Greed is Catching up with us.... (Corporate Profits, unemployment, interstates, minimum wage)

[boiseguy]

So Now President Bush wants to give Tax credits to everyone to save the economy. If you get your tax return would you think of it as a government handout? and is it fair that everyone is getting the same tax amount in credit when many others have paid more in taxes? If I were a Conservative I would be very upset with this bold move of socialism being displayed. Getting money from the government to help the economy? Seems even the rich oil men are realizing that their greed is catching up with them and the american people are becoming more and more impoverished...to where they can't afford to sustain the economy anymore....

What is everyone else's thoughts on this?

[KantLockeMeIn]

There's already a thread with the same discussions. I would suggest closing this one so it doesn't get confusing.

[boiseguy]

the previous thread asks a question in relation to the fair tax... this has nothing to do with that.. I'm speaking in terms of the tax credit itself... what, why and how...

[NCN]

The economy is a total mess. Yes, greed is the biggest offender, but I am a little tired of the government thinking it is supposed to be big brother and take care of everybody. I think the governments job is to keep us safe and beyond that it should "butt out." In safety, I would include safe roads, safe travel, crime control,etc. Stop the company bail outs. If a company cannot manage, it deserves to fold. That's the free enterprise system. Leave it alone and it will fix itself.

Greed has caused some of the employees to price themselves out of a job. It is easy to see why American cars cost so much when regular factory workers think they should make $28 per hour. It is time for some of you to get real and stop whinning.

I don't like having to pay extra taxes to help out a company who has management making enormous salaries, thus milking the profits. Some of these CEO's make too much money. If the company does not make a profit, take it from the CEO's salary. Have that in the contract when you hire him. That may help his thinking skills.

[Skytripper]

Yes, this "tax rebate" would likely not be directed to whom would MOST be in need of it, thus not fair and likely a HUGE waste more than anything!

GREED WILL BE THE DOWNFALL of everything in a world that seeks so much in POSSESSIONS, POWER and the FREEDOM.....associated with WHAT people envision SUCCESS to mean!
GREED and the "American Dream" go hand in hand!
It's just way too materialistic of a world full of more and more ungrateful people who truly DON'T KNOW.....just how lucky they probably are!

It certainly isn't necessary to provide this "rebate" to anyone making even close to $150K/annually, IMO.

Those who truly would benefit from this "generous" rebate.....would be those whose incomes are LESS than $75K/yr. and depending on the number of people in a (maybe) family.......NOT really for a single individual making $75K.

Certainly......no family of 4 making more than $150K/yr. should see much or anything and those making less could seriously benefit from a much higher "personal rebate" amount than the one proposed by Bush......IF he believes 145 BILLION dollars to be the max.

Either way.........its a temporary band-aid for a MAJOR open wound and a desperate act in a much greater problem in America......LACK OF DECENT-WAGED.......STABLE, MANUFACTURING JOBS!
LACK OF INNOVATION and INVENTION!
Lack of long-term, stable, manufacturing jobs paying a min. of $12.00/hr. and on up from there.......and available EVERYWHERE.....not just in "some" parts of the country!

This COULD be possible though.......IF many companies were somehow required to....or enticed to NOT outsource to other countries, provide job training to ANYONE who is interested in the business but does NOT necessarily, HAVE or NEED a college degree to become an employee.....even a "probationary" one. OJT......with "room for advancement" based on your INDIVIDUAL abilities, knowledge, productivity and desire......not a PC, AA-based promotional/hiring ethic that IS unfair!

INVEST in the deportation of EVERYONE here ILLEGALLY and keeping illegals out by NOT giving them ANY reason to WANT to even be here!
WHATEVER the COST!

And MOST of ALL.........a Government/Business.......vested interest at the long-term infrastructure of America........namely, investing BILLIONS, possibly over a TRILLION+ to completely upgrade our transportation system......from Air Travel (upgraded ATC/Radars/FAA) to Superhighway (Autobahn-styled) Interstates for high-speed CAR-ONLY traffic along with a VERY high-speed rail system like that of the bullet trains of France and Japan.......and END our reliance on foreign OIL.......ASAP!! It is possible, but the oil industry IS very powerful and would fight it Tooth & Nail!
THIS......WOULD put a LOT of people to work FAST and be a WISE, albeit VERY expensive......commitment for the future of America, IMO!
MAKE MORE LARGE corporations financially responsible for those they employ in a way as to reduce URBAN SPRAWL, commute times, etc. as to preserve the environment better and seek innovative ways of URBAN PLANNING that make the BEST possible USE of every sq. inch of a city and its transportation/housing needs by reconfiguring all ZONING and zoning laws.
SAVE and PRESERVE the remaining wilderness/open spaces!
Seek and find alternative fuels/ construction resources.
Just a few ideas.....some might not be so great though, just thinking outside the box and reaching for something.

