travis' brain dump

I’m going to comment on specific parts of this package and my take on them, mainly the ones I have problems with, hehe.

My comments are in black while the article content is in blue.

(excerpts used here are from the story published on CNN)

Although the sum is huge, the money isn’t intended to turn the economy around, but to keep it from falling even further into decay.

Detractors say spending on stimulus will do little more than drive the country deeper into debt. Many Republicans are arguing for a plan heavier on tax cuts and lighter on government spending. They’ll push those ideas when the plan is debated in the Senate.

Well, here’s my first issue. It’s a band-aid… hrm. Enough said. I do have to say that I agree this overall is a bad idea but there are some positive points. One can only hope that in the end once the Senate has worked on this that we’ll see some major improvements to the things being proposed and hopefully I can look back on some of these issues I have found as moot points.

FOR WORKING INDIVIDUALS:

$145 billion in tax cuts for working individuals.

Well, this doesn’t seem too bad, however we’re talking about $10-$20 a check. What’s the point? $240 a year (assuming that figures is based on two checks a month) for a spot in this $145 billion tax cut is supposed to make us feel better about it? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for giving some more breaks to low-income (dead broke) folks and for giving a little to businesses but honestly this is almost an insult to the overall plan. Especially when compared to the other aspects. It’s like someone giving me a cookie to replace the cake they just took from me. It doesn’t make up for what you’re about to do.

The tax cut would be $500 per person ($1,000 for a couple) and would phase out for people making over $75,000 a year ($150,000 for couples). You’ll most likely see this as an increase in your paycheck, roughly between $10 and $20 for this year and next.

This is the largest single tax measure in a package that includes additional cuts for businesses large and small, as well as expanded credits for low-income individuals.

FOR UNEMPLOYED FOLKS:
$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits. Weekly benefits will go up by $25 a week and the amount of time the unemployed may claim them will be extended by at least 20 weeks, plus another 13 weeks for those in high-unemployment states.

Hrm… Ok, coming from someone who has been on the receiving end of unemployment before I can honestly say I have to say that another $25/week is a freaking insult. Why don’t you stop with the extension of benefits and focus more on giving more money per week? If it hadn’t have been for some contract work I got on the side during my 3 months out of work in 2007  I would have lost EVERYTHING. Adding insult to injury, for all my hard work in maintaining everything I had without getting behind, the government was gracious enough to tax the ever living crap out of me for all that money I pulled in outside of normal employment channels… Thanks for nothing.

$39 billion for expanded health care benefits for the unemployed. The federal government will reimburse states to extend Medicaid coverage for the jobless through Dec. 31, 2010. For those who want to keep their old employer’s insurance plan, the government will subsidize their Cobra payments – paying 65% up to 12 months. Cobra eligibility will be extended for some groups of workers.

$20 billion to increase food stamp payments by 13%. For a family of four, that means an average increase of $79 a month – from $588 now to $667 if the bill passes.

Unemployment didn’t even give me enough to pay a mortgage payment. Another $100/month would NOT have helped. How about some tax cuts for self-employed individuals along with those small business cuts?  THAT would be something useful.

I have no complaints on the medical approach. Sure they could give a little more seeing as how the unemployment isn’t enough to cover anything, but hey…. it’s a start. Work on it a little.

Now…. $20 billion for increase in food stamp payments!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? This is the biggest, dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. A family of four does NOT NEED $588 or even $667 a month for groceries and household items. This baffles me. I have a family of four and we do just fun with budgeting $500/month for household and groceries each month and we buy PLENTY of unnecessary items to satisfy cravings and unhealthy urges all around. 🙂 Instead of giving these people more of my money, how about offer some classes on how to budget and spend money wisely?

This is a perfect example of idiocy.  Don’t give individuals less incentive to go find work and live off the government for longer. A large percentage of them are already lazy enough and don’t need help getting lazier. Granted, programs like these are very useful to people who are in need and only need a helping hand while they get back on their feet, but they need to do just that. Get back on their feet. Not once did I waste time feeling sorry for myself when the company I worked for couldn’t pay me any longer. I spent hours each day sending out resumes, making phone calls, following up on leads and finding work to supplement the pathetic unemployment income I was pulling in. I was able to still pay my bills, move my fiance out here and provide food for my family to eat well. Yes, it was hard work, yes, I was stressed out and yes, I was scared, but I never gave up and never took a break from looking for work.  I had motivation to get back out there and I wasn’t going to stop until I had found work.

EDUCATION:

$41 billion for school improvements, including better buildings, computer upgrades and teacher training.

$15 billion to increase the maximum Pell grant by $500 in 2009-10; plus, increases to the annual unsubsidized Stafford Loan limits.

