Tag Archive for 'economic stimulus package'

That tax rebate may be less of a stimulus than expected

Published on March 30, 2008 in Money. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

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A friend shared the latest on the life of her accountant friend. Typically, accountants are super busy starting in March, as people finally drag themselves in to do their taxes. This year, he got busy in the middle of January. As soon as his clients had all their paperwork collected, they were filing their tax returns, because they needed the money.

While that story serves only as anecdotal evidence that people aren’t going to splurge on luxury items come the arrival of rebate checks, polls aren’t looking so upbeat either.

Only 18 percent of respondents said they will spend their rebate on purchases, while slightly more than three in 10 said they prefer to use the money to pay off debt, and a third said they’ll pocket it.

Personally, I’m torn between the savings camp and the bill-paying camp. While I’d rather not be accruing credit card interest, I also wouldn’t mind a bigger pillow for unexpected expenses. What do you plan to do with yours?

As an FYI: Rebates will be processed based on the last 2 digits of your social security number, as well as whether you filed a paper or electronic return. Online returns will be processed during the first half of May; paper returns will follow through mid-July. The IRS has posted their intended rebate cutting schedule, so you’ll know when to expect your mad money.

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The Economic "Stimulus" Package

Published on January 25, 2008 in Business, Environment and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Our political elite announced their carefully considered economic stimulus package. I can look forward to a $600 check from the US government sometime this summer because the IRS is a tad busy processing tax returns til June.

I have a few problems with the notion of this stimulus package.

A) We already have a federal deficit of over $9 trillion; clearly pissing money away hasn’t been much use for us over the last 7 years (as we’re about to slam the economic brakes) so spending more money we don’t have might not be the best solution. Borrowing more money from Asia, one of our biggest economic threats, also not so good an idea. FYI : Asia basically owns the US at this point. They could cripple our government and economy by calling in all of the money they’re owed at once.

Maybe I’m just bitter about crappy budgeting, what with pouring money into military operations abroad, while health care, education, and economic issues at home are neglected. It seems to me that it’s a tad hypocritical to expect financial responsibility from our citizens when our elected officials can’t pull the same off with our federal government.

B. How does this stimulus create new jobs? It seems to be it just accepts the status quo and wants to keep people shopping on weekends, while corporations can continue to cut corners at the expense of their employees.

Perhaps investing in green business might generate some new gigs. Perhaps we should look to committing to a 20-year deadline for abandoning fossil fuels. Let’s kick that $150 billion towards research and application of advancements in clean energy — that might create jobs. Ironic that the same companies that have been happily degrading our environment to boost profits, will now get to do the innovating that will make billions trying to save our planet.

C. Per Cardtrak.com, American consumers carry a median $6,600 in credit card debt. I can only speak for my inner social circle, but $600 is a nice payment on a line of credit that has already been extended to me. there’s really no need to buy more stuff. I need to pay for the stuff that I have; fortunately, I only have about $3000 in credit debt to clear, but my student loan is another story. I don’t think payng off my credit card will be the kind of economic action Bush and his lackies are hoping for.

What will you do with your rebate?

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