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I'm still bitter, can you tell?
Not a fan.
If I get $500 in a check, I would just save it because I might not have a job tomorrow.
Instead of these silly rounds of rebates, everyone should get a tax cut.
I pay my bills, have an underwater mortgage and a house I cant sell after having to move to help care for the parents. But yeah right I dont deserve crap.
THANKS GOVERNMENT!!!!
No offense to those with other ideas; in fact I admire their determination to pay-down debt or save for their future. I'm retired with sufficient income to meet my expenses and a foundation to protect our future. $1,000 would be a great weekend for my wife and I. For those intent on paying down debt - been there, done that - keep at it and you'll beat the sytem that always encourages excess and ignores the risks. I wish websites like these would have existed 20+ years ago, because I sure could have used the good advise back then.
If I had the gumption, I'd take the next round of stimulus, add a chunk to it, and short U.S. long-term Treasuries.
No, I'm not bitter or anything. :)
I am very thankful to get something back- because in filing for 07 i wasn't eligible for the full "stimulus" or for the EIC (and i STILL CANT because i'm not at least 25)... in a few years i Might get an EIC (although i hope i make more money by then), at least in the mean-while, I'll get something to make sure my drop in the bucket can double if nothing else.
IOW, I'd rather be alive to file taxes and receive a couple drops in the bucket.. than have starved to death because i thought, heating over food or some other crazy trade-off.
If we were forced to spend the money we would just see a miniature bubble. People will go out and spend the money because they have to and then keep on hoarding their own income as has been the case for the past months.
We need long-term consumer confidence, and that is only going to happen through the creation of new jobs, ensuring that people's pay at least keeps up with inflation, paying off large portions of government debt so that our tax dollars actually pay for services we need instead of paying interest, investing in domestic energy production to lower energy prices, and teaching people proper personal finance lessons.
Life is scary right now and we live from day to day, paycheck to paycheck and any luxury spending is totally out of the question. We have put our home up for sale and are crossing our fingers it will sell before we lose it, as we invested our life savings into this home and we have quite a bit of equity in it. We never wanted to sell it, but now with the economy the way it is, we have to.
Another stimulus check may not have been an answer for everyone, but for us, it was a little bit of hope in a bleak time.
No stimulus for us. No extra money to buy those products that the "employed" are supposed to be back at work making. Need a new washer? Need another car? Sorry.
Of course, Repubs think it will STILL "trickle down".....what a joke. Obviously they have no CLUE what it's like to live on a fixed income!)
I didn't create this crises - I can't afford a down payment much less a mortgage - and I only have $500 in [emergency] credit card debt!
On the bright side (?!?), maybe my governor will use some of the money the state gets to open more homeless shelters, since we're certainly gonna need em. And hopefully he'll build them someplace new, i.e., other than in drug infested gang territories, so I won't have to go to sleep fearing for my life every night this summer.
You cant even make stuff to sell now without getting penalized . CPSIA has put so many strict laws about items made for children under 12 and I used to make hair bows, I was able to bring in about 600 a month which isnt alot but it covered our groceries, which is what we are concerned about the most. My husbands job is stable now but I cant sell my bpws anymore becasue i dont have 2 grand to spend on testing every item I use to make my bows.
Even going out and getting a job is almost poinless for me because id have to make at least 1600 just to pay daycare, and with no college thats a little hard.
just curious.
When my fridg goes out, and I cannot afford to buy another one I MUST use credit, and that credit has to be paid for Those of us who are at poverty level NEED stimulus income, and I assure you, we won't be able to save it. We are forced to use it either for payments, or for needed living expenses.
I feel for the lower income people, and even some of the middle income people. But we poverty level people are desperate. Please consider us. That 600 last year provided us with needed things, including food, clothes, and necessary appliances. You give us money and I promise it will be spent. There is no doubt about it. It will go back into the economy, and very quickly. The only savings that will go on is saving our lives.
