WOW an extra $13.00 a week !!!

[HALEY]

Wow, what is everyone going to do with the extra $13.00 were getting a week in our paychecks?? He really backed up his word on giving us tax breaks...

I think i'll wait for two weeks and get enough money for a 30 pack of beer... and just get drunk one night.... :p sounds like a good plan to me!!!

[Janet]

I obviously must not be paying as much attention. We're getting money? Why? I kind of like your 'drunk' idea. I sure need to escape somehow.

[HALEY]

yep Janet a big whole extra 13.00 per pay, from your wonderful President Obama, that promised us " tax breaks", this is it girl, this is our tax break....
Yep you think i could get drunk on $13.00... hummm have to think about this... have to buy a bottle of cheap whiskey maybe, that's not enough for a 30 pak!! ha ha.....

[HALEY]

I obviously must not be paying as much attention. We're getting money? Why? I kind of like your 'drunk' idea. I sure need to escape somehow.


Here it is Janet, its in the stimulas package:
Put an extra $13 a week in many workers' paychecks under a "Making Work Pay" tax credit due to start in June and to total $400 a year for individuals, or $800 for couples. The credit phases out for those who earn $75,000 or more.

[Janet]

Thanks Haley....wow...now I need to decide what cruise I want to take....LOLOLOL

[HALEY]

Thanks Haley....wow...now I need to decide what cruise I want to take....LOLOLOL

shoot Janet, i'm going on welfare, you should see what they got.... i'll be 300lbs by next year, but i'll be eating better than i do now, i can't even afford lunches now..

[HALEY]

im still buying my 30 pak of beer - i need a good drunk...:p:p

[DianaB]

I don't think that Obama can do enough as far as putting money into our economy to help us. We had the extra money last year and did any of you notice that it helped our economy? It's like putting a band-aid on a volcano!!

[HALEY]

instead of this "spending package" on the most dumbest stuff i ever heard of, he should have giving every "working person" a check for 100,000 and that would have stimulated the economy.. people would have paid there houses off, got a vechicle, and paid off some cc. but no one would listen to me :(

[gja1000]

Some of us appreciate the new president and what he and congress might be doing to help the economy. What may seem miniscule to some, may actually help in the long run. Who knows. I sure don't. What I do know is that policies of the past (both recent and distant past) got us into this mess and I am willing to let the new administration work on solving it. I also know it won't be solved in the short run.

I know we all do not agree on politics and I respect that disagreement, I hope you'll do the same.

[Tiramisu]

Some of us appreciate the new president and what he and congress might be doing to help the economy. What may seem miniscule to some, may actually help in the long run. Who knows. I sure don't. What I do know is that policies of the past (both recent and distant past) got us into this mess and I am willing to let the new administration work on solving it. I also know it won't be solved in the short run.

I know we all do not agree on politics and I respect that disagreement, I hope you'll do the same.


Ditto

[HALEY]

I don't think that Obama can do enough as far as putting money into our economy to help us. We had the extra money last year and did any of you notice that it helped our economy? It's like putting a band-aid on a volcano!!

Your right Diana, its not going to help, he needs to cut taxes,,,, that will work...

[gja1000]

Your right Diana, its not going to help, he needs to cut taxes,,,, that will work...

Tax cuts haven't worked in the past........... just sayin'. That's trickle down from the past and it was not successful.

[HALEY]

Tax cuts haven't worked in the past........... just sayin'

spending packages didn't work in the past either, just ask China... they tried to, they cut taxes and wow it worked...

[gja1000]

Haley, you and I are not going to agree about this, there are valid arguments on both sides of the issue. If tax cuts won't work and stimulus spending won't work, well then we are both in for a long long painful decline.


Here is a good article that presents a layman's view of both.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/184599

[HALEY]

National debt
One thing about the president's $790 billion stimulus package is certain: It will jack up the federal debt.

Whether or not it succeeds in producing jobs and taming the recession, tomorrow's taxpayers will end up footing the bill.

