Aug 16th, 2008
The time is coming - we WILL have to pay the piper at some point
One of the candidates for president has a plan for more economic stimulus. Mr Obama has a plan that is outlined as follows:
1. Forcing big oil companies to take a reasonable share of their record breaking windfall profits and use it to help struggling families with direct relief worth $500 for an individual and $1,000 for a married couple. The relief would be delivered as quickly as possible to help families cope with the rising price of gasoline, food and other necessities. The rebates would be fully paid for with five years of a windfall profits tax on record oil company profits. This relief would be a down payment on Obama’s long-term plan to provide middle-class families with at least $1000 per year in permanent tax relief.
2. $50 billion in immediate measures to turn our economy around and help prevent more than 1 million Americans from losing their jobs:
- $25 billion in a State Growth Fund to prevent state and local cuts in health, education and housing assistance or counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees. The fund will also ensure sufficient funding for home heating and weatherization assistance as we move into the fall and winter months.
- $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund to replenish the highway trust fund; prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and fund new, fast-tracked projects to repair schools – all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger of being cut.
For those of you who are unaware (which I would doubt is many of my readers) this is terrible economic policy. I guess neither party realizes what out of control spending will mean for our country long term.
How is this going to be paid back?
Supposedly with taxes. There is just one problem with this. Tax revenue is NOT proportional to tax rates. Tax revenue is and has been for the last 100 years DIRECTLY proportional to GDP.
I encourage open mic on this because this is a non-partisan blog, but part of being non partisan is recognizing what is best for the country and more handouts is not good for anyone.
- 3 Comments
- Politics
Folks, you need to be prepared for the bigger picture. If we have a Democrat President (maybe) and filibuster-proof Democrat majority in Congress (probable), we will experience four years of massive wealth re-distribution. These stimulus payments that Obama is talking about? I won’t receive one and if you are upper middle class or above, you won’t either. That’s just the beginning so start adjusting your financial plan now.
Being stuck in lower-middle class at best, I would be receiving said check, but I don’t know if it’s really a wise use of money (not that I’m in any position to turn it down, mind you). The $50 Billion in state and jobs growth is another story. In New England, the roads are wrecked, the schools are outdated and crumbling, and there are a lot of people willing to work for MA state minimum wage(8.00/hour). Plus, the homeowners I know with oil heat (prevalant around here) will gladly welcome any help this winter; it could make the difference between freezing at night, or losing the house to foreclosure.
Oil companies pay billions of tax dollars that the congress proceeds to waste. Congressional leaders are pandering for votes to the ignorant public that doesn’t realize this fact.