Leon Evans
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES BY LEARNING SOME SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE YOU STAND OUT. IF YOU CANT FIND BETTER WORK WHERE YOU LIVE, MOVE.
That’s how you can make some extra coin in this country. Not on your knees, hoping Uncle Sam will throw you a bone in the form of a $500 check.
If you think things are bad now, wait until these socialist idiots run our country into the ground.
They have no idea how bad they have screwed things up, or how to fix it. Stock up on food and ammo boys and girls.
Sorry, if companies borrowed their way into trouble, I'm just not convinced that my purchase of a plasma tv will save the country. and if someone earning $20k a year tried to buy a $500k house, I don't think buying a steak instead of a pound of hamburger will save their house.
I'm going to continue to live as simply as I always have, plant my garden, etc.
By the way, all of you complaining about how broke you are, did you disconnect your cable and satellite and fast internet?
Things are not going to get any better. Take out your bibles and read them. We are living in the end times. All of what we are seeing unfold before our eyes was prophesied in God's word. The most important thing that we can do is make sure that we are in right standing with the Lord Jesus who gave His life for each of us. He holds the future in his hands and He will take care of His own. We as individuals and as a nation need to humble ourselves and go before God in prayer seeking His forgiveness and His mercy. Believe me. We do not want what we deserve. He is our only source of help and hope. God bless us one and all.
AND LOL to "shelly's" comment above mine.. PUT DOWN your bible and get a job.
Wealthy & Comfortable in the land of opportunity,
Matthew
Why am I being punished for working two jobs to get an education, and then getting a job in my feild of study that doesn't pay enough to take care of my student loans!! This just doesn't make sense!! Colleges cost to much for to little. I am sorry to say that I regret going to college as, knowing what I know now, I could have easily learned what I was taought from any number of $50 books I could get from Barnes and Nobles or any other book store.
Don't ignore us!! Listen... and Help!!! and DO IT NOW!!! Please----------
Yeah right.
Well I HOPE you have managed to think ahead before you voted for the CHANGE we got and put some money aside, or maybe didn't start having kids before you knew how to support them, because this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
I depend on my own wits, not HOPE in someone else's plans and vessels of fertilizer. Yeah, that's what this stimulus package is.
High paying jobs--that don't demand high levels of skill? Okay. Show me one. And if the high paying jobs he's wanting to bring about require high levels of skill, the ones who "need help" the most still won't benefit.
What he needs to do is try to force companies to pay more for jobs than thehy're really worth, so that someone working at McDonalds becasue that's all they can do can still somehow make $30K a year. How much would that burger be? More than I'd be willing to pay. Raise minimum wage and people will quit buying the stuff that's produced and served by those minimum wage earners. If it costs me $5 for a McD's burger, I can go to Applebees for a dollar more and get a real meal.
There IS NO FREE LUNCH!!!!!
Yes, I understand that some people are hurting. But there is nothing the go vernment can do to make your lives better without enslaving you to it. Is that what you want? Why should other people pay to raise yoru children? I'm not saying I wouldn't help, but what is it about you that gives you the right to expect it? is it that you couldn't keep your pants on long enough to learn how to type? If you genuinely want to improve your lot, you will find a way. If you genuinely can't find a way, you genuinely don't want to.
.
YOU WILL PROBABLY NEVER SEE THIS, READ IT, CONSIDER IT OR USE IT, BUT HERE GOES! I AM WHITE MALE, REGISTERED INDEPENDENT, 62 YR OLD TEAMSTER RETIRED FROM A COMPANY THAT USED TO BE CALLED AIRBORNE EXPRESS. WHICH WAS BOUGHT OUT BY A GERMAN COMPANY DHL. WHICH NOW HAS CLOSED DOWN ITS DOMESTIC OPERATIONS AND CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION HUB/AIRPORT, DELIVERY STATIONS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTERS. LAYING OFF 9,000 AMERICAN WORKERS ACROSS AMERICA AND DESTROYING ONE PARTICULAR AMERICAN TOWN, WILMINGTON OH!
