The Public Opinion Soapbox

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

U.S. Congress to the Next Generation: Drop Dead: Announcing the economic stimulus package agreed to last week by both parties in the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declared that typical Americans can expect to receive a "stipend" of $300 to $1,200. Stipend -- will we get a federally funded sherry hour, too? Calling a government check a "stipend," to make it seem lofty and grand, reflects the modern affection CEOs have for calling the cash they receive "compensation" rather than pay, and consultants and speakers insist on saying they are receiving "honoraria" rather than pay. There is nothing wrong with receiving pay! And no reason to employ euphemisms.

The stimulus bill will cost about $150 billion and consists entirely of deficit spending. The secondary euphemism being employed in Washington is to call the checks "tax rebates." But they are not rebates, meaning partial returns of monies paid -- they are pure borrowing. Which is to say, Congress will award most current American adults $300 to $1,200 each, then send the bill to future American adults. Suppose that instead, each American adult today set aside $300 at 5 percent interest. In 20 years, that money would grow to $800, and likely much more if invested in stocks. Such savings would be good for the U.S. economy, which, since 2001, has seen a negative national savings rate. China's national savings rate is currently almost 50 percent. Savings is one reason the Chinese economy is growing far faster than the U.S. economy; the U.S. savings rate is close to negative-4 percent, and our economic growth is sputtering.

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Congress

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The framers said, "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." Today's Congress: "We mutually pledge to pretend to believe what we just promised until the first second it is politically convenient to do the opposite."
But rather than help the U.S. economy grow in a generous way that forgoes a little today to gain a lot tomorrow, the American people -- through their representatives in Congress -- just reached into the pockets of future citizens in order to spend more on themselves right now. Explain to me why this is considered a populist action by Congress?

Bear in mind, the stimulus package announced last week is only an agreement between the two parties in the House. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the Senate currently are scrambling to add their own pet projects to the legislation -- whenever a big spending bill moves, there's always a bidding war in which Republicans and Democrats vie to see who can stage the biggest giveaway. The damage to the national debt might get worse because what's happening now is the environment Congress likes best -- an environment of zero fiscal discipline. Lobbyists for retirees, who already are subsidized by the young, are complaining that their special interest isn't being showered with free money by the stimulus bill; lobbyists for pork-barrel projects that could never withstand logical scrutiny are maneuvering to wrap them in the flag and add them to the stimulus bill. By the time the stimulus bill leaves Capitol Hill, the young might be saddled with yet more debt so that members of Congress can congratulate themselves as they hand checks to politically connected fat-cat donors or to retirees already drawing out of Social Security far more than they put in, plus interest.

Next, recall that on Jan. 4, 2007, both houses of Congress agreed with considerable fanfare on the Paygo measure, which stated that under no circumstances -- under no circumstances, never, regardless of conditions! -- would Congress enact any bill that increases the federal debt. According to the Paygo legislation, the House and Senate are forbidden even to debate legislation that would increase the debt. ("It shall not be in order to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment or conference report if the provisions of such measure affecting direct spending and revenues have the net effect of increasing the deficit …") Paygo rules specify that all bills causing appropriations increases or tax favors must be offset be spending reductions or tax increases. When Paygo was enacted, many members of Congress from both parties, prominently Speaker Pelosi, patted themselves on the back in public.

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National Debt Clock

StanHonda/AFP/Getty Images

Thanks to the United States Congress, the National Debt Clock has been spinning overtime.
How long did this incredible resolve last? Six weeks ago, Congress passed a reduction of the Alternative Minimum Tax; the bill cut taxes by $51 billion but provides no offsetting revenues. Originally, the measure would have reduced the AMT for the middle class while raising taxes by an equal amount on the upper crust of venture capitalists and hedge-fund managers. All the revenue increases ended up deleted -- hedge-fund managers showered members of Congress with campaign donations -- but the tax cuts were approved. Congress ladled out the $51 billion entirely from deficit spending, then handed the bill to the young. Now, the stimulus package goes even further, at least $150 billion in gravy without spending cuts or offsetting revenue increases. Barely 12 months after pledging never, ever again to add to the federal debt, Congress will add at least $201 billion to the federal debt. The federal deficit for the most recent fiscal year, which ended before either of the new actions, was $163 billion. Congress has, in the past six weeks alone, added more to the federal debt than the entire federal deficit for the most recent fiscal year.

