this is pork of the worst kind; giving money to someone for absolutely nothing. Even the bridge to nowhere is, at least, a bridge once the money is spent. Even a $400 toilet seat leaves you with a toilet seat.

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

Originally Posted by MMDad

I see it as similar to the upcoming smoking ban. I can be happy that I'm getting a check, just like I'm happy not to have to smell smoke as much, but that doesn't change the fact that the government is doing the wrong thing on both issues.

...I chewed that one over for a few minutes looking for holes in it to argue otherwise, but you are right. The smoking ban is but one step on the way to further erosion of the property rights of a lawful citizen. This rebate boondoggle is but another step towards doing it again and for more.

They're both bad and for the same reasons; government intrusion.

[waggles]

This stimulus package is probably going to be nothing more than a blip on the radar. It is mainly a feel-good measure and doesn't do anything to address the structural problems facing the US economy. Actually, it will result in more deficit spending (think about it...the government already has insufficient revenue to pay its obligations...so we're going to give back some of what we do have and borrow more to pay the bills!) which will result in increased debt (already more than $9 TRILLION), which isn't good for the country.

If they were serious about trying to shore up the economy, there are a couple of policy options, but none without sacrifice. They could require the mortgage industry to take the subprime mortgages and refinance them as 30 year fixed rate mortgages with reasonable interest rates. Sure it would be government telling private industry what to do - but lack of government oversight is one reason we have this mess (they lent people money who they knew or should have known couldn't pay it back...and now they can't pay it back! SHOCKING! ). This might stop some foreclosures and would help with the revenue streams of the mortgage companies.

The other thing that needs to happen is government revenues and expenditures need to get balanced. There's a way to do this that has some short term pain but yields long term gain. You balance out (through tax increases or spending cuts or a combination of both) spending and revenue, and then increase your revenue. You use this revenue to begin paying down the debt. As you pay down the debt, you decrease the amount of money needed for interest on the debt - and can use that extra money to further pay down the debt. Keep this up, and eventually you'll eliminate the debt and could eventually have a real tax cut because your required revenue would be much less.

There are other structural problems (such as the decline of American manufacturing and the jobs that go with it) that also need to be addressed. But you gotta get started somewhere.