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TAX CUTS ARE FINE BUT EITHER THEY DONT WORK OR DONT PUT MONEY IN OUR POCKETS TO SPEND AND STIMULATE THE ECONOMY FROM THE BOTTOM UP! THE "TRICKLE DOWN THEORY" EITHER DIDNT WORK OR WASNT FAST ENOUGH!
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ALSO, THANKS TO THE LAWYERS IN CONGRESS, THE STIMULUS PACKAGE 2009 POSTED ON LINE IS NOT DETAILED ENOUGH FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN TO UNDERSTAND! PLEASE SIMPLIFY IT AND GO ON PRIME TIME TV AND EXPLAIN IT TO US LINE BY LINEEXACTLY HOW EVERYONE OF OUR DOLLARS IS TO BE SPENT, WHAT KIND OF JOBS WILL BE CREATED AND WHERE THEY WILL BE!
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BESIDES THE ABOVE I PROPOSE THE: "TRICKLE UP THEORY"
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1.
A. GIVE EACH LEGAL U.S. ADULT CITIZEN $1MIL TAX FREE! YES THATS A LOT (SO IS THE $50 BIL A MONTH BEING SPENT ON THE WAR FOR THE PAST 8 YEARS). BUT IT WILL DO A LOT MORE GOOD THEN THE PALTRY SUMS CONGRESS IS TALKING ABOUT! BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY DEEP FINANCIAL HOLE WEVE GOTTEN OURSELVES INTO THAT WE MUST NOW CLIMB OUT OF!
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B. EACH OF US MUST SIGN A LEGAL CONTRACT BETWEEN US AND THE GOVERNMENT AGREEING TO THE FOLLOWING STIPULATIONS OR FORFEIT THE MONEY ALL WITHIN A 1-2 YEAR TIMELINE!
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2. MUST BE SPENT ON;
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A. EITHER TO RECLAIM OUR FORECLOSED PRIMARY RESIDENCES OR TO PURCHASE ONE. (NO VACATION HOMES, INVESTMENT/SPECULATION OR BUSINESS PROPERTIES!)
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B. MUST BE SPENT TO IMPROVE OUR PRIMARY RESIDENCES IE; ENERGY EFFICIENT INSULATION, WINDOWS, DOORS, ROOFS, SOLAR PANELS ETC!
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C. YOU MUST PAYOFF ALL MORTGAGES, LOAN, DEBTS, ETC!
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D. YOU MUST SETUP FULL COLLEGE FUNDS FOR YOUR CHILDREN UNDER 21 YEARS OLD. YOU MUST SETUP FULL HEALTHCARE PLANS FOR YOU, YOUR SPOUSE AND ANY CHILDREN UNDER 21 YEARS OLD!
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E. YOU MUST PURCHASE THE MOST EFFICIENT U.S. MADE APPLIANCES, CARS, TRUCKS, ETC!
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IN CLOSING WE MUST STOP THE BICKERING AND WHINING IN CONGRESS AND GET THIS DONE ON TOP OF THE PRESIDENT'S 2009 STIMULUS PACKAGE! IT MUST BE DONE NOW, BECAUSE THERE ARE FAMILIES OUT THERE SUFFERING, NO JOBS, NO FOOD, NO HEALTHCARE, NO HOUSING! THEYRE SLEEPING AND STARVING OUT IN THE WOODS AND UNDER THE BRIDGES ACROSS AMERICA!
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GIVE US THE AMERICAN TAXPAYERS/CITIZENS OUR OWN MONEY BACK AND LET US INFUSE THE ECONOMY WHICH WILL CREATE THE JOBS AND INFUSE THE TAX BASES! TRUST US TO DO THE RIGHT THING LIKE WE TRUSTED YOU WHEN WE VOTED FOR YOU TO REPRESENT US!
