Our funny money is on the way!


Stimulus payments start arriving Monday
Treasury Department says it will deposit the first 800,000 payments four days earlier than expected in effort to boost economy.



NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The federal government, eager to boost the flagging economy, will start distributing special stimulus payments Monday - four days earlier than expected.

"Beginning Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach households," President Bush said Friday. "This money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we're seeing at the gas pump and at the grocery store."

The department announced the early arrival of the payments Thursday after saying last month that it would begin sending out the money on May 2.

As of next week, 800,000 tax filers daily will begin to have their checks directly deposited Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. No checks will be distributed Thursday, and 5 million payments will be made Friday.

The payments will go out ahead of schedule because of a new computer program that updates records daily - faster than an older program that updates weekly, according to Andrew DeSouza, a Treasury spokesman.

Overall, the Treasury will distribute more than $110 billion to 130 million taxpayers by July and hopes to get the first $50 billion out by the end of May, DeSouza said.

The checks are the centerpiece of an economic stimulus program signed into law by President Bush in February. The aim is to boost consumer spending and help mitigate problems caused by the slowing economy.

Checks are being distributed to people who file 2007 tax returns. Those who opt for direct deposit with the Internal Revenue Service will start getting payments before those who use the mail.

The program calls for rebates of up to $600 for single filers making less than $75,000. Couples making less than $150,000 would receive rebates of up to $1,200. In addition, parents would receive $300 rebates per child. Filers who do not owe income taxes but have at least $3,000 in income would get a $300 payment.

Payments to taxpayers slated to get paper checks will start to go out May 9 - one week earlier than originally planned.

The order in which tax filers will receive their payments will be based on the last two digits of their Social Security numbers.

We get free money to pay for our more expensive food and gasoline!

Bush legacy -- RESTORED!!!


Bush says rebates going out Monday should help economy

50 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - President Bush said tax rebates will start going out Monday, earlier than previously announced, and should help Americans cope with rising gasoline and food prices, as well as aid a slumping economy.

"Starting Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach millions of households across our country," Bush said Friday in remarks on the South Lawn of the White House.

The Internal Revenue Service had been saying direct deposits wouldn't start until next Friday. Bush said paper checks would begin going out on May 9, a week earlier than previously announced.

"The money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we're seeing at the gas pump, the grocery store, and also give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown," Bush said.

Bush's emphasis on fuel and food prices differed from other comments he's made since signing the economic stimulus legislation, intended to aid the economy by boosting overall consumer spending — which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.

Bush suggested the rebates could trigger a spending spree. "When the money reaches the American people, we expect they will use it to boost consumer spending," he said last month.

By saying expressly that people could use these one-time checks to pay for such necessities as food and gas, Bush underscored the deepening challenges facing the economy.

As he had earlier in the week, Bush used the word "slowdown" to describe the state of the economy. He has denied that the nation is in a recession, although many economists say it is.

"It's obvious our economy is in a slowdown. But, fortunately, we recognized the signs early and took action," Bush said.

The rebates — up to $600 for an individual, $1,200 for a couple and an additional $300 for each dependent child — are the centerpiece of the government's $168 billion stimulus package, enacted in February. Roughly 130 million households are expected to get them.

Bush made the comments before boarding his helicopter at the start of a day trip to Connecticut.

People must file a tax return for their 2007 income to be eligible for a rebate check.

The IRS now says all checks for those who filed tax returns on time are scheduled to be deposited or mailed by July 11.

The economy — burdened by the collapse of home prices, a financial and credit crisis, and now rising energy and food prices — grew at an anemic 0.6 percent in the final three months of last year and is believed to have gotten even weaker in the first three months of this year.

The government will report on the first quarter's performance next week.

With the economy faltering, the nation's unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1 percent, the highest since September 2005, when it suffered from the devastating blows of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Job losses in the first three months of this year neared the quarter-million mark.

