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Funny money
Everyone feeling properly stimulated today?
Neither am I.
President Barack Obama affixed his signature yesterday to the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
But if you’re looking for a check to arrive in the mail, don’t hold your breath.
This package is big on creating jobs and pumping up a lot of flagging institutions and municipalities. It will push money into education, infrastructure and energy research. There is some very important health care aid that will directly affect those who recently lost their jobs.
But if you’re looking for it to put cash in your pocket, you’re going to be disappointed.
Individuals are in line for a $400 tax break; $800 for married couples.
This isn’t trickle-down; it’s build-up. The hope is that pumping money into all these projects will spur job growth, something the country direly needs. For instance, Obama envisions 400,000 people working to repair the nation’s roads and bridges. Only about a third of the stimulus can be found in tax cuts. The overwhelming majority of it is spending.
What President Obama is betting is that we can spend our way out of this recession.
Wall Street did not seem terribly impressed. Neither were auto makers. They announced yesterday they were headed back to the trough, with GM and Chrysler seeking an additional $14 billion in federal bailout funds. Oh, and along the way they are going to jettison 47,000 more jobs. That’s a lot of people who will be working on infrastructure.
I continue to be astounded by the numbers that are so casually bandied about in these talks.
And one other thing, which comes from an odd source. I’m not totally unconvinced that Jon Stewart, the funny guy from “Comedy Central,” isn’t on to something.
He recently quipped that instead of all these intricate stimulus packages, the government would be better off simply giving the money directly to every adult American taxpayer. It would be an $835 billion plan, roughly what Obama is doing, when you break it down it comes to about $10,00 per person. With their newfound loot, taxpayers would pay off their credit debt. Studies indicate one in 20 Americans now carries $8,000 in debt. For those without such heavy debt load, they could pay off a mortgage, make a down payment on a house, or on shopping sprees. Sounds stimulating to me.
Suddenly it doesn’t seem so funny.
Neither am I.
President Barack Obama affixed his signature yesterday to the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
But if you’re looking for a check to arrive in the mail, don’t hold your breath.
This package is big on creating jobs and pumping up a lot of flagging institutions and municipalities. It will push money into education, infrastructure and energy research. There is some very important health care aid that will directly affect those who recently lost their jobs.
But if you’re looking for it to put cash in your pocket, you’re going to be disappointed.
Individuals are in line for a $400 tax break; $800 for married couples.
This isn’t trickle-down; it’s build-up. The hope is that pumping money into all these projects will spur job growth, something the country direly needs. For instance, Obama envisions 400,000 people working to repair the nation’s roads and bridges. Only about a third of the stimulus can be found in tax cuts. The overwhelming majority of it is spending.
What President Obama is betting is that we can spend our way out of this recession.
Wall Street did not seem terribly impressed. Neither were auto makers. They announced yesterday they were headed back to the trough, with GM and Chrysler seeking an additional $14 billion in federal bailout funds. Oh, and along the way they are going to jettison 47,000 more jobs. That’s a lot of people who will be working on infrastructure.
I continue to be astounded by the numbers that are so casually bandied about in these talks.
And one other thing, which comes from an odd source. I’m not totally unconvinced that Jon Stewart, the funny guy from “Comedy Central,” isn’t on to something.
He recently quipped that instead of all these intricate stimulus packages, the government would be better off simply giving the money directly to every adult American taxpayer. It would be an $835 billion plan, roughly what Obama is doing, when you break it down it comes to about $10,00 per person. With their newfound loot, taxpayers would pay off their credit debt. Studies indicate one in 20 Americans now carries $8,000 in debt. For those without such heavy debt load, they could pay off a mortgage, make a down payment on a house, or on shopping sprees. Sounds stimulating to me.
Suddenly it doesn’t seem so funny.
posted by Heron's Nest at
7:37 AM
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