RK ARCHIVE - Government To Taxpayers: Your Free Money Is On Its Way!

My roommate and I received our "Economic Stimulus Payment Notices" in the mail yesterday.

"No, they're just telling us they'll be sending us a check in May or so," I replied.

"Your government is just trying to reassure you that in tough economic times, you can count on Congress to take bold action by borrowing enormous sums of money and giving it away to bolster their own re-election prospects while not actually doing much to help the economy," I told him. "And spending millions of dollars and killing lots of trees to send you a letter explaining the process."

"Look, just use it to pay your bills," I sighed as I tossed the letters on the recycling pile.

Comments

This was a bipartisan idea (TheGreenMiles - 3/21/2008 11:54:42 AM)

Democrats did fight for some positive provisions for clean energy incentives that might have actually, y'know, stimulated the economy that died at the hands of a GOP filibuster. But the "borrow from our grandkids to give everybody a $500 check" thing was a bipartisan idea that not one Dem voted against. Clinton and Obama didn't vote, they were on the campaign trail. McCain voted yes.

I do not understand (Teddy - 3/21/2008 11:51:54 AM)

how to treat this charitable donation from Uncle Sam. Must I report it to the IRS as income next year? unearned income? dividend on my share of the United States? Will FICA be deducted? Also, by the way, if I rush out to spend it to "stimulate" (the American economy, or something else?) should I be absolutely sure that what I purchse is actually manufactured solely and completely in the good ol' U.S.of A, so as to be sure just what it is I am stimulating? (This may be rather hard to do). Can anyone please explain all this to me?

Since we are all being snarky today (citizenindy - 3/21/2008 12:03:54 PM)

What you should do is invest it and then when you complete your 2008 tax return in 2009 you will have the money to pay your higher tax bill courtesy of the democratic president and legislature. Dang nab it the capital gains rate will be high again so that idea won't work. Better just stick it under your mattress.

I missed my notification (Eric - 3/21/2008 12:34:45 PM)

letter telling me that they'd be sending another letter to notify me that my stimulus would indeed be arriving on the much publicized date it was originally schedule for.

Maybe we can save the economy by creating an entire industry based on the stimulus rebate notification process.

Actually, the country is (Eric - 3/21/2008 1:20:27 PM)

beyond bankrupt. How many trillions in debt is the Government? Not to mention that we're running an ugly deficit (and have been since dubya took charge) after Clinton showed some responsibility and balanced the budget. Wasn't that supposed to be a Republican thing? They had 6 years of total control and showed less than zero fiscal responsibility. Talk about morons.

And if you're going to bust Miles' balls like that, please be more specific in your accusations.

What's Next, Free Circuses and Free Bread? (HisRoc - 3/21/2008 11:17:39 PM)

At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish history professor at The University of Edinburgh) had this to say about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000 years prior. "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.
A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From Bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
The U.S. is now somewhere between the "apathy" and "complacency" phase; with some 40 percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.