Tax Cuts Receive New Emphasis—and Some Criticism—in Stimulus Debate
Reader Comments
$3000 retain employee tax credit
Tell me, please, how in the world does it make sense to offer a $3,000 tax credit to small businesses if the business is so bad off that they can't afford to keep paying an employee, let's say, $18,000 a year, why in the world would they keep them, just so they can get that $3,000 tax credit. Seems pretty stupid to me. Hmmm, lets spend $18,000 that we don't have so that we can save $3,000!!! SWEET DEAL!!!
Stimulas plan? for who?
It seems that we have the wrong people making decisions in this country. The government gives millions of dollars to the banks and auto industry. If my figures are correct, this doesn't pay peoples morgages, nor does it buy new cars. In this economy, noone is going to do so either. This is what America needs to rebuild the economy. Put the money in peoples hands that actually earn it. A 500 or 1000 dollar tax cut is a slap in the face. If the government wants to stimulate the economy, you either have to create new jobs (right now, not next year)or people must spend money, buying cars and paying their morgages. Which most americans are struggling to do. They also talk about helping people that are in forclosure. Come on, how do they know that these people are doing the right thing with their money. It seems that the only ones not getting any help are the ones that are doing the right thing, paying their bills. I have sacrificed alot to make sure my bills are paid, yet the government won't help me unless I'm losing my house. All that 750 million tax dollars should go to legal American citizens that need it right now. The government will just throw the money at big buisness and nothing will be solved. If the American people have money to spend, this depression that is coming soon will not happen
Obama Tax cuts are an insult to our intelligence
A $500 tax cut per person and $1000 per couple is an insult to our intelligence as americans if he actually thinks that will make any kind of difference to us. $20 per paycheck is nothing in today's economy. The only thing that is going to make a significant difference to the average middle class family is a major change in the income brakets and/or eliminating the marrage penalty.
What Obama really needs to do if he wants to live up to his promise to cut taxes for the middle class is to cut the income tax brackets by 5% or better. That is the only thing that will make a significant difference in the average middle class person's take home pay. If you cut the income tax brackets by 5% someone grossing $3000 bi-weekly would see their net income go from 2250 up to 2400. That's a $150 increase in take home pay. That's an amount that could make a difference in peoples lives. thats a weeks worth of groceries or that new electronic gadget, or if added up over a month a new car payment which helps the auto industry. Or maybe that $300/month increase helps put folks who are behind in their mortgage closer to being back on track because suddenly that increase in their adjustable rate mortgage is a little more affordable.
Call me crazy for thinking rationally, but it just makes sense that if you want people to start spending more, putting more money back in their pockets is the only way to do it. You combine this plan with Obama's job creation plan and I guarantee you'll see the economy turn around so fast it will make your head spin.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THOSE WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE
Out of control spending coming to a neighborhood near your wallet.
REPUBLICANS WERE TRASHED, and DEMOCRATS GOT A FREE PASS ON THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF THE ECONOMIC MESS
Is that an intelligent way to run a country? Is it right that Democrats be getting off “scott free.”
- -
http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/01/democrat-responsibility-for-economic.html
- -
It was evident then, it is even more evident now. Yet no feet are being held to the fire. Can we assume Madoff arrived just in time to take the brunt of it, deflecting all attention from where it should be focussed?
Will anything change? No chance. America is heading into the new and never before seen levels of debt. Here comes inflation.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THOSE WHO BROUGHT YOU HERE
Out of control spending coming to a neighborhood near your wallet.
REPUBLICANS WERE TRASHED, and DEMOCRATS GOT A FREE PASS ON THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF THE ECONOMIC MESS
Is that an intelligent way to run a country? Is it right that Democrats be getting off “scott free.”
- -
http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2009/01/democrat-responsibility-for-economic.html
- -
It was evident then, it is even more evident now. Yet no feet are being held to the fire. Can we assume Madoff arrived just in time to take the brunt of it, deflecting all attention from where it should be focussed?
Will anything change? No chance. America is heading into the new and never before seen levels of debt. Here comes inflation.
Obama's stimulus plan
"The top House Republican, Ohio's John Boehner, renewed his support Friday for major tax relief in a stimulus bill. "America cannot buy its way to prosperity with more government spending"
If Boehner believes that America can't buy its way to prosperity with more government spending then what are he and his other members of congress doing with the huge bailouts to the crooked banks. The banks are not doing what they were suppose to do with the bailout money - which was to expand credit to jump start the economy. All the banks are doing is fattening their upper level executive’s pockets, buying other banks to get larger, and hoarding the rest of the bailout money. If they wanted to get the economy going they would have done better by giving the taxpayers the money instead of the crooked bankers who started the economy into the tailspin we are in now. I don't believe the government will get back any of the bailout money plus the bailout plan has made it much worse as it has put the country into an inflationary state and given the people of the U.S. less money to spend as the cost of everything has got up. People are having to spend everything they have to just survive - housing - utilities - Food! Now people do not have any discretionary funds to buy other products which is causing companies to go under and/or lay-off employees. These people have less credit or no credit as the banks who were given bailout money to expand credit have tighten credit as they wanted huge bonuses for their executives, and to buy other banks to get larger. The government needs to get back the so called bailout money from these crooked banks before it is all gone.
Obama's stimulus plan
Since the late 1960's the American economy has been based largely on home construction. The Home Building, Remodel and Home Sales industries, when taken together, account for one of our largest economic sectors. Additionally when home building and remodeling are going full force they also spur many other related sectors such as: banking, county and city construction and permit departments and tax collections, architecture, engineering, plumbing, electrical, roofing, timber production, building products manufacturing and sales, appliance manufacturing and sales, window and door and floor covering manufacturing and sales, etc.
When Barney Franks and Christopher Dodd changed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's lending requirements to permit sub-prime loans they opened the floodgates for bad mortgages and artificially stimulated the building industry to the point where the housing market is now saturated and home construction, remodeling and sales have virtually ceased.
The initiatives that Obama is pushing to stimulate the economy, mainly infrastructure repairs, computerizing health records and jump-starting alternative energy, will consume huge amounts of money but will employ only a relative few people and will do nothing to stimulate other sectors of the economy. If Obama wants to really get the economy moving again he has to come up with a plan to stop the foreclosures, and help to reduce or eliminate the excess housing inventory. That could help to get the home building industry back on its feet. He could also help the hurricane devastated areas of the Gulf Coast and Texas to rebuild the destroyed and damaged homes. That would do a lot more good, and help stimulate the economy more, than computerizing medical records.
Econ rx
1st step: Cut off the war machine. Like DDE said, every penny spent on the military is a penny that could go to a job, health care, protecting the envir. etc.
Cut off the bloody thieves now.
Econ rx
1st step: Cut off the war machine. Like DDE said, every penny spent on the military is a penny that could go to a job, health care, protecting the envir. etc.
Cut off the bloody thieves now.
