This week the House is expected to pass an $825 billion economic stimulus package. In reality, this bill is just an escalation of a government-created economic mess. As before, a sense of urgency and impending doom is being used to extract mountains of money from Congress with minimal debate. So much for change. This is déjà vu. We are again being promised that its passage will help employment, help homeowners, help the environment, etc. These promises are worthless. FULL ARTICLE
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If you haven’t seen it yet, we posted an insightful interview with Ron Paul on our YouTube channel yesterday:
Ron Paul: Spending, Borrowing and Inflating our Way to Collapse
i saw the interview, and I agree with Rep. Paul 1000% as there is nothing in there for we the little people. Small business will help and do more that most ( a majority) of the “proposed” spending. I wish i did have a million dollars as i would use it to file a class action lawsuit to keep the house and senate from even voting on the bill without hearings, or even reading the silly thing. To me the “honeymoon” Mr. President is over…how dare you tell or say YOU want this bill passed in such a way…President Obama is sounding rather dictatorially soclistic to me. If this is His way of defending the constitution, what brand was it ? Charmin,Angel soft ? Mr. president, you’re fired !!
That’s right Steve – nothing whatsoever for we the people. A great economic stimulus would be for the government to stop wasting trillions of dollars mantaining the largest overseas empire that the world has ever seen.
Then maybe another stimulus would be eliminating the federal income tax.
Those two would be a great start, and would get the economy, and our freedoms, back on track.
Get ready for a dollar crash! They only way they can pay for this insanity is by firing up the printing press!
what monies i do have i have been converting to other forms or currancy. i would have had a bigger”nest egg” but having to assist putting grandchildren in college, well i am all but completely tapped out. The government really can’t physiclly hurt me anymore than what they have already, but if we sit back and wait long enough, i am sure both houses of Congress will think of something. After all if they can do as they will or wish, and ignore the will of the people, then there is nothing but air, from screwing we,the people even more…bailouts- stimulus packages…oh please…If i could afford to do so, I’d move to canada, or ireland and give up my us citizenship. Funny thing though, thereare still people who have it worse else where in the world who are dying and would kill to get here…boy are they in for a rude surprise
Like RP said, this isn’t a stimulus for us, this is for the government, for the politicians, and for their corporate backers.
Didn’t they used to call that fascism?
Something has to be done. Letting corporations run wild while ignoring the needs of the country is what got us in to this terrible spot. This money will create jobs. This money will save jobs. This money will begin to fix our broken infrastructure. We will be back on the right track. Government is not our enemy, it is the ONLY thing that can save us now. It’s time to stop listening to people who do nothing but spew the same old “free market will fix all” crap, and be Americans again. We will work to fix this, and this stimulus bill we kick off the great recovery. Here are some FACTS about the bill that Mr. Paul trashes:
$145 billion in tax cuts for working individuals.
The tax cut would be $500 per person ($1,000 for a couple) and would phase out for people making over $75,000 a year ($150,000 for couples). You’ll most likely see this as an increase in your paycheck, roughly between $10 and $20 for this year and next.
$41 billion for school improvements, including better buildings, computer upgrades and teacher training.
$15 billion to increase the maximum Pell grant by $500 in 2009-10; plus, increases to the annual unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits.
$14 billion in tax credits of up to $2,500 a year for college students with an annual income below $80,000.
$6 billion for college building improvement
$4 billion for more preventative care programs.
$1.5 billion for improvements at community health centers.
$6 billion to weatherize moderate income homes, making them more energy efficient.
$4 billion for homeowners to take up to 30% of the cost of conservation measures as a tax credit, up to $1,500 per person.
$300 million for consumers to replace old appliances.
$500 million to help rural families secure mortgages.
$30 billion for highway and bridge construction projects.
$13 billion for mass transit, including new lines, buses, trains and stations.
$3 billion to expand congested airports.
$1.15 billion for better land and sea ports.
$4 billion for more police officers and equipment – best watch the speeding!
$500 million for better airport screening detectors.
$31 billion to modernize public buildings, making them more energy efficient.
$3.1 billion for improvements on public lands, including new roads, trails and facilities at national parks.
$6 billion for broadband Internet access in rural areas.
$400 million for flood control efforts, which include buying and preserving open land around the country.
$6 billion for communities to replace aging sewer lines.
$4.2 billion for towns to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant homes.
$32 billion for a “smart” utility grid and renewable energy production, although in the long run this could change the way you use appliances at home and clean the air.
$10 billion for science research facilities.
Remember this….a bill like this would not be needed if there was no war in Iraq, regulation on wall street, and somebody actually caring about ALL of the American people. Not just the rich ones.
God Bless You. And God Bless America!!!
To Ned:
You may want to do a little more research about your ‘free market’. Yes the bankers and invester acted in a near criminal manner, but they did so in front of the barrel of the Gov’t’s gun. Checke the facts!
you might wish to give this some thought:
$145 billion in tax cuts for working individuals.
The tax cut would be $500 per person ($1,000 for a couple) and would phase out for people making over $75,000 a year ($150,000 for couples). You’ll most likely see this as an increase in your paycheck, roughly between $10 and $20 for this year and next. —– Unless you are self employed… then it will be all but invisible.
$41 billion for school improvements, including better buildings, computer upgrades and teacher training.—- which will be virtually ineffective by the time it reaches the student. Heard of `No child left behind?– grossly ineffective`
$15 billion to increase the maximum Pell grant by $500 in 2009-10; plus, increases to the annual unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits.—– As if the Gov’t hasn’t placed enough debt burden on the next generation already.
