Bush’s “Economic Stimulus” Package
By Leslie on January 19, 2008 at 7:53 PM in Bush/Cheney, Current Affairs, Economy
Remember when Bush talked about the “ownership society”? Own your own home, own your own retirement assets, own your own health insurance…. What ever happened to that?
• The unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in December. Overall employment growth is the slowest it’s been in over 70 years. While people receiving unemployment benefits hit a two-year high.
• Consumer spending, which is responsible for 70% of the US GDP according to Bonddad, is the worst it’s been in 5 years. The retail industry is responding by closing stores and laying off employees.
• Prices for necessities, such as gas and food, are increasing. US inflation for 2007 has reached a 17-year high of 4.1%.
• Fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis is costing financial institutions billions of dollars in investments and an estimated 20,000 employees their jobs. For example: Citigroup and Merrill Lynch announced fourth-quarter losses this month of $10 billion and $9.8 billion, respectively. Meanwhile, CEOs involved are receiving multi-million pay packages.
• The DOW dropped 306.95 points on January 17th, extending a 2008 selloff. The broader S&P 500 (INX) index lost 2.9 percent, and fell to its lowest point in 14 months. The Nasdaq composite fell 2 percent and hit a 10-month low. The Russell 2000 (RUT.X) small-cap index lost 2.8 percent and hit a more than 17-month low. The Russell 2000 has now fallen over 20 percent from its all-time high reached in July of last year. The decline is the technical definition of a bear market.
• US housing starts drop 24.8%, to the lowest level in 27 years. Building permits fell 25.2%, and median home prices in California have fallen about 15% with no end in sight.
• Home foreclosures are expected to increase and property values are expected to continue to drop through the first half of 2008.
• The US deficit grew 31.3% during 2008 fiscal year’s first quarter.
• GWOT may cost $2.4 trillion over the next ten years.
• Median household incomes have declined about 0.3%, or about $962, for all except the richest since 2000.
• In 2006, there were 4.9 million more Americans living in poverty than in 2000.
• As of 2006, there are 8.6 million more Americans without health insurance than in 2000.
• The yen rose to a 32-month high against the US dollar.
So what’s Bush’s plan? Well, in the first week of January, Bush thought the markets were “strong” and the economy “solid.” Now Bush is proposing an economic stimulus package of $150 billion involving tax rebates. Some stimulus package is better than none I suppose. At least Bush isn’t proposing making the tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% permanent. But Bush’s stimulus plan won’t address the growing number of foreclosures, titanic war costs, the deficit, or the dollar meltdown and it probably won’t do much to restore consumer confidence either.
So how will you spend your ridiculous $300–$1600 tax rebate? If you’re like me, you won’t go shopping, you’ll pay off some bills instead.
(Release: November 13)
on sale for only $16.95.
has a spatula.)
8% Off at $11.95, with a rare five-star ranking by 294 customers: 
And check out these: 
("This crazy redhead is on to something. Her pink Rambler story alone is worth the price of the book," writes 
- “Richard Sale’s reportage on Washington, the CIA, the American armed forces, and foreign intrigue has created a perfect background for this account of the steady growth of President Clinton as a master of the game of nations.”--W. Patrick Lang, former head of Middle East Operations, DIA
"Anne C. Heller's stunning biography of Ayn Rand" uses a "plethora of newly unearthed research and fresh insight."
This is really informative, Leslie. Well done!
Great job Leslie.
Bush’s stimulus plan is a joke. The greatest stimulus to the economy will be all the money we will spend when we all go out and get drunk and celebrate Bush and Cheney being hauled off to the gallows.
I agree with you most people will either save it for a rainy day or pay off some bills, but it will NOT increase consumer confidence which is an absolute key to avoiding a serious recession. Then on top of that the endless political bickering will not make people
feel any better either.
I seriously believe that the economy will start to tank sooner than later and probably in the next 6-9 months.
People will continue to cut back on their unnecessary spending which will serious affect people employed in any industry that is heavily dependent on consumer purchasing of all the useless crap that is made is China. This will lead to layoff, higher unemployment, more foreclosures etc.
No one really realizes how fragile our entire economic system is and it would not take much to set off wide spread panic when people’s security is threatened and then they go into survival mode which of course the most basic of instincts.
Great leaders can sometimes offset these kinds of situations especially when people have faith and trust in them and the governments they lead.
Can you imagine Bush on national TV telling us all to not to panic and trust me I have a plan??
