[twigg107]

Originally Posted by JD06STi

In 2001, the govt. did the same thing. I think I got $300 in 2001.(this was pre 9/11). If you make over $110,000, no check for you.

I never got that..... probably because I was in the Army.

[Late]

Originally Posted by JD06STi

In 2001, the govt. did the same thing. I think I got $300 in 2001.(this was pre 9/11). If you make over $110,000, no check for you.

And that $300 was basically just an advance on your tax return. I checked to see how much I'd be getting back on my return in 2001 and then they sent us the $300. After that I got my tax return back and it was exactly $300 less than the amount I was originally told. I don't know if that's what they're thinking with this $800, but I agree with most everyone else that it's not going to make much of a difference.

[CharcoalSTI]

sounds like a crutch to me

[Crewchief]

Originally Posted by Late

And that $300 was basically just an advance on your tax return. I checked to see how much I'd be getting back on my return in 2001 and then they sent us the $300. After that I got my tax return back and it was exactly $300 less than the amount I was originally told. I don't know if that's what they're thinking with this $800, but I agree with most everyone else that it's not going to make much of a difference.

Just goes to prove that this "free money", is not free.

[RevTo9K]

I think this is actually different. The $300 in 2001 was indeed an advance on what the upcoming tax cuts were going to give you back... As I understand it, this is not an advance - it's an outright rebate. Bush wants to put 1% of GDP back in the hands of consumers to spend, save or invest. Shouldn't affect your upcoming tax refund.

[gormansscooby]

Does anyone know who gets it? Everyone with a job? Or is it up to a certain income or what?

[VROOM293]

Originally Posted by howboutthemapplz

if this is true, mine will be spent on the EXACT same mods.. maybe a turbo inlet hose as well.

^^^




seriously wasnt this kickback for those w/ little ones?

[RevTo9K]

Originally Posted by gormansscooby

Does anyone know who gets it? Everyone with a job? Or is it up to a certain income or what?

That hasn't been decided yet. If W. stays true to form he won't want to cap it, but it's gotta pass Congress so there might be an upper limit when all is said and done.

Originally Posted by VROOM293

^^^




seriously wasnt this kickback for those w/ little ones?

He said $800 for singles, $1600 for married couples. Nothing about dependents at this point that I've heard.

[twigg107]

Originally Posted by gormansscooby

Does anyone know who gets it? Everyone with a job? Or is it up to a certain income or what?

From what Ive read is its going to be $800 for a single person who made less then $80k and $1600 for couples who made less then $110k.

Thats also all hear say so its not offical.

[AMTEXX]

Thank God for a Republican in the whitehouse

[Pitcherman]

<----is really hoping for $800 and not $300

[jungo75]

I didn't go thru the whole discussion but, has anybody set an install date? For Mid-A that is.

[RevTo9K]

From the Houston Chronicle:

Bush was careful to leave options open as he outlined his general principles for a stimulus package. To be big enough to have an effect, he said it should be about 1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, or $140 billion to $150 billion, and it should be built on tax incentives rather than infrastructure spending that would fail to pump money into the economy fast enough. He said relief should be temporary and take effect right away, and it should not be paid for by increasing other taxes. But in a bow to Democrats, he agreed to leave for another day the fight over extending tax cuts he pushed through in 2001 and 2003.

Under the plan the two sides are discussing privately, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the 10 percent income tax bracket would be reduced to zero for one year, meaning single workers would not pay any tax on the first $8,025 of taxable income nor would a married couple pay anything on the first $16,050. That would save them $800 or $1,600 respectively. The money would be sent to taxpayers right away as rebate checks.

So, if this is true, they are trying to (a) cut taxes for next year, and (b) send you the money right away.

[Tortfeasor STi]

As far as the tax break goes, its a proposal by the bush administration to stimulate the economy in the short term while the sub prime market woes continue. Since it was only recently suggested it has not been hashed out in congress. So there is no guarantee we will see any money.

As far as the advisability of these actions its hard to say. On the one hand we are running a deficit, but on the other its a smaller deficit then we have run in other times of recession. Remember that how we pulled ourselves out of the Great Depression is by huge deficit spending throughout World War 2 and large New Deal legislation (also funded by issuing debt). Deficit spending is a normal tool of government monetary policy to help stimulate the economy, just as tax breaks and federal reserve rate changes are. That none of the self proclaimed economics and business students pointed this out worries me about the quality of your educations, but I digress. The point is that issuing money to the populace to be used however they see fit is a normal means of economic stimulus and very standard in times of recession. I think its a good idea and might just be the kick in the ass the economy needs.

As far as foreign corporations investing in US T-Bills I am surprised this has anyone worried. We issue debt onto the global market and people buy it. However, the purchase of this debt gives them absolutely no leverage over our government. This is not stock we are issuing, there is no voting block in congress labeled foreign T-Bill owners. The worst the countries can do is sell our T-Bills all at once and make our debt less desirable. So what? Lets not get worked up over a mole hill people, there are much better things to worry about, like our economy's total dependence on petroleum products that are largely sourced from foreign countries, our military being tied up half way around the globe in a seemingly never ending war against insurgents and our failing educational system that is turning out uncompetitive students on the global market of labor.

[IlliniSTi]

Originally Posted by Tortfeasor STi

That none of the self proclaimed economics and business students pointed this out worries me about the quality of your educations, but I digress.

You beat me to this point.

The point is that issuing money to the populace to be used however they see fit is a normal means of economic stimulus and very standard in times of recession. I think its a good idea and might just be the kick in the ass the economy needs.

Maybe, maybe not. Personally I think we should take the hit from the sub prime / real estate collapse and get the pain over with now. If we continue on this course we will probably have a much larger recession in the future.

Right now the economy needs to take a hit. Inflation has been out of control and the fed has been too concerned with the political implications of a recession to do anything about it. The two highest expenses for a household are housing and energy. What two markets have been seen the largest increases in the past few years? Real Estate and Oil. How can inflation not be a massive concern?

And the fed has totally dropped the ball on this, they have been lowering rates to spur job growth as inflation has run rampant. Since most oil contracts are based on the dollar, when the fed lowers rates, it is effectively raising the price of oil due to the devaluation of our currency. Need evidence? Have you tried to buy anything in UK or Europe recently? The exchange rate is killer.

As far as foreign corporations investing in US T-Bills I am surprised this has anyone worried. We issue debt onto the global market and people buy it. However, the purchase of this debt gives them absolutely no leverage over our government. This is not stock we are issuing, there is no voting block in congress labeled foreign T-Bill owners. The worst the countries can do is sell our T-Bills all at once and make our debt less desirable. So what? Lets not get worked up over a mole hill people, there are much better things to worry about, like our economy's total dependence on petroleum products that are largely sourced from foreign countries, our military being tied up half way around the globe in a seemingly never ending war against insurgents and our failing educational system that is turning out uncompetitive students on the global market of labor.

Other countries dumping our debt would have significant impacts to our economy. It would further devalue our currency, adding to our current inflationary problems. In international trade, when we buy another country's goods, we buy it with dollars. That's so that they have to come back to us to use the dollars to buy our goods. In balanced trade, that works fine. But as we are all aware, the US runs a trade deficit. So since there aren't any goods to buy here, they have to either buy or debt or our assets. The only problem then comes in when protectionist policies come into play, like the Dubai Ports deal a year or two ago, which then makes our currency even more worthless. Eventually the problem gets so bad that we can't afford to buy anything, and we have a little (or big) recession. Right now the current president and Fed are stoking us for a big recession, as opposed to moderating inflation and going through a small recession.