Are You Kidding Me?


I really don't think that the tax rebate which is in the works will help to stimulate the economy. It's an extremely short-term fix and the amount is minuscule. We're not sliding towards a recession. I believe that we've been in one for some time now. There is constant news of businesses closing and bankruptcy filings and there seem to be incessant rumors of new layoffs.

Jobs are really hard to come by even if you have an education. From what I'm seeing, employers aren't giving raises; they are slashing benefits. Oh, my blood is boiling!!! The cost of gas, oil, food, and everything else seems to be rising constantly. How are people supposed to make a living? I'm paying almost $75.00 per week for heat!

Okay, I'll stop my rant now. Do you think the rebate will help our economy? If you live live in the United States and think you'll be getting a rebate, what will you do with yours? I created a poll to get you all to vote. I tried to put the poll in this post, but it didn't work, so it's on my right sidebar. Let me know what you think in the comments too!

Needless to say, I will not be spending any possible tax rebate on anything much. There are tons of things I'd love to buy. More than anything, I'd love to take a trip, but that will have to wait until I can pay some bills down and add to my savings. I could be taking some trips this summer. We'll see.

By the way, I was lucky enough to win my office football pool. That was pretty fun and unexpected considering I know nothing about football. I baked some World Peace Cookies for my co-workers to celebrate the win. But I put most of the money in my savings.

*Updated 1/28/08* I've closed the blog poll. Not many of us voted, but those who did, I thank you very much! 80% will use it towards paying bills. 20% will save it.

Nobody plans to spend with wild abandon. That's about what I thought. So much for this rebate revitalizing the economy.

*Updated 7/30/2010* I knew we were in a recession back then. And according to this article, the recession was deeper than the government previously thought. Unfortunately, I don't think we can talk about the recession in the past tense. We're still in it. *sigh*

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Comments

FH said…
I wondered about that too. How $600 is going to help the economy in the long term, other than it might give us few minutes of shopping pleasure!!

Congratulations on winning the pool, good for you!:)

Have a great weekend, see you Monday. I posted Risotto and Calzones today if you want to try in the weekend.Enjoy!:)
Anonymous said…
It's such complete and utter hooey. Bunk. And harsher words.

Better they bring the troops home, cease their wasteful war spending, and put some money back into the economy that way.
Cynthia said…
All I have to say is when the US sneezes, we catch a cold down here.
Dezel Quillen said…
Hello Anali,

I would have to agree with the above three. What I would like to know is how did you pull off the office football pool. The fellows must have been scratching their heads (lol). Great Job!

Dezel
Suldog said…
I may be the contrary one here, but I often am :-)

I think any money taken from the government and put back into people's pockets is a good thing. Almost all of us know how to spend our own money better than the government does.
Lisa Johnson said…
asha - So true! But the thing is that while politicians assume the rebate is going to be used for shopping, it may just be used to pay bills, which will not stimulate the economy the way they are intending. President Bush and Congress are assuming that this money will be considered "disposable income" when it really is not. A lot of people are really hurting. Now if the tax rebate were more like $5,000.00, well I'm sure a lot of that would become "fun money." Sorry I continued my rant! : )

bipolarlawyercook - I hear ya!

cynthia - Then unfortunately I think you're going to need a lot of tissues down there.
Lisa Johnson said…
dezel - I just went with my gut and thought we would end up playing New York. It was kind of a complicated chart thing we had to fill out and someone helped me! Right before my win, my mom read my horoscope in the paper and saw that it had five stars next to it. She said that you never see five stars. I kidded with her and said maybe that means I'm going to win the pool! ; )

suldog - But they are taking the money from us! My understanding is that the compromise for the rebate was that Congress is now NOT going to extend unemployment benefits beyond the 26 weeks and they are not going to increase food stamps either. So people who needed that money yesterday for rent, heat, and food are not going to get it. How many more people are going to end up going homeless because of this? The thought of this makes me so angry!! Peoples lives are being toyed with!
Mes Deux Cents said…
Hi Anali,

I have been on a saving kick for about the last 6 months.

I cut out a lot of unnecessary things, like cable, going out to lunch at work, etc. So as soon as this rebate comes my way it's going in the bank!

And I paid $53 dollars for heat last month and I have been complaining since. But I'm not complaining anymore.

Gee whiz $75 a week! That is so expensive, do you use heating oil?

I heard (Hugo) Chavez was selling heating oil at a discount. I'm sure he was doing it to make Bush look bad but who cares, cheap heat is cheap heat.
Nance said…
The rebate that we got once before didn't stimulate the economy, either. People saved it or paid down bills. And it was a failure. Did they learn from this? Apparently not. And, this rebate isn't coming until MAY! How will that help most people who are trying to pay heating and energy costs NOW, in the midst of the winter? Or pay their tax bills, which are due April 15? And the rebate isn't "free money." Remember it's a rebate, like last time.
Lisa Johnson said…
mes deux cents - It's good that you're saving so much. This economy is really scary! $53.00 isn't bad at all, but mine won't get that low again until around April or May depending on the weather. I have natural gas, which is supposed to be cheaper than oil, but I don't know. Also I do get cold very easily. I read an article where this guy was saying that he kept the temperature in his house at 64 degrees. I would freeze! I turn it down to around 64 at night or when I'm not at home. I keep it around 74 when I'm home and awake.

nance - I do remember that rebate from before. The whole thing just doesn't make sense. I guess they never learn.
Anonymous said…
Right now the so called stimulus package appears a disguised Republiklan party screw the poor tax cut effort just like they did in 2001.





Please take a look at our web site http://liberal.democratz.org

I hope you find it interesting and will make some phone calls.
Lisa Johnson said…
www.democratz.org - Thanks for stopping by and for the information.
plez... said…
anali,

the "economic stimulus package" is too little and way too late... like you said, i believe we've been in a recession for a couple of months already!

and to top it off, the people who pay the most taxes (like my family) don't get a rebate, yet people who didn't pay any taxes, get one... go figure!
Lisa Johnson said…
plez - It makes no sense whatsoever. It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.
amisha said…
the tax rebate is a total joke (like so many of this government's policies, imho). like an earlier comment said-- the answer is to stop this war, and the insane amounts of money we're pouring into it. a couple hundred bucks is not going to change most people's lives, unfortunately.
Lisa Johnson said…
amisha - So true that the war is bleeding the US dry. Billions of dollars and we keep spending more.

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