FitNurseRN
Cathlete
What does everyone think about the tax rebate that president bush is proposing?
melissa
melissa
opinions on tax rebate
- Thread starter FitNurseRN
- Start date
lioness
Cathlete
Bush is suppose to sign the bill tomorrow. For the most part, individuals will get $600 and families $1200 based on how much you earned this year. Checks are suppose to be mailed in May or early June.
Although the extra $$$ is nice, I don't think it's a great idea. Basically, it's a band-aid. Here consumers, take this money, spend it and the economy will be better. Whatever. It's going to cost the country billions of dollars that we don't have.
Mine is going into the bank.
Although the extra $$$ is nice, I don't think it's a great idea. Basically, it's a band-aid. Here consumers, take this money, spend it and the economy will be better. Whatever. It's going to cost the country billions of dollars that we don't have.
Mine is going into the bank.
andtckrtoo
Cathlete
Just to clarify - President Bush may have proposed it, both both parties jumped on it and agreed.
I'd rather see the money go towards paying down the National Debt and making the dollar stronger again. I really don't see how giving everyone $600 is going to strengthen the economy. I don't think we'll have a really strong economy until the US dollar is back to where it used to be and that cannot happen with the debt we currently have.
I'd rather see the money go towards paying down the National Debt and making the dollar stronger again. I really don't see how giving everyone $600 is going to strengthen the economy. I don't think we'll have a really strong economy until the US dollar is back to where it used to be and that cannot happen with the debt we currently have.
FitNurseRN
Cathlete
I think that most people are going to pay back debt and not go out and buy things. The goal is that people will go out and spend the money which I suppose some people might. I know I am going to pay bills with it.
Here are some links 'splainin' it:
Congress Passes $150 Billion Stimulus Package
http://media.www.thehilltoponline.c...es.150.Billion.Stimulus.Package-3201272.shtml
How tax rebates work in stimulus package
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/12/BUOAV0BJP.DTL
<<Basically, it's a band-aid.>>
Yep...we'll end up using ours to to help pay our property taxes.
Congress Passes $150 Billion Stimulus Package
http://media.www.thehilltoponline.c...es.150.Billion.Stimulus.Package-3201272.shtml
How tax rebates work in stimulus package
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/12/BUOAV0BJP.DTL
<<Basically, it's a band-aid.>>
Yep...we'll end up using ours to to help pay our property taxes.
garance
Cathlete
I agree with everyone here. When polled, most people said that they would be paying down bills with this extra money or saving it--not consuming. DH and I intend to save the money. If our sons were not already grown and out of college, we probably would have put the money in their college funds.
marnold
Cathlete
I agree with ^^^^. These rebates may or may not stimulate the economy.
I think we have some deep rooted problems though which will not be repaired overnight.
In my area, many young families are facing difficult times because they were loaned money which they could never pay back (sub prime loans, etc.) or are so overextended (credit cards to pay for other credit card bills) that they will never see the light of day. The home prices and property taxes in this area have exploded and will not go down until some of the homes go into foreclosure.
It is sad really. The borrowers are to blame for borrowing more money than they can afford. The banks/mortgage companies are to blame for overvaluing homes through questionable as well as creative loaning practices. It is definitely a lose-lose situation and I fear that people like me, no credit cards, an affordable mortgage, and little debt, will end up paying for it in the long haul. DH and I watched this situation bloom into what it is today. We continually asked to the heavens how a twenty something year old with kids and a low income could qualify for a house loan (typically a construction loan) for +200K. We joked and said maybe they are drug dealers. When we applied for our first mortgage, we were not allowed to have ANY debt. We had to pay off everything to qualify. My how times have changed!
I think we have some deep rooted problems though which will not be repaired overnight.
In my area, many young families are facing difficult times because they were loaned money which they could never pay back (sub prime loans, etc.) or are so overextended (credit cards to pay for other credit card bills) that they will never see the light of day. The home prices and property taxes in this area have exploded and will not go down until some of the homes go into foreclosure.
It is sad really. The borrowers are to blame for borrowing more money than they can afford. The banks/mortgage companies are to blame for overvaluing homes through questionable as well as creative loaning practices. It is definitely a lose-lose situation and I fear that people like me, no credit cards, an affordable mortgage, and little debt, will end up paying for it in the long haul. DH and I watched this situation bloom into what it is today. We continually asked to the heavens how a twenty something year old with kids and a low income could qualify for a house loan (typically a construction loan) for +200K. We joked and said maybe they are drug dealers. When we applied for our first mortgage, we were not allowed to have ANY debt. We had to pay off everything to qualify. My how times have changed!
Melissa - You hit the nail on the head. I couldn't believe the hoops DH and I had to jump through for our first mortgage more than 10 years ago, and we both had excellent credit!
Here's a question: I'm no economist, but am I the only person who thinks this country/society has a SERIOUS problem with excess/over consumption??
I would love to believe that the people who should really be paying down their debt will do it, but I have a feeling that won't happen. Call me a pessimist...
Here's a question: I'm no economist, but am I the only person who thinks this country/society has a SERIOUS problem with excess/over consumption??
I would love to believe that the people who should really be paying down their debt will do it, but I have a feeling that won't happen. Call me a pessimist...
marnold
Cathlete
Thank God I am not alone, Gayle! It seems that our thoughts are quite unpopular these days. My parents did not build a new home until I was long gone from the house. They bought their first new car two years after that. We have several generations, including mine, who believe it is their American right to have everything new, nothing used and have it now.
