How would you create a stimulus that would help?

[Horse with no Name]

I have thought about what I might have done to address the problems that this country faces.

At one point, I thought giving money to the taxpayers would have been a good idea, but there are always those that would have put the money away, not spending any, thus not stimulating the economy and there would have been those who might have foolishly spent it (drugs, gambling)--not helping themselves, and there would have been those that others might have taken advantage of by family and friends who would end up with nothing.

So...what I was thinking, wouldn't it be a good idea to give all 18+ taxpayers vouchers--name an amount, $10k is a nice starting point...to pay any EXISTING debt that they have. Whether it is cars, houses, credit cards, loans, whatever...each person would have enough to do what they need to do to get them to a point they might be able to breathe again.

Key to this is paying for it with the tax cuts to the rich. Get rid of ALL of the tax cuts--but allow the businesses that accept the vouchers 110% tax break on each voucher dollar redeemed.

Accepting these vouchers would also mean that merchants would have to do SOMETHING for their tax breaks. If we really want shared sacrifice...then this is the way to do it.

So...what is right and what is wrong with a plan like this?

[defendandprotect]

1. Put thru the 80%+ of the stimulus that Obama didn't push for ... !!!

Obama -- against the advice of his economists -- only asked for 20% of what was

required -- and he settled for even less!!!

Enough with corporate/business subsidies --

We need to end the tax cuts and get busy with the true dangers to the nation --

capitalism and its exploitation of nature which has given us Global Warming --

you don't think Global Warming is an immediate threat, then I'd suggest you begin

to do a lot of research and reading.

We don't need to resurrect FDR to understand what is wrong with America --

corporate/fascism -- and it's the same disease that Koch Bros. have unleashed in

the Democratic Party with their funding of the DLC -- Koch Bros. have been working

from within on dismantling the Dem Party for more than 20 years --

[Horse with no Name]

5. ...and then there is that...

"We don't need to resurrect FDR to understand what is wrong with America --

corporate/fascism -- and it's the same disease that Koch Bros. have unleashed in

the Democratic Party with their funding of the DLC -- Koch Bros. have been working

from within on dismantling the Dem Party for more than 20 years"

[defendandprotect]

13. If you ...

need links to that info --



The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414


If you knew about this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know -- pass it along -- !!


:)

[defendandprotect]

14. MEDICARE FOR ALL -- which would help the nation/citizens immensely --

[defendandprotect]

15. AND ending the wars bankrupting our Treasury --

[Motown_Johnny]

2. infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure (and tax reform)

including some type of import taxes on goods manufactured outside the country




I don't really like your idea of just helping people pay down debt. This money all goes directly to banks.

[Frustratedlady]

3. Invest in infrastructure and environmental projects.

We have plenty of needs all over the country. Get the jobs going building new eletrical grids for wind power. Utilize water power from our main rivers with dams.

There are just SO much of our infrastructure that has been ignored...now is the time to repair and restore.

This will build the SS funds, cut down the welfare costs and the money will start flowing into the system because the poor and middle class need the money to survive.

[JackRiddler]

11. Yes. Railways, mass transit, wind power, "smart grid," solar power, infrastructure...

subsidizing research and development projects. Creating jobs & making the urgent transition to a different, sustainable, non-carbon energy economy.

The government owned GM! They could have ordered it to build nothing but electric cars and rail cars and wind turbines!

What a tragedy.

[MadHound]

4. Long term damage due to inflation and weakening the dollar

We're already suffering from inflation, and if you inject even more money directly into the system, even via vouchers, inflation will rise.

Furthermore, this is a one shot wonder, once people spend this money on the debt of their choice, they are still stuck with no job, or a crappy job, or an underwater mortgage, or whatever. What is needed is a long acting stimulus that will raise everybody's boat over the long term.

The best way to do this is a massive WPA style jobs program. Have the government hire people to repair and update our infrastructure, renew our society, help our population. These people, with their money will spend that money out in society, creating more jobs, who in turn will spend their money, etc. etc. Furthermore, getting our infrastructure into good shape, putting in solar panels and wind turbines, laying fiber optics, repairing and replacing our road and rail system, will create the framework for even better economic growth.