Foreclosures have surged to record highs and financial companies have taken multibillion losses on mortgage investments that soured. The situation has sent a tremor through Wall Street and has sent the administration, Congress and presidential contenders looking for ways to provide relief.

I wish I was getting a rebate.

I wish I was getting a rebate.
I don't wish I was getting a rebate. :)

I wish peeps knew what to blame the Prez for.

I blame him for being surprised when he was told (about a month ago) that gas was nearing $4/gal.

His response was something like, "Really? I hadn't heard that."

I'm sure it's probably on YouTube.

edit: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/28/bush-on-4-gas-i-hadnt_n_88907.html

It sure is nice of the government to give back some of the money they stole from us. While I'm happy to get the check, I'm sure far too many people see this as a huge act of kindness from Bush when they should be pissed that we get taxed so high while the rich get richer.

Bush cuts taxes and you guys still get red ass?

Repeat after me...BUSH IS MY FRIEND! BUSH IS MY FRIEND!

It just seems like a phony way out of a recession ("slowdown", LMAO) to me.

The economy is in the shitter?

Hell, why not print up some money and send it out and make everyone feel better?

Meanwhile, the national debt grows and grows.

I'm signing over my stimulus check to the DNC.

Why in year 8 does he finally do something about the fact we get taxed up the ass while he gives breaks to everyone making money on capital gains? Like this is supposed to make me feel better about the trillions of dollars (and thousands of lives) wasted in Iraq while he turned his back on the working class.

He cut off our arms and I'm supposed to thank him for giving me an asprin to dull the pain for a while?

National Debt, Schmational debt. During our next up cycle we pay it down. I've been through these things before and we come out of them fine.

Our debt to GDP or whatever it is they compare it to, is not out of whack.

BUSH IS MY FRIEND

I was having some fun in this thread but once WTFC added deaths from the war. I'm out. Nothing to joke about there.

I'm using my Stimulus check on illegal drugs so Columbia benefits...

Bring on the cocain!

HEY, STOP THAT MO! THIS IS TO STIMULATE OUR ECONOMY!!
Buy meth from hillbillies

Psst, fuck stimulating the economy.

MoTown needs to stimulate awareness of the fact people around him are plotting shit.

What have you heard? Is someone plotting against me?

The cocaine will tell you everything you need to know.

What have you heard? Is someone plotting against me?

Let's just say that I would keep an eye out for THIS MAN:















http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/4112/thehoffvu2.jpg

This administration and its cheerleaders are cynical enough to think a pissing-into-the-wind tax rebate is going to make people not notice the country is being run into the ground.

The MGM Grand in Detroit is licking its chops right now.

"Slot machines will now take your economic stimulus check directly!"

I wish peeps knew what to blame the Prez for.
I agree. There's a lot to blame the President for, especially with some aspects of how we got into this mess in the first place. But this so-called "economic stimulus" package, in which we:

- borrow money we don't have
- throw it back at people in a scattershot way, and
- hope it helps with a problem caused by borrowing money we don't have

is a boondoggle with bipartisan support.

Just call me unstimulated.

BOONDOGGLE

I'm guessing that it only has bipartisan support because of the political ammo that would be provided if the Dems opposed it.


DO YOU REALLY WANT TO VOTE FOR THE GUY THAT DIDN'T WANT TO PUT CASH IN YOUR POCKET??

I don't mind paying down my own debt with the governments.

On average, the ware in Iraq costs each US household $100 per month. That's not taking into account anything indirect such as gas prices or other countries hating us, just a literal math figure of we spend X dollars and there are X households in the US. So after years in Iraq, the gov says "Here's six months of the war back in your pocket." Fuck off Bush.

