I don't normally yak about non-family things here, since this is supposed to be a record of our family life, but I can't help myself today.
National Review's website has a great list on its homepage of 50 things contained in the "Stimulus" bill that will have absolutely no effect on the economy and will not help regular people keep their jobs and keep their homes. Check it out at nationalreview.com
Let's break this down into the most simple economic terms: President Obama is begging for money to be pumped into our economy. Problem is, this money does not exist. The government does not have money. You think it should, since you give them money every time you get a paycheck, but they have a reputation of fiscal irresponsibility and always spend more than they earn. If YOU spend more than you earn, eventually your family collapses, you lose your house/car, and your credit score goes in the toilet. Lucky for the government, they can just borrow money from other countries or simply print more money. But we already have a national debt of almost 1 TRILLION dollars. Not million, not billion, but trillion. And with one swipe of the pen, Obama is ready to nearly DOUBLE that amount within his first month on the job.
Hypothetical situation: Let's say I owe MasterCard $2,000. I have for a long time, but I never send them any money, because I spend it on other stuff. In fact, I keep using the MasterCard to pay for things because I'm living outside my means and need the extra $$$. So after a while I owe MasterCard $5,000. I still don't pay my bill and act like it's no big deal. Now I decide to go out shopping for things my family "needs," like landscaping for our house and converting our car to a hybrid (things actually included in the Stimulus bill!) and I charge another $5,000 to the card. Am I being financially responsible? Am I actually helping anyone by creating more debt that I never intend to pay back? Or am I creating problems for my family down the road and putting them at a disadvantage in the future due to my own lack of foresight?
The difference between the government and me is that if I don't pay my debts back, MasterCard sues me or sends goons to break my kneecaps. The government, however, is not really accountable to anyone. And if they keep creating debt, do you know who is going to pay it back? You are. In higher taxes, for a very long time.
To summarize: You get nothing from the "stimulus" bill because it allocates money to projects within the government and does nothing to reward people with steady jobs who pay their mortgage, but those people will pay higher taxes to help fund this monstrosity. You pay, you get nothing. People who are irresponsible and reckless get many things and do not have to pay anything. Fair? Not at all.
Silver lining: Watching Obama struggle to drum up support for this nonsense. He's threatening members of Congress with "You better act now or face the consequences later" It makes him look like a petty jerk who doesn't really have any control over the situation. To those who think he's the all-powerful leader, you see now how the system of checks and balances works! It doesn't matter if he thinks it's the greatest idea he's ever come up with--he does not have the power at this point. And it seems to make him mad.
I'm done now. More baby stuff later!
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