It's impossible to be sure, but a rough guess might be that every dollar added to the deficit today represents two dollars subtracted from future economic growth -- which in turn means two dollars taken from the pockets of tomorrow's American adults. This is a cynical exercise, robbing future Americans in order to please voters today, and to inspire interest groups to make political donations to incumbents. When are citizens under 30 going to wake up to the disagreeable fact that the country's current leadership, of both parties, is giving them the shaft in order to heap special favors on current voters who refuse to live within their means? Then handing the young the bill.

--Gregg Easterbrook on ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/080129&sportCat=nfl#congress

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 12, 2024 -- President Eli Manning announced today that the federal government will begin issuing Social Security benefits in renminbi, fixed at a conversion rate of 10 dollars per yuan. "Chinese currency will be really convenient for beneficiaries since everything we buy comes from China anyway," Manning said. Financial analysts noted that since bond-rating agencies dropped Treasury bills to junk-bond status, attracting foreign capital to sustain U.S. borrowing has become increasingly difficult. The decision to switch from greenbacks to renminbi adorned with images of Mao Zedong contemplating an orchid was made urgent last week when Argentina and Greater Korea stopped accepting dollars as payment for exports to the United States, saying they wanted to be paid in currencies not burdened by runaway debt. This year's federal deficit is projected to exceed the federal budget, yet Baby Boomer retirees are demanding higher benefits plus federally subsidized vacation homes.

Speaking from the Wal-Mart House, formerly known as the White House, Manning also appealed to Saudi Arabia to cut the price of oil below $1,000 per barrel. Administration officials said, however, that there are no plans to enforce the higher fuel-economy standards that were enacted by Congress in 2007 and have been postponed by every president since. With health care costs running at 63 percent of GDP, typical CEO pay now at $40 billion per executive and most working-age Americans having only part-time minimum-wage jobs, the economic outlook continues to appear gloomy. "But I believe this great nation can borrow vast amounts of foreign money with no plan as to how we will ever pay it back," President Manning said. "That's been the policy since George W. Bush, and that's my policy."

President Manning also held a ceremony to commemorate the 10,000th television commercial he has filmed with his brother Peyton. The commercial is for VegasCare, an HMO that is a Wall Street darling. Medicare recipients who enroll in VegasCare spin a roulette wheel every 30 days to determine how much medical care they will receive that month. Separately, Vice President Chelsea Clinton said she saw "clear signs of progress in stabilizing the security situation in Iraq."

same guy on ESPN.com Page Two

Wile_E · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

Are you going to send the check back? Shocked

I'm going to stick mine in savings.
_________________
"You know the score pal. If you're not cop, you're little people!"

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

I'll pay down student loan debt with mine. I am not going to send mine back, $600 wouldn't do a whole lot to reduce the national debt, wouldn't even be applied to it anyway. But I would gladly give mine up if it meant noone got the check, this would reduce the debt.

the whole, send it back if you don't want it argument really is not a valid one. I want a balanced budget, and not to run deficit spending all year. I lack the resources to make up for the Billions of dollars that are overspent. If I had trillions and trillions of dollars, maybe then I'd pay off the National Debt for everyone (assuming they agreed not to run it up again)

Coppy · Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 2413 Location: Chambersburg

Have you seen the HDMI cable discussion in the Tech section.....

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

yes, that's why I titled it this way. Sometimes I like to bump my very old threads. makes me feel important

Wile_E · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

how about this, should we send everyone in the us a check for $80 Billion dollars?

No you say?

Well if we did would you send yours back?

oh you wouldn't?

I guess we should go ahead and send everyone a $80 Billion check.

Oh you say that would lead to rampant inflation because the gov't printing money doesn't create value in an economy?

Well how about we just send a $600 check, that will only cause some inflation, and still create no value in the economy. sounds like a plan to me.

Wile_E · Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 51

anonymous_coward · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 533

.45chel · Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 2859 Location: Chambersburg

For all those waiting with bated breath... Learn to budget!! Don't rely on bail-outs and refunds!! Claim all your dependents on your W-2s and put leftover money (even $5) in a money market account without easy access! (I happen to like ING for security and basically standard rates) and you'll get a better return if not a gov't deposit once a year. But until you do, here's the government's gameplan.

On May 16, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service will begin the distribution of 2008 Economic Stimulus Payments via check to qualified taxpayers who file their regular 2007 Income Tax returns by the April 15 deadline. The checks will be mailed on a schedule whose dates are based on the last two digits of the main filer’s Social Security Number, as follows:

munchkin · Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 235

cookieclaygirl · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1963 Location: shippensburg

(whispers: tax the rich more...they can afford it....)

munchkin · Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 235