Here is graph of debt as a % of gdp by president.

http://zfacts.com/metaPage/lib/National-Debt-GDP.gif

So, repub presidents are far from the responsible stewards of the economy that they claim. Debt per GDP has not declined in any year of Reagan, Bush1 or Bush2. In addition, the GDP measure in the US has a far different meaning now than in the 50s. In the 50s, most of the GDP was represented by infrastructure and manufacturing output. In theory, these types of outputs have inherent value. As our economy has transformed, GDP has increased via paper wealth and investments. If Worldcom stocks drops from $80 to $0, you have nothing to show from the supposed GDP. In comparison, if you had manufactured tractors and went bankrupt, you would still have the manufactured tractors existing somewhere in the economy. We are in currently in highly uncharted territority. The deregulation of the economy by republicans makes the water even murkier because business are essentially for regulating themselves and outsiders have almost no oversight of the accounting practices. In addition, a large portion of GDP growth had been mortgage equity, which resulted from skyrocketing housing and property costs. In fact, if it you wondered why reported economic data seemed better than actual conditions, now you know.

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/gdp_w_and_wo_mew_2.jpg

Nonetheless, this rebate will stimlate the economy some. Supply side tax cuts have very diffuse effects, especially now that we have global stock and currency markets. The greater the income disparities the less stimulated the economy is as the super rich spend much smaller % of income on consumer goods.

Perhaps, the bigger problem in the US is private debt. While always high, it shot up around Reagan's preidency and it has shot through the roof during the bush presidency, partly because of the extremely artifically low interest rates and the deregulated banking industry.

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/household-ratio.gif

Another type of debt, which is not included in any of the above graphs is the deterioration in our physical infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, water and sewer infrastructure). Most of this was built 50 years ago or more and in dire need of costly repairs. (imagine tearing out the streets of Manhattan to fix the sewer underneath.)

All in all, we are at the precipice of a debt cliff looking down into an abyss. Our economic indicators are out of whack because the rapid increase in debt has masked the stagnation in houesehold wage rates. The national debt is very concerning, but private debt is the real sword of Damocles hanging above our heads IMO. we'll see.

(by the way, yes I have had way too much time on my hands lately.)

tl;dr

jk I'll get back to it later

I've always been uncomfortable with "debt to GDP" ratio. It's hard to discern much GDP exists as a function of debt and how much is despite the debt. It's hard to discern whether we're really getting good bang for the collective debt. It's sort of the "assists to turnover" statistic of global economics. I don't have nearly the time or motivation to go into such matters as Xanadu has. (I'm more worried about our point guard with a decent assist-to-TO ratio actually not playing like a total fucking fucktard at the moment!)

Xanadu, you just made a boondoggle of my mind.

Well, how about that Bush speech on the economy? That was pretty embarrassing. I sure hope no one overseas was watching that, they've got to think we are the dumbest, most juvenile people in the world. Olbermann's a goof, but his fact checking is badly needed here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/30/gotcha-olbermann-rips-apa_n_99461.html

I mean no disrepect to your post Swam, but I don't give a fuck what other countries think.

I'm burnt on all of this 'we lost our standing in the world' crap.

Fuck China, they had more peeps protesting that country than I can ever remember.

Putin just changes the Russian constitution, or whatever it is, and keeps himself in power in a Hugo Chavezesque move.

France has tons of internal problems with their immigrints.

Iran's economy is fucked.

Fuck em all in the ass.

I'm burned out on it too. Not because it doesn't matter but because after five years of pissing it away there's nothing left to do but run down the clock until Bush is out of office.

I mean no disrepect to your post Swam, but I don't give a fuck what other countries think.
OK, fair enough. But I think it's pretty embarrassing to hype up a big "speech on the economy" and then use all that time to slag the opposition party, basically blaming them for everything.

If he did that, then he's fucked up. I didn't see it.

Bush doesn't have shit to talk. This is a lil off-topic but the best thing that happened to our budget was when the Dem took back control of the congress. Not that they were going to spend less, but it made him brake out the veto pen. When the Reps were in control, it was spend spend spend.

I did hear him make a funny last week when he said that he was going to send Jessica Simpson to the Dem Nat'l Convention.

Props to whomever wrote that for him.