Finally thanks for putting up a REAL topic instead of more Hillary can-do-no-wrong/Obama can-do-no-good stuff.
We thought we would buy a new mattress. We figured that, as Lou Dobbs reported, is the only thing left that is made in the USA. If we pay bills with it, we will just take from Peter and pay Paul, who both just recieved severance packages as your most excellent post stated.
In the last week it has occurred to me that all these events adds up to creating an indentured servitude class of society. First they make impossible to declare bankruptcy, then they wheel out the subprimes, the people living in “little boxes” then have there name on a “company” loan. In all of this the they are homeowners in debt only.
All the preconditions for critical mass have been reached.
I had a music professor that made a “living” playing musical glasses during the depression. I hope that I do not have to learn to play them as well. I agree with Bill Keyes. It is fragile. And brittle.
I hear you TeakWood.
We have the highest unemployment rate in the country here in Michigan – it’s almost twice the national average.
Btw Leslie, I’m going to email the guys in the band your website – I plan on buying something and there’s nothing like bringing home something beautiful from NYC. Your work is truly gorgeous.
Oh, that’s so sweet Taters! Thank you.
testing comments
Was it just a ko-inky-dink that as Bush spoke and shortly after, the market lost almost 150 points but struggled back to finish ONLY 68 down? Quite a vote of confidence in Decider Guy’s latest attempt to ’splain the world away. We all KNEW the economy was in deep shit when Bozo gave his “the economy is doing a hecka’ of a job” speech after Christmas . . .
A real boost would be to offer consumers 6% rates on their 30%+ credit cards – banks “borrow” our money at bargain rates, why can’t we? Or maybe forgive all IRS tax debts owed by those with household incomes below $30,000 . . . come on guys, get CREATIVE – $600 bucks is like pissing on a oil fire, may feel good but doesn’t do much . . .
yea, Teak, “critical mess” may have been reached . . .
Yeah, I should’ve added something about the credit card crunch hitting consumers too. Plus, the sub-prime mortgage crisis is starting to spill over to regular mortgages. You know when your property values sink below the cost of your mortgage, or you’ve leveraged your equity to the hilt to pay for your cost-of-living….
easy Leslie – you covered so much so well – gotta remember that Captain Codpiece has had a 7 year head start on decimating America, diplomatically and financially so badly that it will takes years to regain what 200 years of progress has wrought . . .
but that’s just my opinion . . .
What fries my bacon is that Bush intended so much of the damage, in order to gut the social safety net and privatize government [aka sell off government to Halliburton et al].
What fries my bacon
As Emeril says it is a “pork fat thing”.
I’m embarrassed to be american after seeing an overseas headline like this:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3353777.ece
So true!
True. You won’t read that scatching blunt appraisal in the US Press will you?
Ah, woe become us, the half empty glass…..
Our lad screwed up Arbusto, (He couldn’t find oil in Texas?).
Our lad screwed up Afghanistan.
Our lad screwed up Iraq.
Our lad screwed up the New Orleans.
Our lad screwed up the Republicans.
We need to harness our lad’s curious consistency and get him to screw up the recession.
Bankruptcy is still possible. I’m planning to use MY IRS rebate to pay the Filing Fee and have already pre-paid the lawyer on one of the cards that’s going bye-bye.
Got two paid-off, late model cars that get around 20 MPG on the highway, a mortgage that’s less than the (homesteaded) house would rent for and a passive income stream that keeps the house payment current.
Just working for grocery, utilities and car insurance money.
If I could qualify for a decent grant, I’d go back to finish a degree I started back in LBJ’s time, since I have a state juco and a state college both within bicycle distance of my house.
Only thing I’m flat-footed on is that this southern Nevada hardpan soil barely supports weeds. Would like to grow enough veggies that we’d only need Smith’s (like Kroger) for canned goods and milk.
Wow, sounds like a great quality of life in Tombstone.
Do raised beds! They’re great for vegetables and that way you can use nice organic soil and compost and things should grow well.
“Only thing I’m flat-footed on is that this southern Nevada hardpan soil barely supports weeds.”
I have a drinking buddy in North Vegas just off 95 that uses raised beds…….
But he can’t do a thing about the withering wind.
Hydroponics- Green house- solar to get off the grid.
It might sound odd but I would not live where I could not be a hunter – gatherer and have arid land to grow. Just today I picked two bags of lemons…
It might come to that.
>>> “… solar to get off the grid…”
Been there, done that, got the bad back from chopping wood, wrestling the generator off the trailer and moving batteries around in the Solar shed.