Forecasters expect the 2009 deficit -- for the budget year that began Oct. 1, 2008 -- to hit $1.6 trillion, including new stimulus and bank-bailout spending. That's about three times last year's shortfall.

The torrents of red ink are being fed by rising federal spending and falling tax revenues from hard-hit businesses and individuals.

The national debt -- the sum of money owed by all levels of government -- stands at $10.7 trillion, or about $36,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S.

Interest payments alone on the national debt will near $500 billion this year. It's already the fourth-largest federal expenditure, after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense.

This will affect us all directly for years, as well as our children and possibly grandchildren, in higher taxes and probably reduced government services. It will also force continued government borrowing, increasingly from China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia and other creditors.

[gja1000]

Like I said, we are going to have to agree to disagree..........

[HALEY]

Like I said, we are going to have to agree to disagree..........

would have been cheaper to lower the taxes, and weed out the felling business.

[Shada]

$13.00 dollars a week.. what can it do?

Well for starters it is an extra $1352.00 for couples, and $676.00 a year for the single American person. In their pocket.

$13.00 dollars can be a lot of money for that person who has no money in their pocket, and two days until payday.

I appreciate my extra $13.00 dollars a week. And say 'thank you'.

[gja1000]

would have been cheaper to lower the taxes, and weed out the felling business.


That is YOUR opinion and I respect that, it's just not mine, but that is OK.

My basic philosophy of government is very different from yours. I believe the government should exist to help people. And I appreciate all that the government does for me. And I don't mind one bit paying taxes so that my government can help its people. Nothing will change my basic philosophy of the way I see government and how it should work. I truly understand though, that many people are upset about paying taxes and how that tax money is spent. Sometimes I don't agree with how my tax money is spent, but you can't please everyone all the time, just not possible.

I am very proud of my government and some of its accomplishments: Social Security, Workers Compensation, the 40 hour week, child labor laws, Medicare, collective bargaining, civil rights, religious freedom, food regulations, environmental protection, tolerant imigration policies policies, just to name a few.

Of course, nothing is perfect and I do not like the war and I wish we had health care for all. I know though, that things are not perfect and never will be.

That is what is great about this country - you can be/think/do just about anything you want. Agree/disagree it's all great! :)

[HALEY]

$13.00 dollars a week.. what can it do?

Well for starters it is an extra $1352.00 for couples, and $676.00 a year for the single American person. In their pocket.

$13.00 dollars can be a lot of money for that person who has no money in their pocket, and two days until payday.

I appreciate my extra $13.00 dollars a week. And say 'thank you'.

we'll its not enough for me, coming from a man that promised us big tax breaks!!!

[HALEY]

That is YOUR opinion and I respect that, it's just not mine, but that is OK.

My basic philosophy of government is very different from yours. I believe the government should exist to help people. And I appreciate all that the government does for me. And I don't mind one bit paying taxes so that my government can help its people. Nothing will change my basic philosophy of the way I see government and how it should work. I truly understand though, that many people are upset about paying taxes and how that tax money is spent. Sometimes I don't agree with how my tax money is spent, but you can't please everyone all the time, just not possible.

I am very proud of my government and some of its accomplishments: Social Security, Workers Compensation, the 40 hour week, child labor laws, Medicare, collective bargaining, civil rights, religious freedom, food regulations, environmental protection, tolerant imigration policies policies, just to name a few.

Of course, nothing is perfect and I do not like the war and I wish we had health care for all. I know though, that things are not perfect and never will be.

That is what is great about this country - you can be/think/do just about anything you want. Agree/disagree it's all great! :)

When the government gets involved its nothing but trouble, agree or not, mark my words, this "spending package" is not going to work, you have GM there with there hands out again for more money!!! what are we suppose to carry them forever???

[gja1000]

When the government gets involved its nothing but trouble, agree or not, mark my words, this "spending package" is not going to work, you have GM there with there hands out again for more money!!! what are we suppose to carry them forever???


