There are things that I like about President Barack Obama’s ambitious economic stimulus package. I think that our infrastructure and energy issues need to be addressed, and that, in doing so, we will be able to provide jobs and other benefits to the economy. I also agree that something needs to be done about health care. However, I’m not sure how beneficial the proposed tax cuts would be.
Right now, the idea is to introduce a $500 tax cut. This cut would be applied on paychecks, so that you would have “more money in your pocket.” Unfortunately, if you divide up that $500 over the course of time, the more money in your pocket doesn’t amount to much. Certainly not enough to allow you to do the following, which are stated goals of policy makers:
2. Increase consumer spending.
While direct help to homeowners in the form of loan modification is expected with the new economic stimulus, one of the selling points of this tax cut is that you could use the money to make a mortgage payment. Seriously? Most of the people in foreclosure trouble need waaaaay more than $500.
As far as consumer spending is concerned, that $500, spread out over two years, would be basically useless. An extra $21 a month is going to do a great deal in terms of kick-starting the economy through consumer spending? Riiiight.
Besides, $500 seems small potatoes next to the billions being spent on retention packages for folks at the top of the economic food chain. Trillions go to big banks, while we are stuck footing the bill. $500 of our own money back just doesn’t seem like enough. On a number of levels.
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OH, this is such a messed up deal, they could have given that back money to the consumers and we the people could have truely decided where that money would have gone. That would be a good stumulis! This whole thing smells bad, very bad!
Posted by: Angela | January 21st, 2009 4:52 pm |
I'm still a little nervous about his whole spread the wealth idea. I've been putting money into my 401k for a long time. Is he going to come in and share it with everyone else?
Posted by: Unclaimed Money | January 21st, 2009 5:12 pm |
I wouldn't worry too much about your 401k. No one's personal assets are going to be raided. We're all just going to be paying for this massive bank bailout. Everyone gets all uptight about "spread the wealth", but it is all still going to the same place it's always gone — to people who don't really need it.
Posted by: Miranda Marquit | January 21st, 2009 7:58 pm |
A lot of people are saying a lot of things. And a lot of it is good. I even agree with the author.
But what we really need is people to start actually doing the math. It is not calculus.
350,000,000,000.00 would have stopped every foreclosure in it tracks. All that would have to be done is to modify every one of the loans in foreclosure to a smaller payment with a longer term. Or the math is $50,000.00 for 7 million homeowners in trouble. If that would have been done it would have covered more than all the homes in trouble with foreclosures and there would not be ANY!!!!!
Everyone needs to demand that now! Also TARP was for foreclosures yet spent to give money to banks so they could keep operating in a profit, or basically the rich get richer. They should have all lost there jobs! The bank could have stayed but everyone above the first line management should have been given a pink slip and new people hired at lower wages just like the rest of America is having to do. This IS pure and simple fraud and they should all go to jail.
Americans need to do the math and demand answers. Because if the foreclosures stop the housing price decreases stop, the loss of property tax income stops and in the end the government would collect almost 350 billion more in taxes within 2 years paying for the bailout.
So it is the math we all must do and demand our tax money is spent wisely for our kids sake.
So it is the loss of jobs to third world countries that has caused this mess because corporations go were they make the most money and can completely dodge all of America's laws.
The answer to that is one legislation that would demand all government buying of 100% American made products and demand that all corporations that do business in America follow all American laws no matter were the produce the goods, like US minimum wage, child labor, slave labor, environmental laws and watch the jobs flood back to America!
It is the math and the jobs!
So do not be fooled by left vs right and white vs everyone else that is the media and corporations way of dividing us all!
It is undeserving bankers(most from other countries) vs underemployed Americans.
Demand that the Tarp be used for direct foreclosure intervention and every penny not used for that will result in jail time!!!!
Posted by: dave c | January 22nd, 2009 11:29 am |
One last thing.
The reason 350 billion will solve all the foreclosures yet the banks have already received trillions and will need more trillions is this.
The media is not telling us that most of the reasons for the investment banks losing money is not because of American foreclosures.
Are you ready for this America.
It is because all of these banks have heavily invested the money overseas in corporations to build us more junk from third world countries.
Or in real terms you lose your $15 or more per hour factory or technical job because the corporation you work for got a loan from say CITI bank to build a plant in say Malaysia. Now your home gets foreclosed on and you can not buy any thing any more and the factory in Malaysia can not make any money and pay back the CITI bank loan.
What does our government do. Help you out with your foreclosure! No way in H E double hockey sticks. Our government tells the people we are going to help people with foreclosures by giving money to the banks to make up for the money they are losing by not getting paid on there loans to build factories in third world countries using child and slave labor that took all our jobs in the first place.
It is all a fraud and they should all go to jail. Period and Americans should wake up and do the math.
Trillions are not needed for the foreclosure mess in America, 350 billion would have solved that in ONE DAY!
Trillions are really needed for the investment mess in third world countries for factories to take our jobs, but now we Americans can not by all that junk anymore because we are losing our homes and jobs.
So it worked.
The corporations saved money and avoided all of our laws and borrowed trillions to use slave and child labor in third world countries.
The banks loaned the corporations the money to do this to us Americans. They used our banks, our credit, even our 401ks.
Now that we are losing all of our jobs we can not buy the junk produced by these corporations in third world countries.
The banks are not getting repaid there loans by these corporations which are mostly foreign owned.
So who comes to the rescue but our corrupt politicians! They rescue the banks with our money!!!!!!!
Who is getting elected by corporations money, you guessed it our corrupt politicians.
I would not put our president in this category!
Americans do the math and demand that your money be used to protect you and your children! Demand that your politicians write legislations to financially stop foreclosures with loan modifications(not welfare).
Demand that your politicians make corporations more profitable by using American workers or they do not do business in America.
That is what politicians do create laws that help YOU the voter.
So again do the math, go vote and demand foreclosures stop by loan modifications!
Jobs stop going overseas by government purchasing only American made goods and corporations following American laws no matter were they produce there goods or they do not do business in America!
2 laws would solve the entire mess in about 1 month! And the cost would be about 350 billion which would be recouped in less than 2 years by not losing the tax revenue on foreclosed homes.
Or continue giving money to CITI so they can build a citi in DUBIA on the ocean!
Posted by: dave c | January 22nd, 2009 12:00 pm |
I've never heard of someone not wanting be recognized as a reputable information source on a blogroll, but I have passed your request on to the owners of this site, and you should see your links removed soon.
Posted by: Miranda Marquit | January 23rd, 2009 7:17 am |