Where I live, you would not believe how many children live in families where hand-me-down clothing is the norm along with jet skis, brand new Escalades, boats, 4 wheelers....
x( Somedays, it makes me want to scream!x(
My husband works with a 20 something, who is refusing to pay his mortgage payment (which he can afford right now because the balloon rate hasn't hit yet) on his subprime loan because he would rather that the bank take the house. I was so apalled by his decision I couldn't speak! I replied...explain to me how you think that you should not pay back a loan which was made to you for your home. This is your debt. You asked for it. You signed for it. It is a given that the house in not worth and will not sell for the amount mortgaged but it continues to be YOUR debt. He could care less and has been putting the payment money in his checking account since October. He seems to believe that the bank will not go after him and will let him foreclose on the house without any problems for him. Back in the day, you would be sued by the bank and foreclosure was ALWAYS the last alternative because as my wise Father said to me "they will make you wish you were dead".
Sad thing is...I fear this kid is right. I am cringing!
Where I live, you would not believe how many children live in families where hand-me-down clothing is the norm along with jet skis, brand new Escalades, boats, 4 wheelers....
x( Somedays, it makes me want to scream!x(
My husband works with a 20 something, who is refusing to pay his mortgage payment (which he can afford right now because the balloon rate hasn't hit yet) on his subprime loan because he would rather that the bank take the house. I was so apalled by his decision I couldn't speak! I replied...explain to me how you think that you should not pay back a loan which was made to you for your home. This is your debt. You asked for it. You signed for it. It is a given that the house in not worth and will not sell for the amount mortgaged but it continues to be YOUR debt. He could care less and has been putting the payment money in his checking account since October. He seems to believe that the bank will not go after him and will let him foreclose on the house without any problems for him. Back in the day, you would be sued by the bank and foreclosure was ALWAYS the last alternative because as my wise Father said to me "they will make you wish you were dead".
Sad thing is...I fear this kid is right. I am cringing!
FitNurseRN
Cathlete
I think there is more to forecloser than that. Wont they be able to take any valuables that he has if it does go into forecloser?? And wont they be able to look to see if he has any money in bank accounts anywhere? If he took the loan out he is responsible to pay it. That really burns me. It sounds like he should at least try to sell it then if he doesnt want it anymore.
andtckrtoo
Cathlete
Interesting article on CNN about this issue - http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/12/beck.stimulus.package/index.html
I'm spending 2/3 of it (STS and a Le Creuset dutch oven), but I'll be saving the rest/paying my charge card - along with my regular tax returns. Ultimately I think it's a stupid idea, however. $600 isn't going to turn around the US economy and as others have stated, most people will pay debt or save it anyway. Plus, we're borrowing the money for it from China! So Bush's idea is to increase the national debt - to boost the economy. When you consider most things people will buy are made in other countries (like China), the money goes from one pocket and into another, but neither of the pockets are the US's. It's just another of Bush's million-and-one bad decisions. Long-term it won't do a thing.
By releasing more dollars onto the economy, the dollar will be weakened internationally. The value of the dollar will go down, the price of a barrel of oil (imported) will go up, you will spend the money at the gas pump.
Save the money, pay down debt... bad times are a coming....
Save the money, pay down debt... bad times are a coming....
DH and I don't qualify for the rebate, as we both make above the "bar" that has been set.
I agree that the foreclosure mess is a big issue and key reason for the state of things being as they are today. But please keep in mind that the "offenders" in this category are not all young kids that can't pay their bills.
I techincally fit into that category. DH and I are both 30, and are fortunate enough to have done very well for ourselves financially with the company that we work for. We are currently shopping for a new place in the $600K range, and are running into all kinds of issues with people that have been unable to pay TWO mortgages at the same time.
They could easily pay the mortgage on their new place, but when their old place doesn't sell, they are stuck paying a double mortgage, which no one can do for very long. We have seen a lot of families out there in this situation that have been forced to move into a larger place, and stuck in the situation above. In fact, most of the homes we've been looking at have been on the market for over 300 days.
There are many folks to blame in today's situation, and I can't asy that only one group has been the culprit.
I agree that the foreclosure mess is a big issue and key reason for the state of things being as they are today. But please keep in mind that the "offenders" in this category are not all young kids that can't pay their bills.
I techincally fit into that category. DH and I are both 30, and are fortunate enough to have done very well for ourselves financially with the company that we work for. We are currently shopping for a new place in the $600K range, and are running into all kinds of issues with people that have been unable to pay TWO mortgages at the same time.
They could easily pay the mortgage on their new place, but when their old place doesn't sell, they are stuck paying a double mortgage, which no one can do for very long. We have seen a lot of families out there in this situation that have been forced to move into a larger place, and stuck in the situation above. In fact, most of the homes we've been looking at have been on the market for over 300 days.
There are many folks to blame in today's situation, and I can't asy that only one group has been the culprit.
<<We have seen a lot of families out there in this situation that have been forced to move into a larger place, and stuck in the situation above.>>
Okay...as someone who has shared a bedroom for her ENTIRE life (first sisters, then husband), I gotta ask: How does someone get "forced" into having to buy a larger place?
Okay...as someone who has shared a bedroom for her ENTIRE life (first sisters, then husband), I gotta ask: How does someone get "forced" into having to buy a larger place?