Everyone who dreams of this SHOULD do this, particularly for two winters in the Central Arizona mountains.
Did I mention pneumonia and the Hanta virus?
Ouch!!
“It might come to that.”
First commercial oil well in the world 1848
First commercial oil well in the USA. 1859
First gasoline powered automobiles 1889 ( French )
First American gasoline powered automobiles 1896
USA begins to import Crude 1949
USA crude production peaks 1971
USA crude imports exceed domestic production 1995
World crude oil production peaks: Open to hypotheses. If you believe in “peak oil” then the peak is within the next 5-10 years.
If you believe in adiabatic oil, the party goes on for a long time.
Humans on earth as hunter/gatherers approx 10,000 years, humans on earth with access to very cheap energy approx 200 years. A blip in time, an anomaly, a hiccup in the history of man.
Energy consumption is a key indicator related to the rise and fall of nations. The Dutch windpower, the English coal, the US oil. The Dutch and English never managed to make the transition to the “next” source of energy. If we don’t get off our collective ### history WILL repeat itself.
for a laugh re: adiabatic oil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5HAVHQ0GWE&feature=related
Tax rebate? If it comes, part will go into my dwindling IRA, part on our mortgage.
Last summer, Jun 2007 to be exact, I realized the the U.S. economy was headed for serious trouble. I have been putting all the money that I can afford as extra payments on my excessive credit card debt. No Christmas spending, no extras. Frugality in the extreme. If there is any “stimulus money” it will go to pay off credit cards.
Paying off debts for items already purchased and depreciated does absolutely nothing to increase consumer spending now does it? If you are successful, you cut the profits of the cc companies and if you pay off and close your ccards your credit rating falls. At least you are not talking about putting this ( taxable? ) rebate into a savings account. Inflation through fiat money debases the face value of the savings and taxation debilitates the accrued interest which is paid in inflated dollars. The combinatory effect of inflation and taxation on savings leads to a negative interest rate for savers. Put a dollar in and at the end of the year you have 96 cents in value. Mug’s game.
Oh yeah, $600 should turn my life around ( think I’ll start a multinational corporation with that), Give me a break! I’ll uses my pittance to buy a plane ticket home to Florida to visit my mother and see first hand the carnage that greed has brought to the state that brought us this moron in the first place. I bet you there are still that 24% who think he’s Gods gift to America and Israel.
Mr. Bush …how about NOT sending all our money over seas in aid packages aimed at helping countries buy OUR munitions. the Military industrial complex is running like a well oiled machineOdeath..
————————————————————–
Imagine if our tax money actually went to help us??? the tax payers.
I know!!! what a concept.
the problem with our economy is…
1. we are bred to be consumers ( that’s it anymore), but eventually everything you need is bought.
2.Then you buy what you don’t need.
3. then you borrow to buy what you can’t afford ( huge mortgage) but want.
4. then you go chapter 11
other factors helping our decline…
invading oil producing countries and doubling the price of gas has resulted causing everything to rise in price thus forcing our economy into the shitter.
Mr. Bush , you are a uniter. you have united us down the toilet…
As a Gator, reared on grits and Swamp Cabbage (palm hearts) in the Shoeshine State (obscure reference), the happiest and saddest day of my life was the day I crossed into Alabama on my way to The West on I-10 with the few material possessions I valued (Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Louis L’Amour and Norman Mailer) in the “way back” of a Ford Bronco.
I seized the opportunity to pull off the roadway on the western side of the river which separates FL from AL, walked down to the bank and relieved myself of a couple of Big Gulps while facing the state which houses so many million ancient, loud, wheezing former New Yorkers and Midwesterners, each and every one, according to them, my social and intellectual superior.
Florida may be crowded, but I left a space there in 1989. Feel free to use it. Enjoy the sun before Tallahassee puts a User Fee thereupon.
For me, it was a grand sensation, Pissing in the Perdido…
I agree, i left that cultural wasteland for people who were a lot less Bible belt GWB lovers. Portland Oregon is as far away from that miasma as i could get. I will never go back, sanity is too precious and life is too short …
Just call it what it is. A bribe. It’s worked before, it’ll work again.
The last time it was advertised as a “rebate”…that’s why they saw fit to require it to be claimed as earned income and subject to taxation? So they give you chump change then they tax you on money you already paid taxes on. Double Taxation is not constitutional. Is it?
And we think its bad in the US:
$500,000 in cash in gunnysacks
http://ohomen171.blogspot.com/search/label/Afghanistan%20Banking