I'm hardly an expert on economics. Accounting/business was pretty much the only department I completely avoided in my college days. Okay, that and industrial technology. Heh.
So...maybe I'm just dumb. But how is an "economic stimulus payment" for the lower and middle classes, one of which we all received a few months ago and another of which is currently being discussed, any different, really, than a tax cut for the lower and middle class, such as the one being proposed by Barack Obama? In one scenario we get the money back after it's been paid into the system; in the other, we just don't pay it into the system in the first place. Right?
So why is one characterized as good for the economy, while the other is being labeled as "class warfare," "socialism" and "welfare"? The goal is the same, isn't it? Getting badly-needed funds into the hands of the people who will put it most directly back into the economy (trickling up, instead of down, which it seems to me is good for everyone)?
It all seems like political spin and semantics to me. It's making my brain hurt. The ignorance and intolerance I'm seeing expressed by "real" people out there are making my heart hurt. And I am so, so tired. November 4th can't come soon enough for me, come what may.
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You're right; it's not much different. The other one got very reluctant support from conservatives, so I don't think they perceived it as being much different, either.
As a conservative, it was very frustrating to hear discussion of giving the stimulus checks to people who pay no taxes at all. As you said, it was a rebate. You can't get a rebate on something you never spent in the first place. I understand that people who pay no taxes are generally low/no income, and certainly could use the extra money, but if that's how it's going to be, it seems they should just call it a handout rather than a rebate.
I don't understand the difference either. And I agree....Election Day cannot arrive quickly enough.
I am with you, Liz.
That sounds logical to me... I don't know why we can't more often rely on the obvious explanation to things. :-)
yep, i'm so done with this whole circus.
Bring on the vote. If you don't know who you're voting for by now, you are never going to make a decision! Let's get the show on the road.
I'm with everybody, let's get it over with--come what may!
3carnations, you make a good point; although, if a person didn't make a certain amount of money, they did NOT get a rebate. As an actor, I have many friends who fit this bill; all had working significant others who brought in the dough while the artists struggled. So, those who didn't pay taxes received nothing in rebates, hence no "handout." Their significants received a rebate.
In my humble opinion, both party machines put so much spin out there (mostly negative at this point), along with all the pundits of each party line giving their views, it's exhausting. That's why I enjoy The Daily Show for my faux information--as Jon Stewart has said numerous times, it's not news, it's comedy--and if you're getting your news from his show, you are kookoo.
We all really know who we're voting for already. The important thing is to vote.
And, I'm done. Thank you for reading. No more talk of politics of any kind from BFF.
Tony - I know they didn't actually pass out rebates to those making under a certain amount - But there were discussions of wanting to do so, and that's what I was talking about. :)
Speak it, sister! Our first stimulus check was cashed by someone else. Although I appreciate the government giving me more dough, I'm a little concerned that we have no money but they found some stashed funs to give out again. Weird.
Both are bad. Neither are the solution. The solution is getting the American public to believe in saving and not overspending.
Even Jesus said, "You will always have the poor." It's inevitable, poverty that is.
Most solutions are always about either spending (economic stimulus) or taxation (taking from those who have and distributing to those who don't).
The solution, however, is the promotion of personal responsibility, not charity or punishment.
Americans miss so much.
Knot
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