As a blogger of no note, I must say that President Bush’s economic stimulus plan ranks with the two dollar bill as one of the finest inventions of modern times.
Up to $800 for an individual and $1600 a couple doesn’t even buy a large screen TV. That’s not the point. He’s serious. That’s the point. He actually thinks this is going to help the economy.
Did he mention lowering interest rates? Did he mention one thing that might help the economy?
Are the tax rebates going to help people pay their mortgages? Keep their homes from being foreclosed? Maybe I’m missing something here but the only stimulus for the economy I see is a giant interest rate decrease, and some way banks and other financial institutions can be put into check.
That’s just a short term stimulus. I can’t believe this is the United States of America. It once was a great country. I have to say this once last time. It’s not too late to impeach the entire Bush administration. I would prefer to roll back the clock seven years some months but that’s not really possible. Then again…
How would you use your rebate? Me I have a contractor to pay for an apartment I might not be able to sell
This is not surprising in a country which thinks so small, never seeing the big picture.
Tax cuts, more debt, pearls for swine and the investor class cleans up again – this is a recording (maybe I’ll use my rebate to help produce another “Impeach Bush” video).
Good luck on the NLD stuff, by the way; I skimmed over the prior post and it sounds nasty. You deserve credit.
I’m probably close to that group that instead of spending will save the rebate… maybe doing like the rich and making some foreign investment… Or maybe I’ll use it for a trip
Actually, you have to do a little math instead of looking just at your own rebate (return of taxes). The 2001 rebates increased aggregate consumption by 0.8% in the quick turn around, and added 100-200,000 jobs, and it is the jobs which in turn fuel the recovery, not purchases of a new TV or couch.
The biggest complaint about rebates is that that don’t go to the poor–primarily because the poor in the USA don’t pay any federal taxes. Also if rebates are based on wages earned rather than income, that means retirees don’t get them either, and that’s a huge number of households (like mine).
But reducing taxes (and rebates are a form of that) always produces more return to the government than punitive taxation.
Bush really can’t do much of anything that will have a short term impact. He’s powerless with interest rates btw.
I agree the rebates aren’t much and won’t do much even with $145 billion worth of them spread around.
Mostly, he’s just hoping to buy down the decrease in economic growth hoping to forestall the appearance of a recession during his own Presidency so that he can say in the future, ‘there was never a recession while I was in office.’
$800 will buy a lot of “IMPEACH THE BASTARDS! — TAKE BACK DEMOCRACY!” stickers with non-removable glue. Be creative; put them “Everywhere you want to be.”