$14 billion in tax credits of up to $2,500 a year for college students with an annual income below $80,000.

$6 billion for college building improvements.

$79 billion to help states offset education costs. While people won’t see this directly, it will likely mean that services won’t have to be cut or taxes won’t have to be raised.

Well, I can’t really find a problem with some of this. Perhaps a little more or a little less spending in some of these locations but this is going to fund things which are suffering. Schools do need some help to handle the increase of population and help out some of these underpaid borderline volunteers that educate our children. Most of them do a great job with what they have and I commend them for this. A little assistance here is ok by me.

HOUSING:

$6 billion to weatherize moderate income homes, making them more energy efficient.

$4 billion for homeowners to take up to 30% of the cost of conservation measures as a tax credit, up to $1,500 per person.

$300 million for consumers to replace old appliances.

$500 million to help rural families secure mortgages.

For those living in public housing:
$16 billion in energy retrofits and improvements.

I can agree with most of this. More energy efficient homes is a good thing. Tax credit increases for those that make home improvements not just for aesthetics but also for energy efficient improvements is something I am definitely for. A lot of those modifications are costly (trust me I know first hand) and a little assistance and reward for taking initiative to do these things is perfect. This would also help stimulate the small contractors who service most of these requests. I have friends who do this kind of work and to see an increase in business for them would be something I would love to see. 

TRANSPORTATION and INFRASTRUCTURE:

$30 billion for highway and bridge construction projects

$13 billion for mass transit, including new lines, buses, trains and stations.

$3 billion to expand congested airports.

$1.15 billion for better land and sea ports.

$4 billion for more police officers and equipment – best watch the speeding!

$500 million for better airport screening detectors..

Bridge construction, highway projects, good;  mass transit, good; expanding congested airports, a waste;  better land and sea ports, waste; more police officers and equipment, mixed feelings hehe; better airport screening, waste. The whole airport thing, what’s the point? No matter how much you throw at security and expansion it will not make a difference. Security while maintaining ease of traffic flow is a pipe dream. Just look at how many times tests have shown these systems to be only partially effective. As for overcrowding, where? You’ve taken non-ticketed individuals away from the post-security areas and the only crowding is in the security lines. See my previous comment. Also, last time I checked, the airlines were in a downward spiral… what’s the point of supplying more places to not park planes? 🙂

$31 billion to modernize public buildings, making them more energy efficient.

$3.1 billion for improvements on public lands, including new roads, trails and facilities at national parks.

$6 billion for broadband Internet access in rural areas.

$400 million for flood control efforts, which include buying and preserving open land around the country.

$6 billion for communities to replace aging sewer lines.

$4.2 billion for towns to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed, vacant homes.

$32 billion for a “smart” utility grid and renewable energy production, although in the long run this could change the way you use appliances at home and clean the air.

$10 billion for science research facilities.

While modernization of public buildings is a good cause to save on government spending in the long run, some might argue this is a little too much. I just see it as a large chunk going to government spending and not being disbursed where it could be more needed immediately to help the economy. As for improving public lands, new roads and trails and facilities in national parks, why? No one is going there because they are broke. LOL Ok, so that’s harsh. I’m all for national forests, I love em, but that is some spending that could wait for the economy to improve a little. $6 billion for broadband Internet access in rural areas? NO! There are plenty of companies that have emerged who offer viable satellite solutions to people out there. You do not need $6 billion for this. Flood control efforts… hmmm… Don’t get me started. *SOME* areas need help. Other areas people need to just not live there. Aging sewer lines… NO COMPLAINT THERE! The last thing I want is to wake up and have my toilet blow up at me. *shudder* spend spend spend spend spend! hehe Money for vacant and foreclosed homes… hmmmm… instead of spending 4.2 billion, how about a few hundred million and have construction crews plow them over? Seriously. They are the result of a booming housing market that went up in smoke. There’s enough new construction sitting vacant out there. Just take out the ones that are old. Solve two problems there… removal of energy inefficient homes and you’ve saved money on rehabilitation and tax breaks to those rehabbing them. 🙂

Now, for “smart” utility systems and science and research centers…. Does this mean you’re going to actually use these systems or just ignore what researchers and engineers try to present like we’ve been doing? Let’s face it… there are very few places actually embracing new technology in order to make these programs worthwhile and unless you’re going to take the resources to enforce the usage of such things, why then waste $42 billion on trying to develop more technology that won’t be used?

I don’t know. I’m with the skeptics on this one. I kind of feel like these numbers were pulled out of the air with nothing substantial to back them up. The spending is all over the board in the wrong places. *shrug* but what do I know, I’m not a politician or an economist. I’m just a server admin that only has to manage equipment efficiently and cost effectively.