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I WOULD HAVE SENT THIS DIRECT TO WHITEHOUSE.GOV OR STRONGMIDDLECLASS.ORG BUT THEY ONLY ALLOW 500 CHARACTERS/LETTERS NOT WORDS AND THAT IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH!
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TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS OUT THERE I ASK YOU TO PLEASE READ AND CONSIDER THIS LETTER AND IF YOU AGREE PLEASE BY ALL MENAS, SIGN YOUR NAME TO IT AND FORWARD IT TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. EMAIL IT TO ALL THE SENATORS AND CONGREEMEN/WOMEN IN CONGRESS, TO ALL THE NEWSPAPER EDITORS ACROSS AMERICA!
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IF YOU DONT AGREE THEN PLEASE COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTER! BUT PLEASE BY GOD DO SOMETHING WITH THIS BEFORE THEY LET THIS WONDERFUL COUNTRY AND US GO TO RUIN!
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like its just the lower class who doesnt know how to handle their money? who do you think all those "tax relief lawyers" and such advertise on TV to? not us lower class, we dont work enough to owe more taxes! even when we try! I however know PLENTY of middle class and even higher class people who owe tons of money to the IRS and you wanna know how you wind up owing money unexpecatly? YOU DONT BUDGET RIGHT!
I can take 200 and make it stretch for a month on groceries for a family of 4. You do that. and no that doesnt mean go to the foodbanks or buy cheap junk food. I mean 3 balanced meals and snacks for my family.
I can take 100 dollars and turn it into a whole summer wardrobe for my kids, and yes that needed since they are growing kids, at the same time im not spending 40 dollars on a pair of jeans, and my kids are just as happy with their 3 dollar pair of gap jeans from the used clothing store. that 100 is shoes and new underware as well.
so you tell me that 500 dollars will be wasted on the lower class. We know how to budget just as well as anyone else, even better than some of the higher class because our childrens food and clothes depend on it!
I apologize if I have offended you or anyone else by what I have said. The main reason I hate posting in Blogs and sending corespondence through email is that you can't relay emotion.
I didn't mean to say that all lower class earners are simple minded or irresponsible... I have lived in all aspects of the finacial spectrum from the days when I earned $3.75 an hour making pizzas back in 1987 to owning my own courier business in Los Angeles as recently as 2001. Currently because of this recession I find myself in the Middle Class earning just under $40,000 a year, and whether or not we get a stimulus package or not is NOT going to effect my plans for the future. To tell you the truth it doesn't really siund like you are lower class anyway. Unless you sit at the Welfare office and scheme of ways to have another baby on the Nations dime just so you can get more money to support you drinking habit, or God knows what else, I don't really think you qualify as lower class. If you and your family bring in 25 - 30 thousand a year... You are Middle Class also, and from what you wrote it doesn't sound like your collecting welfare at all... it just sounds like your really smart with money and therefore are absolutely in the same position as I am... trying to reach that next level so that we can own our own businesses and then in turn help the lower class out by taking them under our financial umbrella and showing them how to make their lives better through further education and money management. Not all business owners are out for themselves... If an employee can show me that they are willing to put in the time and personal sacrifice that is needed to better themselves, I have no problem fronting some of my company's capital to help them help theirselves which should then in turn be recipricated back to me through years of loyal employment.
Really the only point I was trying to make in my earlier post was that the money would be put to better use in the hands of capable people like me and yourself.
I wish you nothing but positive things for you and your family, and if you can be smart with your money the way you spoke about earlier... I have no doubt that you will be a business owner in the near future. Its people with visions like this that make the economy stronger. Its the same story as old as time itself...
The Rich Get Richer...
The Poor Get Poorer...
But if you have the drive an initiative...Its the middle man that makes it possible to make the transition from one to the other!
God Bless --
The banks that have received all this bailout money aren't helping the people that are currently going into forclosure!!!
Instead give the money to the people who need it.
