The Stimulus Package----Still Kicking the Ball Around
Posted: Sunday, February 08, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
The ball is in Congress' court at the moment and it seems that everyone has agreed to disagree. As our government's leaders haggle over which tax to cut and which tax to increase, our country's economy continues to spiral downward in ever decreasing circles and at a steadily increasing speed. Bush's pittance of a stimulus package' last year that sent out small individual refund checks with the inflated notion that it would spur the economy to great strides in recovery, failed miserably. And now in the face of the present $820 billion bid for recovery, it just seems to be a horse-size' pill that many Congressmen can't seem to swallow.
Some seem to think that cuts in payroll tax and increases in gasoline tax is the way to go. If they plan to increase our gasoline taxes, they may as well raise our medical expenses as well-at the rate these two consumer necessities are going up already, we can't afford them anyway! Seems to me that if they cut payroll tax-which I believe goes to support the needs of our country, while they raise gasoline tax-which will hurt everyone and especially senior citizens that may not pay payroll tax, but are on a fixed income and can barely afford gasoline as it is. How does this help anyone?
The only way to help the people is to fix the problems of the country and people who still have jobs should keep paying taxes while they have a payroll to pay taxes on. Cut welfare and give people the incentive to look for work.
Maybe we all felt that the big companies that will get the biggest slice of the stimulus pie were doing their share by cutting their CEO's multi-million-dollar-a-year wages. But truth be known, most are still getting to keep their stock (on which income hundreds of American families could live well for years) and they get to keep their perks, so all in all, they are giving up very little and john q. public has been snowed again!
But no matter what disagreements are holding up the implementation of this stimulus package, the people with the power need to know that time is money' and we as Americans don't have either to waste. They need to cut the quibbling over issues that may or may not be the best thing for our country at the moment and go ahead with what they've got. I don't think anyone doubts that there are issues with the package and some possibly major, but we can't keep going on nothing at all.
I have faith that the plan will create new jobs and as the unemployment rate rises and the unemployment benefits shrink, time is of the essence. A staggering 3.6 million jobs have been lost. If they focus on help for lower to average income households that will spend the money rather than save it, they would do more to help the economy. Not meaning that saving is a bad thing, but right now it wouldn't do much to stimulate a stalled economic situation. Getting more people off unemployment and back to earning would much more quickly get them back into a position where they could begin saving again.
Whatever or whoever is holding up this stimulus package is holding the fate of our country in their hands and they have to realize that we are standing on the brink. If this package doesn't move quickly, salvation may be too late-if it isn't too late already.
God be with us.
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Sandra E. Graham, author, AMOS JAKEY and NICOLINA published by American Book Publishing. Sandra loves to write about people and if you enjoy reading about people, you will love these books. Her first two novels are historical/adventure/fiction of early 1900's America. Sandra also writes book reviews for authors through Book Pleasures (no charge for reviews). Visit her website for more information on her books that are in print now and reviews she has written.
http://www.sandragraham-articles-books.com
But no matter what disagreements are holding up the implementation of this stimulus package, the people with the power need to know that time is money' and we as Americans don't have either to waste. They need to cut the quibbling over issues that may or may not be the best thing for our country at the moment and go ahead with what they've got. I don't think anyone doubts that there are issues with the package and some possibly major, but we can't keep going on nothing at all.
I have faith that the plan will create new jobs and as the unemployment rate rises and the unemployment benefits shrink, time is of the essence. A staggering 3.6 million jobs have been lost. If they focus on help for lower to average income households that will spend the money rather than save it, they would do more to help the economy. Not meaning that saving is a bad thing, but right now it wouldn't do much to stimulate a stalled economic situation. Getting more people off unemployment and back to earning would much more quickly get them back into a position where they could begin saving again.
Whatever or whoever is holding up this stimulus package is holding the fate of our country in their hands and they have to realize that we are standing on the brink. If this package doesn't move quickly, salvation may be too late-if it isn't too late already.
God be with us.
If you love to read and write and want to hone your writing skills, you would make a great addition to Searchwarp. Join a great group of authors-it's fun, entertaining, rewarding, exciting, and best of all---it's FREE:
http://www.SearchWarp.com/Register.asp
Sandra E. Graham, author, AMOS JAKEY and NICOLINA published by American Book Publishing. Sandra loves to write about people and if you enjoy reading about people, you will love these books. Her first two novels are historical/adventure/fiction of early 1900's America. Sandra also writes book reviews for authors through Book Pleasures (no charge for reviews). Visit her website for more information on her books that are in print now and reviews she has written.