I can't mark your words, because I do not agree with you, and that is not my experience. Are you saying we shouldn't have Medicare, social security, civil rights? That was/is government involvement. I'm sorry, I just can't agree with you, but that is OK, I don't have to.

My life is devoted to helping others, that is my philosophy of life, that is my way of life, service to others; and thus, I guess it is why I see government's role as that of helping others. It is my basic foundational belief system.

[HALEY]

honey, about time i get to that age, there's not going to be any social security, or medicare for me, so i'm not worring about it, like i said there will always be welfare.

[HALEY]

President Reagan’s economic recovery plan included four specific components on which he explicitly campaigned over and over and then implemented once elected.


(FOX News/AP)

These were:

1. Reductions in tax rates to restore incentives for economic growth. This consisted of, first, a reduction in the top income tax rate of 70% down to 50%, and then a 25% across the board reduction in income tax rates for everyone. The 1986 tax reform then reduced tax rates further, leaving just two rates, 28% and 15%. Reagan also cut corporate income tax rates and capital gains tax rates

2. Spending Reductions. The reductions included a $31 billion cut in spending in 1981, close to 5% of the federal budget then, or the equivalent of about $150 billion in spending cuts for the year in 2008. In constant dollars, non-defense discretionary spending declined by 14.4% from 1981 to 1982, and by 16.8% from 1981 to 1983. Moreover, in constant dollars, this non-defense discretionary spending never returned to its 1981 level for the rest of Reagan’s two terms! By 1988, this spending was still down 14.4% from its 1981 level in constant dollars. Even with the Reagan defense buildup, total federal spending declined from a high of 23.5% of GDP in 1983 to 21.3% in 1988 and 21.2% in 1989. That’s a real reduction in the size of government relative to the economy of 10%

3. Anti-inflation monetary policy to restrain money supply growth.

4. Deregulation. Reagan’s deregulation plan has now saved consumers an estimated $100 billion per year in lower prices. Reagan’s first executive order, in fact, eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas. Production soared, and the price of oil declined by over 50%.

The results were spectacular. These four components produced a 25-year economic boom from 1982 to 2007. In their new book, “The End of Prosperity,” Art Laffer and Steve Moore call the these years “the greatest period of wealth creation in the history of the planet.” They note that — adjusted for inflation– more wealth and income was created during this Reagan boom than in any other prior period in U.S. history. That’s right, than any other entire period dating from President George Washington all the way up to Ronald Reagan.

But Barack Obama is doing exactly the opposite on each of these four points:

–He is still promising tax rate increases, at least by letting the Bush tax cuts expire.

–He just passed the greatest increase in government spending in the history of the planet.

–He is promising massive increases in regulatory burdens, including global warming cap and trade regulation that would cost the economy another trillion dollars a year.

–The Fed is already furiously reinflating the money supply, sowing seeds of further havoc in the future.

Even the Obama tax cuts do not follow the Reagan economic recovery plan because they are not reductions in tax rates, which is what drives the incentives that govern the economy.

A reduction in tax rates increases incentives by allowing people to keep a higher percentage of what they earn from productive activity. But Obama’s tax cuts are all based on tax credits, which do nothing to improve incentives. They are really just the same as his government spending in terms of their effect on the economy, just like sending more welfare checks out to everyone.

At AmericanSolutions.com, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has proposed an updated version of the Reagan economic recovery program for today. It includes, among other items, a reduction in the federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to the 12.5% rate that over the past 20 years has lifted the standard of living in Ireland from the bottom of the EU to the top. It would eliminate the capital gains tax to match rates in China, Singapore, and other international competitors — a move that would entice capital investment from the world over to America. It would provide middle class tax relief by reducing the 25% income tax bracket to 15%, establishing a flat rate tax of 15% for close to 90% of American workers. Gingrich also proposes that a cut in the payroll tax by 50% for 2 years. He also proposes that our government work to control government spending to balance the budget, something Gingrich himself achieved when he was Speaker of the House. Under his plan, the United States would also adopt a real, comprehensive energy program that would allow production of domestic U.S. oil and natural gas, as well as nuclear power, clean coal, ethanol, and renewable fuels.