If you give the money to the people that are in forclosure and the middle and lower class that have recently invested in property to help stimulate the economy. Then teh banks still get their money because those people will pay their mortgage... What the F*** US Government!!! Get your money grubbing hands out of the cookie jar and start thinking about "AMERICA" instead of yourself!!
"AMERICA" is not just an idea of a government that is free for all... Its supposed to be about caring for you fellow man and neighbor. Even the people you don't know. Do you really need the Ferrari in the driveway or could you use that money to increase the wages of the people that work for you.
Use your brains people... "AMERICA" doesn't work if we don't help each other.
"One hand washes the other..."
God Bless the USA and those that fight for her... Home and Abroad!
I am sorry for jumping you, I know what you mean by you cant post emotion so its sometimes taken wrong (like I did, lol)
Thank you as well for clearing it up.
As bad as it sounds, I know people like you mentioned in your post, those who would rather sit on their buts at the welfare office than try and get a job, now im not talking about those people who have a real need to use welfare over a job (like those that are disabled and cent hold one, or are the caregiver to children or another family member who needs it. I understand what its like not to be able to work because you cant afford to pay someone to care for them, even if you were working.)
My cousin is one of those people who uses welfare to pay for groceries so she can use her income for drugs.
When I was talking about those people who own their own company and dont know how to manage it..... I was talking about my father. We had an income of 700,000 a year when I was growing up. when his partner was audited and got in big trouble, the company tanked. Now that wasnt my fathers fault, but what we had in savings wasnt enough to pay his taxes for the last three years. He didnt pay them, and im not sure why....but he had to take a job at a company 1000 miles away for 90,000 a year. at the time i thought oh crap this sucks , were broke!
Im 23 years old and a mother to two great little girls. Wasnt planned that way, but it happened. My husband made 26,000 last year as manager of 7-11, and he does work for his uncles A/C company as well. about 6 months ago he got a raise that resulted in 20 extra dollars a month after taxes. We were kicked off foodstamps and my childrens medicaid. our income might show we are not low class, but when after we pay rent (not in an expensive apartment either, we are actually in the government regulated ones, we are still under that income limit, thank god) of 750 amonth and pay for our car and insurance, and pay our electricity and internet bill we have about 300 a month left for groceries, diapers for our youngest and gas for the car.
I look at our income and think, oh crap were broke! lol but at least I know whats going on and can keep my kids happy.
I look at all of our friends and see that they are single or married with no kids, they live in the high class apartments and take vacations to taiwan every 6 months to visit a friend, and I think we are so screwed, nothing is in our control and i have no idea what im doing, but there was a comment on here that said they think i have it under control and that feels so nice to hear.
The Government is giving us back some of the money they collected. So, take from the rich and give to the poor, Right?
Does that not just seem so fundamentality wrong in a capitalist system?
I own my own business and I work 15 hours a day to make a living and PAY my taxes!
$500 for us? After the trillions of our dollars that have been spent on the war, the billions in cash that were lost in a shipment to Iraq and never found; the almost trillion of tax money that was GIVEN to the banks and companies to spend on million dollar bonuses and private jets!!??
Get real and give us something that will really stimulate our lives and the economy! I agree with "bluelight422", his post should be sent to the Obama and his cabinet, the house and the senate. It might need some refinements but it's about as sound and sensible as the crap that's coming out of Washington today.
If they really care then passing something like this will be easy for them. This country is in so much debt, but we the citizens are in more serious debt; we won't have shelter or food or access to medical care, the leaders will not suffer one single second.
Come on people! Stop the stupid bickering; you sound like the republicans and the democrats. Get some sense of reality and even if you are not in the same sad financial boat as the millions of laid off people, sick people, or senior citizens, try to imagine what it would be like to not be able to pay for heat, or food, or rent? Not to even have money for public transport to anywhere. Not everyone is in such dire straights but so many are and it's up to the rest of America to help not make convoluted suggestions because you're warm, your belly is full and you have your creature comforts. Think of the others who are suffering and offer some sound advice and throw your platitudes in the trash!