http://www.sandragraham-articles-books.com
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More commentsSandra, always a pleasure reading your informative and factual observations. I must say I am somewhat impress with what this young new president is trying to do, I was watching "Nightline" tonight, and they showed President Obama in Indiana, saying the same thing you just echoed. He says that they have to move on this package due to a downward spiraling effect in the economy, and he came right out and said that if we don't get this pushed through soon enough, that it will be hard for this nation to recover. The hold ups, and I hate to say this, as I used to be one, are the republicans. I say that it is high time that they stop getting their campaining for their next election, put that aside for now, and take care of the people of this country. We are in a state of ruin. I swear, I am changing over to independent when the next election comes, as I am tired of playing games with these to entities that don't work.....that are always to busy bickering.....we need to fix our economy, and that is what Obama is saying, he said it tonight, and he is pushing as hard as he can, What you say in this article is dead on......we need action, and we need it now. Also, we need to bring all of our jobs back to the states, Companies, (Big Fortune 500 companies) like IBM, Hewlett Packard, Ford, Chevy, and many other companies need to bring the jobs back to our economy. It is time to stop supporting everybody else in the world, we need to take care of home.!!!!! Sorry, I am very emotional about this...there seems to be no sense of urgency with congress, and it is frustrating to all of us.....Thanks for the great article....your friend in pen.....GaryThanks, Gary. And I think Obama is right. Stalling is doing us no good!Have a good week.Sandra
Did you know the stimulous bill that just passed will put the federal government in charge of deciding what health care (it's not up to you anymore) you and the rest of us will get? Check out the Bloomberg article by Betsy McCaughey.Actually, I didn't know that. But my health care stinks anyway, so how much worse can it get????Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
hi sandra,this was an interesting and informative article.when my son joins the airforce because the recruiter makes it sound so good, and he can't find a decent job, so he joins, and may end up in Iraq, that's pretty sad. he factored in the honor of the position, and the experience, but he wouldn't have thought about it if there were decent paying jobs available.it is a sad state of affairs. however, i think the prsident will do whatever he can to turn it around.thanks for sharing,my best regards,sueYes, it is sad when our young men (boys) are joining the service just to get a job. And things are going to get worse before they get better--I think Obama even admitted that. So, what are we going to do. I guess they won't take grandmas into the service--or will they?Thanks, Sue, for reading and commenting.Sandra
One of my biggest gripes is the "welfare system". There are needy people and this is what the system should be catering to.Folks learn how to "work the system" from generation to generation and are cheating everyone.ThomThat is a fact that I think we can all agree with. It is people who want something for nothing---from the top of the ladder to the bottom---that has caused the problems in our country's economy. I started working at nine-years-old--picking cotton--for a living, not for spending money. And I have worked all my life. Some jobs I wasn't too crazy about, but I wouldn't quit until I had another job lined up. My parents had eight children and we were all taught to be independent--including the girls. That's the way it should be. Only the truly disabled or elderly should be drawing an income from the government.Thanks for reading and commenting.SandraSandra,Interesting comment to Thom's comment. If you read through President Obama's stimulus package, you will discover that the government will be catering to more than just the disabled or the elderly. Government will be huge, much greater than it is now. And, the only way to pay for it in the long run will be higher taxes. Welcome to Socialism.NancyI'm afraid you're right. Obama's plans certainly have the European stock market in an uproar.Sandra
While I don't agree with some of your ideas, I think it is great to hear real people voicing their opinions. Freedom of Speech is one of America's greatest gifts to her people.I guess I'm ultra-conservative----even I sometimes don't agree with some of my ideas.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
Hi Sandra, very well put. And your closing words say it all. God help us, God help our leaders. God help our leaders to want to have God help them!Thanks so much for reading and commenting.Have a great Valentine's Day weekend.Sandra
Great article Sandra. Agree we need a stimulus package - But need one that will create jobs not bigger government. Disagree that we need to reduce Welfare - We need to Emliminate Welfare Completely - at all levels of society, business and nations. Everyone should pay their own way or get out of the way of those that do.Thanks, Jim, for reading and commenting.Have a great week-end.SandraEliminate welfare completely?That's a bad idea. Aside from leaving those who are genuinely unable to (get) work in a hopeless situation, failing to provide for those in need causes many of them to turn to crime.Guess who they steal from and commit violence against?That's right - the people who can pay their way!Welfare doesn't just benefit the needy who directly receive it, it benefits us all.
Great article. The stimulus package has been worked on by many experts, and doing nothing simply isn't a credible option in the current circumstances, so those who tried to derail or delay the plan were not helping the issue.I hope the stimulus plan works... and I hope safeguards are put in place to ensure a minority greedy super-rich can't ruin things for everyone again!Thanks, Ben. I think we are all hoping this package works---flaws and all. And right, something has to be done. Change won't happen without help.Have a good week.Sandra
Sandra,I enjoyed your article. For the last year or so my only comment based on all the political hoopla has been "Heaven help us all." Help from heaven; the only stimulus package where you don't have to worry about the invisible strings attached.DeborahI think when all the different factions finished with the stimulus package, it may not be anything like it started. We may need one from Heaven before it's all over.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
I believe this "cure" will cause more harm than good. God bless you for your optimism, though. This was a good read, as always!You may be right, Ken; but sometimes it's best to just down that nasty medicince and get it over with. We will probably all know pretty soon how good or bad this deal will be. I'm just praying for the best.Sandra
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