Confused?????? (Tax Rebates)

[leaddogman]

With all this news coverage you would think I would everything but I have no clue about anything. Can Someone clear the picture of this?

[mike]

if you make 75k or under you get a tax rebate of $600. couples $1200, and $300 for each kid. i think you get that full 600, might be an up to 600. if you're poor and don't owe/pay taxes i think you get 300.

the hope is that we can fix the problem of savingsless debt ridden american consumer whores who have simply run out of money and credit to consume goods by giving them... more money to consume goods. kind of like we are fixing a housing bubble caused by too low interest rates with some... lower interest rates. genius no??

if you save the rebate money it will do nothing to stimulate the economy and help you for a rainy day.
if you pay off an existing debt with the money it will do nothing to stimulate the economy and basically account for paying off prior consumption.
if you invest the money it might help economy a little - but where to invest it these days? the market is scary. and bonds/cds are unimpressive as the inflation rate is already high (and sending out these checks will make it higher - because the government doesn't actually have this money to give you)
if you use this money to consume (buy shit) then it will stimulate the economy a little, probably not enough to really fix much of anything though. then they may even try to send out more money later, and are mostly like going to be lowering interest rates this wednesday, if not more later (i expect more).

personally, once you get the check i'd advise putting it towards a credit card bill. if they are all paid off and you have a high interest car payment (like 12% or something) i'd put it towards the principal on the car payment. without either of those, i'd take the money and buy gold/silver with it, because i'm expecting a lot of inflation this year and those will protect you from it. plus they look cool. :)

[leaddogman]

I heard from a friends it will be check more like a visa card?

[mike]

that is news to me, i'd check on that. the funny thing is if they made it a card that forced you to consume it would work better. it's stupid anyway IMO though. here's an article on the card idea by peter schiff, my favorite austrian school economist guy, who became ron paul's economic advisor last friday.

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Schiff/jan182008.html

[golfiscool]

I fail to see how this is going to help us though. It's just putting the US in more debt. I mean, I like getting $600 but I don't think it will help at all.

[mike]

it won't fix any problem and if there's 20 cents on the dollar of actual stimulus it would probably be surprising.

[BEAR]

I fail to see how this is going to help us though. It's just putting the US in more debt. I mean, I like getting $600 but I don't think it will help at all.

Bush isn't much of a leader and thinks this will stop a recession by making people buy more

[mike]

don't blame it on bush, congress is supporting it too as well as many economists... in theory it will provide a boost but IMO there's better ways to spend the money... regardless i don't think it will cure what ails us, what will fix the economy is everyone getting a reduction in their standard of living to what it should actually be and nothing is going to stop that from coming!

[kolpaz]

in theory if everyone takes their 600 and puts that 150 billion back into the economy, companies with the increased revenue and tax breaks that come along for commercial interests in this stimulus package may hire, or decide to produce more, which might help out the economy.

In reality every person that pays an existing bill with this money reduces its effect.

[kolpaz]

honestly, I think the 600 a person serves as a distraction so the general public wouldn't see the tax breaks on big business as another republican ploy to help the commercial machine. Which at this point is needed as production and business investment is flat at the moment.

[kolpaz]

I wouldn't worry about this stimulus package putting us further in debt, that'd be like being stranded on a piece of wreckage in the middle of the pacific, but worrying about a rainstorm getting you wet.

Some figures have the cumulitive situation i the middle east costing upwards of 750 million a day. So, in less than 3 weeks time we spend our little economy package repeatedly with no end in sight.

That is on top of any expenses we incur with troops scattered throughout the world, expenses incurred by paying hundreds upon hundreds of politicians and their staff six figure salaries so they can look into Barry Bonds and his steroids, or Roger Goodell and his cheating tapes.

So in the grand scheme of our debt, the 150 billion means nothing, not to say it's not a significant number because it is, this reflection on the ration of debt mearly points out how horribly we manage money as a nation overall.

I'm left wondering if the special interest groups and PC correctness or our money management will lead to the downfall of this once great nation first.

[kolpaz]

so basically, unless your making 6 figures of so per working adult in the household, you'll end up with 600 bucks per adult, plus 300 bucks per dependant child. If you're above that you'll get a reduced rebate up to a certain cap. Basically they aren't going to waste the paper the check is written on sending 600 bucks to persons who make millions per year.

[mike]

in theory if everyone takes their 600 and puts that 150 billion back into the economy, companies with the increased revenue and tax breaks that come along for commercial interests in this stimulus package may hire, or decide to produce more, which might help out the economy.

In reality every person that pays an existing bill with this money reduces its effect.

even if people consumed it 100%, i do not think it would fix the economy (credit crisis, housing bubble, huge trade deficit and budget deficit spending) and i wonder how much of that stimulus would go to the US vs how much would be going to china anyway, since 80% of what people would be buying would be made in china anyway!

[mike]

I wouldn't worry about this stimulus package putting us further in debt, that'd be like being stranded on a piece of wreckage in the middle of the pacific, but worrying about a rainstorm getting you wet.

Some figures have the cumulitive situation i the middle east costing upwards of 750 million a day. So, in less than 3 weeks time we spend our little economy package repeatedly with no end in sight.

That is on top of any expenses we incur with troops scattered throughout the world, expenses incurred by paying hundreds upon hundreds of politicians and their staff six figure salaries so they can look into Barry Bonds and his steroids, or Roger Goodell and his cheating tapes.

So in the grand scheme of our debt, the 150 billion means nothing, not to say it's not a significant number because it is, this reflection on the ration of debt mearly points out how horribly we manage money as a nation overall.

I'm left wondering if the special interest groups and PC correctness or our money management will lead to the downfall of this once great nation first.


depends how many creditor nations we can get in to suckering us even more money and how much debt the fed will just have to monetize, but last year had the highest inflation in 17 years (per official government standards, if you believe them) and this year is poised to be worse.

[jessep28]

even if people consumed it 100%, i do not think it would fix the economy (credit crisis, housing bubble, huge trade deficit and budget deficit spending) and i wonder how much of that stimulus would go to the US vs how much would be going to china anyway, since 80% of what people would be buying would be made in china anyway!

No, the stimulus package is not meant to be a long term fix. This package proposal was a knee jerk reaction to some bad economic news that is signaling that the consumer may be pulling back.

People really need to be using this money to pay down credit cards, put it in an IRA or some other positive move but sadly the aim is to get people to spend.

[Steve2383]

Mike, I hear a portion of it is going to illegal aliens.

Way to fucking go US Goverment.

[mike]

i can't believe that. i saw someone post that on myspace today but i thought they were just misinformed. i have a hard time believing something like that could pass congress without huge outrage... do you have any source for that?

[Steve2383]

not at this time.

Im really hopeing its not true.