Federal Tax Break - Stimulus Plan Poll

[monsoon]

Note: I have taken Admin's privilege and moved this to the site coffee house since the discussion has nothing to do specifically with GR

[dxartist]

this stimulus plan will be nothing more than a blip on the radar. A lot of my colleagues at the office told me for them it's nothing more than a small relief. once the $600-1200+ is gone, we will be going back to square one. As for me, this plan will not really help me since I will be completely out of debt free by the end of may.

[Raintree21]

I think for a lot of people it may buy them an extra month or two on their debt payments/mortgage/etc. but most people will just put it in the bank. I don't have any plans to spend it on anything in particular and I'm fiscally conservative and don't get in over my head on big ticket items so I'll probably just put it in the bank and use it as needed.

[jas49503]

I have agreed with most all you have said in this thread, but I take issue with China's currency being artificially low. This is what I refer to as the "Graham/Schumer Theory." What those Senators fail to realize is that if China did have a freely flowing currency there is a great possibility that there would be trillions flowing out of China seeking a much higher rate of return and more transparency in their investments by sending that pent-up capital abroad. It is not a given by any means that China's currency would rise in value and could very well fall precipitously. A freely flowing Chinese currency could wreack havoc on the world economy making this latest malaise look like a hiccup. No one really knows.

Oakeslife, you sound really angry. Did you lose a factory job to Honduras or something?

[jas49503]

And they make over half the money! All due respect, they are the ones who have the extra to be able to turn into more money. Personally I think they need to pay a greater share, other wise you end up with all the money and power concentrated in the top few while the vast majority of the people are overburdened, thus turning the overall credit situation even worse.

[Libertarian]

There already is trillions flowing out of china. you should read the article on atlantic monthly that linked to earlier in the thread. What I think that Graham/Schumer were trying to prevent is exactly what is in the process of happening now. our country used China as a giant credit card and now the payments are due. China as a country has a 50% savings rate. they are not putting it in thier banks though. 70 % of it is going into american investments. This is the havoc that you refer to as the dollar weakens american investments will seem much less attractive than in the past and we will no longer be able to sustain our standard of living without thier support.

[sean]

Where is this money coming from? What earnest effort created this capital? Is it just our gov saying it is so? Lets print some checks and mail them out? The value of the dollar is dropping and nobody is asking the President or the Congressional figure heads these hard questions. Seriously, is anybody out there wondering? Reality unhinged!?

[dxartist]

Where is this money coming from? What earnest effort created this capital? Is it just our gov saying it is so? Lets print some checks and mail them out? The value of the dollar is dropping and nobody is asking the President or the Congressional figure heads these hard questions. Seriously, is anybody out there wondering? Reality unhinged!?

[monsoon]

Indeed. The stupidity of this plan is the government is going to borrow the money and then pass it out as a giveaway. This means that you will have to pay more taxes to pay it back with interest. So why isn't our wonderful media making a stink about it? Because they want people to spend money so advertizers will place adverts with them. They have put forth the myth that mindless consumption is the best medicine for a good economy. No wonder this country is sinking into economic hell.

[swh1972]

The sad part about the stimulous package is that it will most likely do nothing for the individual that is in dire financial trouble. If one is facing foreclosure, $600 or $1,200 will probably not help that much, and if you have rung up $15,000 in credit card debt, the amount you receive will probably only cover one months worth of payments.

[sean]

My inner 'conspiracy theorist' is now twitching and thinking that this is desperately timed to buy some time by giving folks a way to pay their heating bills. It is certainly curious how rapidly the Prez and Congress reached an agreement... anybody smell the desperation?

[Charlotte_native]

The sad part about the stimulous package is that it will most likely do nothing for the individual that is in dire financial trouble. If one is facing foreclosure, $600 or $1,200 will probably not help that much, and if you have rung up $15,000 in credit card debt, the amount you receive will probably only cover one months worth of payments.

[monsoon]

They did this in 1975. Nobody remembers that it did no good for the economy.

[dxartist]

This, like the 2001 checks, is an attempt to purchase votes.

[Justadude]

This a free country you should not have to pay for your good decisions. For most people that opportunity was available to them. certain people put in the time and effort to achieve thier greater earnings.

[JDC]

At some point this kind of absurdity has to be brought into check, and it looks like complete economic collapse is going to be what finally makes it happen. As we are seeing with this ridiculous "stimulation" plan, the government is willing to throw away billions of dollars in public funding, in order to prop up the profit lines of failing companies. So while we still lack funding for national healthcare, transit initiatives, alternative-energy research, and other vital national interests, corporations are able to post a slightly rosier quarterly report. Perhaps we deserve the inevitable poverty our children will face, because we don't have the balls to send the checks back and demand responsible government.

[Rizzo]

Does anyone know if they will base these refunds off the 2006 tax year?

I assume they will be....

[Raintree21]

The House overwhelmingly passed the economic incentives package today but now it faces the Senate who reportedly has many members who want to add on extra projects and spending to it.

[Raintree21]

As expected, the stimulus plan is stalling in the Senate as they haggle over whether to add more incentives to the plan. It has already ballooned an extra $32 BILLION. Why can't Congress just pass a bill, ANY bill, without all this crap?

[swh1972]

I didn't like the fact that the original bill had an income cap that prevented individuals who make over certain amounts from receiving any money. You could argue that someone making $76,000 in New York City was much worse off than someone making $74,000 in South Dakota, but the original bill did not account for this.

[sean]

Actions speak louder than words. The Prez, The Fed, and The Treasury are all saying that the economy is fundamentally sound and that we are not headed for a recession. Yet, The Fed is holding emergency meetings and cutting its target for the federal funds rate. They're auctioning credit! The House and Senate blitzed thru an economic stimulus package!

So I ask, if the economy is fundamentally sound, then why all the desperate behavior exhibited by our leaders? Maybe I should have posted this comment in the Conspiracy Theory thread.

[swh1972]

Actions speak louder than words. The Prez, The Fed, and The Treasury are all saying that the economy is fundamentally sound and that we are not headed for a recession. Yet, The Fed is holding emergency meetings and cutting its target for the federal funds rate. They're auctioning credit! The House and Senate blitzed thru an economic stimulus package!

So I ask, if the economy is fundamentally sound, then why all the desperate behavior exhibited by our leaders? Maybe I should have posted this comment in the Conspiracy Theory thread.

[Raintree21]

Both houses of Congress passed a slightly modified stimulus bill today that will go to President Bush who is expected to sign it.

[monsoon]

So the government is going to borrow even more money and pass it out as a giveaway. Somehow I don't think this is a plan that is going to improve things. It might create some jobs in Mexico and China, but it's not going to do anything for the American economy.

[Miesian Corners]

^Yeah, it's going to give us $800 to go spend on cheap crap at Wal-Mart or Target that was made with slave labor in China, Vietnam, Thailand, or the Philippines. Exactly whose economy are we trying to prop up again?