[Taverner]

6. "If you build it they will come"

That about sums it up

[Aerows]

7. Cut taxes on small business

Start actually taxing large multinational corporations. They use the same damn services like roads and police as everyone else does. End tax breaks for the wealthy, and raise capital gains taxes.

Raise the minimum wage, and do something about the skyrocketing, completely out of control health care costs. I don't just mean with insurance companies, I mean find out why prices have increased tenfold in just over a decade.

Tax companies that outsource jobs overseas, give breaks to those who hire locally. Work on our aging infrastructure, which could put millions back to work. That's how you get the economy jump started. Anything less isn't going to help. People need more money, they need jobs, and industry needs a reason to produce something other than bombs.

Health care costs are a tremendous issue that are getting worse instead of better for no good reason.

[jpak]

8. A $15k tax credit for a Chevy Volt, a 50% tax credit for home solar electric systems

Guaranteed loans for production of electric buses

Federal subsidies for mass transit

$5000 tax credit for gas vehicles that get >35 mpg

A $15K tax credit for home weatherization/insulation

A $15K tax credit for high efficiency heat pump systems

a $1000 tax credit for pellet stoves

$15K tax credits for small organic farmers

Oh Yeah - National High Speed Rail System :)

Reduce American's food and fuel bills and they will spend the savings - and stimulate the economy.

yup

[gkhouston]

20. The only problem with those is that you have to have money to

pay for the improvements in the first place. I'd love to upgrade our HVAC but without a job and steady income, it's not gonna happen.

[Dawgs]

9. Robert Reich has some good ideas. Let's go with the expert.

"Instead we need to boost demand. For example, exempt the first $20,000 of income from payroll taxes for the next year. Recreate the WPA to employ the long-term jobless and the Civilian Conservation Corps to give jobs to millions of unemployed young people. Let distressed home owners declare bankruptcy on their primary residence, so they can reorganize their mortgage loans.

Call it a second stimulus if you want. Call it chopped liver. It doesn't matter. The point is to put money back into peoples' pockets so they can spend more and generate more jobs, which will get the virtuous cycle going again."

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/06/15/pm-a-second-stimulus-reich-commentary/

[csziggy]

10. Invest in our infrastructure

Rebuild our highways, build mass transit and high speed rail networks, put solar panels on as many roofs as possible, put up wind farms - spend money on projects that will pay the country back by improvements in our way of living that will last a generation or more. Require that at least a percentage of the money spent on equipment for the projects go to companies that are manufacturing the equipment in this country. Doing that will employ people who will spend money, which will encourage more hiring and investment in this country.

THIS is what I thought most of the original stimulus package was supposed to do. But between compromises (bending over) with Republicans and the idiot governors who refused stimulus funds (like pRick Scott here in Florida) much of what needed to get spent did not happen.

Another idea which would help people pay off debt is to tie maximum credit interest rates to the Prime Rate - say, no more than 10 points above Prime for credit cards, etc. I grew up when 18% was the maximum allowed interest rate. The rates now are obscene, especially when we have GIVEN so much to the banks and the financial industry. To have them charge so much for interest when they pay out maybe 1% on the money we store in their institutions and let them play with is offensive.

[xphile]

12. Infrastructure.

The roads need work, bridges need work, and our electrical grid needs upgrading. High speed rail need building. All of these things require people to be hired to build them. People working spend their money in the communities and then the businesses hire more people to deal with the increase in demand.

THAT is how you do stimulus because hiring only happens when the demand for goods and services goes up.

Supply side morons are well morons and have everything exactly ass backwards.

[defendandprotect]

16. EVERYONE knows how to end this -- including Obama and his Wall St team profiting from it -- !!

[MatthewStLouis]

17. Infrastructure. Build something here with Americans for Americans for a change!

[izquierdista]

18. Hire lots and lots of bricklayers

and train more bricklayers. And open more brickyards and brick kilns, for this will take many, many, many bricks.

Brick over the entrance to every gated community, every yacht harbor, every office on Wall Street, and every Bank of America branch. For further details, see E. Poe, "A Cask of Amontillado".

[HopeHoops]

19. End the cap on earnings subject to the Social Security tax.