I agree that pray is helpful if you're a religious person but God isn't going to send us food or money or whatever we need, we have to do that for ourselves.
Amen, I'm finished.
What recourse do we, the main street citizens, have in this whole thing? Do we have a voice? Who will listen to us? Where do we express ourselves to be heard and will our voice make any difference?
We the tax payors whose money they keep talking about have no control over any of this; we can only listen in silence as the news shows bring us the latest upset made by the lawmakers in Washington. We cannot tell "them" what to do with "our" tax money because they aren't asking our permission and once we pay it to the government it ceases to belong to us.
Can we demand a presence in the proceedings? Can we demand a voice in the decision making process? Do we have the right to offer our suggetions and ask that they be seriously considered? Or do we just sit in silence and let them decide for us?
We did that in December when the Bush Administration offered the first bail out only to learn that the money did not have oversight and our money was spent on big bonuses, private jets, big ticket seminars, etc. The banks and companies that received our money don't even have to pay it back. They aren't helping anyone with foreclosures, or offering better terms on mortgages for folks who lost their jobs. We are at their mercy and while Obama and his staff are telling us they are trying it really isn't about us on main street, it's about the folks at the top.
Pretty soon there won't be any main street or people on it, most of us will be in the cardboard shanties reminiscent of the 1st great depression.
Thanks ex-President Bush. We are all so happy that you have a nice ranch to retire to and secret service at our expense to keep you safe. Thank goodness you were rich to begin with and that your oil investments stayed so sound and high all of these years so you could enjoy the comforts that you deserve on our sweat and blood. May the Good Lord see that you receive everything that you so justly deserve.
We will survive, it won't be easy or pleasant but we are a country of survivors so we will prevail. I only hope the Chinese and our other debtors don't call in our loans!
The government takes money out of all of our paychecks, it's about time we all say enough is enough
People who complain and offer no help are simply bitching ... pure and simple. So put your money where your mouth is and publish your real world, workable solutions. But be careful, for every real world, workable solution there is an "expert" to tell you how wrong you are. That's the nature of economics. So do your research, compile your data, test your hypotheses, publish your results and ask for confirmations and retesting. You do that and you'll have real credibility. If not, you're just one more sour individual all to ready to complain, but never available to jump into the fight and take a blow or two.
Will a little 500 dollar check really do us any good long term? What the hell is wrong with this picture?
Instead of worrying about someone else's corporate jet, how about we worry about the gigantic hole the government is dumping our taxdollars down?
A lil bit every week just makes the hike in everythings cost a lil more barable .
Its a stimulated recession ....
My stress level is pretty high, I just some help, somehow, somewhere. Can anyone help?
Thank you for any help you have for me, advice is the greatest assett from people who have beeen in my shoes/
Sincerely
Christie
email at chp@wildblue.net
The IRS website explains in news article IR-2009-13 New Withholding Tables Now Available on IRS.gov; Most Workers Will See Bigger Paychecks this Spring
in the 7th paragraph: "...all eligible taxpayers will need to claim the credit when they file their 2009 income tax return..."
www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204521,00.html
Take all your money used to assist other countries and assist the people here . freeze the credit card interest rates at a low level giving people a chance to catch up and reduce the principal debt owed .
Help the people that rent due to minor credit issues be able to purchase a home with low interest for the early years of the mortgage where if they are motivated to move forward they will put everything they can toward the principal early on .
That will create a stimulus .... homeowners by things for their homes .
People need a round about stimulus not just some play money ... that ends up in big biz pockets and just makes a fake stock market jump for a few companies that will drop out again after that play moneys gone everyones stock drops again and we are again in a self afflicted recession .....stimulated recession ....is anyone seeing what this is ? I wont go any further .
And for the peole that arent in debt or dont want a lowered mortgage starting rate , the ones that were wise from the start (which I am not one) Give them the cash stimulus .... they deserve it and they have earned the benefit of having the cash gift ... why ? because they will use it wisely .....