Obama keeps saying he is only interested in what works, not ideology. So why doesn’t he include any of the above components that have a proven track record of effectiveness? Why is our president ignoring what works and insisting on embracing an ideology that will simply expand big governmen

[gja1000]

honey, about time i get to that age, there's not going to be any social security, or medicare for me, so i'm not worring about it, like i said there will always be welfare.

Honey, 40% of persons over the age of 65 live on Social Security alone, and the % is much higher if you restrict it to women over the age of 65, and even higher yet, if you restrict it to ethnic women over the age of 65.

Are you telling me that our government is going to let these people starve to death with they get old because there is no money for social security or medicare for health care. Do you REALLY think that? I don't. Medicare and Social Security might not look like it looks now, but I have faith that people who need help will get help in their elder years.

Again, my life is devoted to helping others, always has been, always will be. I see the good in people and I believe that we will come through this somehow, better and stronger. There are differing philosophies of how to get there. You and I don't agree, and we never will, so that is that. It doesn't mean that you are right, or I am right, it means we differ in our opinions of how to traverse this crisis. That's OK, as long as we respect each others' opinions and the actions of those who are trying to help - again - even if we don't agree, they deserve our respect.

[AngieDoogles]

My life is devoted to helping others, that is my philosophy of life, that is my way of life, service to others; and thus, I guess it is why I see government's role as that of helping others. It is my basic foundational belief system.

Gayle, I think you and I have very similar belief systems. ;) As for this thread, I love what you have said and (even more importantly) the attitude with which you've said it.

[AngieDoogles]

Also, I just wanted to add that it is completely unrealistic to expect an overnight change in our economy. The poor economic state we are in is several years in the making. It will probably be quite a while before we see identifiable improvement, but I for one am happy that we have an administration working very hard to find solutions. I certainly wouldn't want to be the one making those decisions!

[Gina]

I don't feel the 13.00 is going to do anything in my paycheck either and that is only half a year so it shall end in June..

I did not vote for Obama but I am giving him a chance to prove himself, he helps the country we all benefit from it.He did not create this mess. We can go on and on and we all have our own opinions why we are in this mess. So why point the fingers at anyone, greed came into play here.

Obama said he was going to make changes so lets see what he does, he has four years to prove himself and if he is good he will get re elected.

[gja1000]

Well said, Gina. I don't have a clue what will happen but I do know it is going to take some time to get out of this mess and I have to learn to be patient!

I know that we all don't agree about many things, politics being only one, and that is OK, that's as it should be. If we all agreed, then how boring would that be!!! :)

I'm sorry I kept this thread going so long, I should not have replied so many times. I'll stop now.

Peace, Love, & Harmony to Everyone!!! :)

[HALEY]

For one thing we are $787 Billion dollars in dept, and its growing !!!
By the time i retire, there not going to be money in social security for me, i'll be working till the day i die.. Already know that one.
Now you have Obama, bailing all these home owners out, blaming everything on the lenders, and the banks when the government set the gide lines on mortagages in the first place. "everyone should own a house' the american dream, there the ones that loaned these people money, that had no intentions on paying it back, now they owe more on there houses than there worth!!.
He's preaching that we now have to "live within our means"
As for his "welfare reform" he's taking that back years, they had a nice working system now, he's giving them more money, more food stamps so there more dependent on the government, how is that teaching these people not to live on the system???
And i'm not even going to get into the million dolllars he gave to Acorn, or the million dollars he gave for STD research... Now how in the hell is that going to help our economy??
and the 3.5 million green jobs he's going to create is also a job, these are low paying wal-mart jobs....
As for him ending the war, read the front page of any paper today....
this is not going to work... its not...

[Tiramisu]

Gayle, I'm with you and I'm opting out on this thread also, with this last note: My brother is handicapped and earns his living at one of those low paying Wal-Mart jobs. THINK ABOUT IT!