$14 billion in tax credits of up to $2,500 a year for college students with an annual income below $80,000. — Haven’t we learned yet that there is really no such thing as a tax credit. There either is a tax or there isn’t. Period. If my kid ain’t paying the tax, you (we) are.
$6 billion for college building improvement. —- Since there are no federal colleges or universities, this should be handled by the states. To go a step further, most are private…. enough said.
$4 billion for more preventative care programs. — Money into a healthcare system that is out of control!
$1.5 billion for improvements at community health centers. — Again, money for local things should be local money. why pay the ’shipping’ and admin costs of getting the fed. gov’t involved.
$6 billion to weatherize moderate income homes, making them more energy efficient. — Again, money for local things should be local money. why pay the ’shipping’ and admin costs of getting the fed. gov’t involved, and to take it a step further it will probably come in the form of grant-loans causing people to further leverage thier homes. Isn’t housing leverage how we got here?
$4 billion for homeowners to take up to 30% of the cost of conservation measures as a tax credit, up to $1,500 per person. — Do you have any idea how much conservation $5000 ($1500 / .30) buys? Very little, especially if a contractor is involved.
$300 million for consumers to replace old appliances. — You’re kidding right?
$500 million to help rural families secure mortgages. — My ears are ringing.. it sounds a lot like Fannie & Freddie all over again.
$30 billion for highway and bridge construction projects. — OK… MAYBE. However I forsee this not as repair work, but expansion work. I don’t have an issue with repair (maintenance) but expansion work makes me thing of ‘bridges to no where’. If the fear of ‘bridges to no where’ fail to get your attention, maybe you should google ‘Big Dig’!
$13 billion for mass transit, including new lines, buses, trains and stations. OK… MAYBE. However I forsee this not as repair work, but expansion work. The first thing that jumps to mind here is Amtrak,… does that money pit need to be expanded. As for regional transportation authorities,.. is there a single one that has not cosistently operated as a loss?
$3 billion to expand congested airports. — Hrrrm, why is there congestion? Because some airline is using it to make a profit? Yeah, I think you can see where I think that money really needs to come from.
$1.15 billion for better land and sea ports. — same theory as above
$4 billion for more police officers and equipment – best watch the speeding! — Yes add fuel to the fire of the police state! maybe we should spend it all on the war on drugs. Which by the way is more costly than both wars we are now fighting COMBINED with NO MEASURABLE result other than a huge stimulus to the prison industry. Crime is inversly proportional to the economy, except for ‘drug crime’.
$500 million for better airport screening detectors. — I would much rather see that money spent education the attitude out of TSA screeners.
$31 billion to modernize public buildings, making them more energy efficient. — should be limited to federal buildings. which would reduce this number by half.
$3.1 billion for improvements on public lands, including new roads, trails and facilities at national parks. — Umm, no.
$6 billion for broadband Internet access in rural areas. — What a lie this will turn out to be. We have been paying a tax for that for years… show me THAT money first, then we’ll talk!
$400 million for flood control efforts, which include buying and preserving open land around the country. —- Only if the gov’t buys the property of the idiot that decided that it was a good idea to build his house in the flood plain so that it can become federal land, thus preventing the idiot from doing it again.
$6 billion for communities to replace aging sewer lines. — Again local should be local, the only effective to reduce spending waste.
$4.2 billion for towns to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant homes. — Sounds like a smoke & mirrors way to further bail out the banks,… to be fair, I would like to see more detail on this before I comment further.
$32 billion for a “smart” utility grid and renewable energy production, although in the long run this could change the way you use appliances at home and clean the air. — You can not have smart and Gov’t in the same sentence. If you could we wouldn’t be where we are now. I will concede however, that something needs to be done in this particular area.
$10 billion for science research facilities. — This is not the best place for that money to come from… the ROI would be too long to suit the intended purpose of this money.
Remember this….a bill like this would not be needed if there was no war in Iraq, regulation on wall street, and somebody actually caring about ALL of the American people. Not just the rich ones. —–
This is more than just a little inaccurate. Yes, I concede, that WAY too much money is being spent in Iraq & Afganistan. However, the true economy killer it is not. America no longer is a ‘producer’. The amount of manufactured goods is disproportionate to our GDP. It is THAT which is killing us. The housing bubble was the final straw.
We buy Chinese products,.. The Chinese people actually save >50% of their personal income, putting it in banks. The banks then in turn invested that money in our mortgage backed securities. We in turn used our houses as ATM’s for the last 10 years, so we could,….. buy more Chinese products. It makes me think of that ‘anit-cocaine’ commercial of the `90’s…. [para]` I work hard so I can do a little coke, so that I can work harder so I can do a little more coke` and round & round he went.
This bailout amounts to little more than using your credit card to pay your mortgage because you dont have the money. It is one thing if that ‘bridge’ leads to somewhere. But in the bigger picture is that you simply cannot spend your way out of debt. Period
Actually, you have the right idea, which is doing something to make sure people aren’t hurt more in the future, Ned, but in some ways you’re looking the wrong direction.
First, the wars need to end. Empire needs to be shut down and troops all over the world should come home.
Corporations have screwed us in many ways, true. But remember, there’s never someone with a gun forcing you to do business with any corporation. So, for those that you feel animosity towards, do whatever you can to stop giving them your money.
On the other hand, government is doing everything wrong.
The cause of this problem is too much borrowing, too much debt, too much consumption – and more importantly, too many dollars are being printed out of thin air by the government.
So what’s the solution they give us with this bailout?
Borrow more money, take on more debt, spend more money, and print more money.
Doing the same thing over and over is insanity.
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