Enact new legislation making it far more difficult for ANYONE to become an American citizen and try to "cap" our total population and its growth from this point on so as to CONSERVE our resources?

MORE tariffs?

I know.....a LOT of the above is probably un-realistic or impossible.....or just stupid.

NOTHING would remotely be construed as FAIR though......with this tax "rebate"..... but a LOT of people won't care and just be happy for a brief moment........to go shopping and maybe pay off some bills.

It's just NOT going to solve a thing in the long run......but maybe make this current "recession" a bit more tolerable /delayed for a few more months.....or just long enough perhaps.......for GW to wrap up his days in DC!

[Bob The Builder]

Multiplier (economics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[Magnulus]

Bush's tax cuts didn't work well last time, the actual stimulus to the economy was Greenspan's rate cuts. Now Bush is drumming up support for even more cuts, many of them permanent. In a promising sign of change from his predecessor, Bernake seems to be favoring the opposite of the president- brief, targeted tax cuts at the middle class, and increased spending by the government on things like unemployment benefits.

I don't think any of these things will be more than a band aid until we can fix some long term structural problems with US society, such as the flight of good jobs overseas and the declining standard of living. Mostly this declining standard of living is caused by an economy that cannot keep pace with the growing population: you either have to limit population growth or increase the economic growth rate (ending illegal immigration would be a good start here). Also, targetting policies at companies that are outsourcing good jobs to save a few bucks overseas might be a wise move, as I think outsourcing in the ends hurts every American and doesn't save us all that much money. Increasing spending on education and infrastructure could also make the US more competitive internationally, which is important if you want any jobs to be staying in the US in the future. A 100 percent low-skill service economy just cannot work, you need some knowledge and productivity based jobs.

[Amaznjohn]

Originally Posted by Skytripper

Yes, this "tax rebate" would likely not be directed to whom would MOST be in need of it, thus not fair and likely a HUGE waste more than anything!

GREED WILL BE THE DOWNFALL of everything in a world that seeks so much in POSSESSIONS, POWER and the FREEDOM.....associated with WHAT people envision SUCCESS to mean!
GREED and the "American Dream" go hand in hand!
It's just way too materialistic of a world full of more and more ungrateful people who truly DON'T KNOW.....just how lucky they probably are!

It certainly isn't necessary to provide this "rebate" to anyone making even close to $150K/annually, IMO.

Those who truly would benefit from this "generous" rebate.....would be those whose incomes are LESS than $75K/yr. and depending on the number of people in a (maybe) family.......NOT really for a single individual making $75K.

Certainly......no family of 4 making more than $150K/yr. should see much or anything and those making less could seriously benefit from a much higher "personal rebate" amount than the one proposed by Bush......IF he believes 145 BILLION dollars to be the max.

Either way.........its a temporary band-aid for a MAJOR open wound and a desperate act in a much greater problem in America......LACK OF DECENT-WAGED.......STABLE, MANUFACTURING JOBS!
LACK OF INNOVATION and INVENTION!
Lack of long-term, stable, manufacturing jobs paying a min. of $12.00/hr. and on up from there.......and available EVERYWHERE.....not just in "some" parts of the country!

This COULD be possible though.......IF many companies were somehow required to....or enticed to NOT outsource to other countries, provide job training to ANYONE who is interested in the business but does NOT necessarily, HAVE or NEED a college degree to become an employee.....even a "probationary" one. OJT......with "room for advancement" based on your INDIVIDUAL abilities, knowledge, productivity and desire......not a PC, AA-based promotional/hiring ethic that IS unfair!

INVEST in the deportation of EVERYONE here ILLEGALLY and keeping illegals out by NOT giving them ANY reason to WANT to even be here!
WHATEVER the COST!

And MOST of ALL.........a Government/Business.......vested interest at the long-term infrastructure of America........namely, investing BILLIONS, possibly over a TRILLION+ to completely upgrade our transportation system......from Air Travel (upgraded ATC/Radars/FAA) to Superhighway (Autobahn-styled) Interstates for high-speed CAR-ONLY traffic along with a VERY high-speed rail system like that of the bullet trains of France and Japan.......and END our reliance on foreign OIL.......ASAP!! It is possible, but the oil industry IS very powerful and would fight it Tooth & Nail!
THIS......WOULD put a LOT of people to work FAST and be a WISE, albeit VERY expensive......commitment for the future of America, IMO!
MAKE MORE LARGE corporations financially responsible for those they employ in a way as to reduce URBAN SPRAWL, commute times, etc. as to preserve the environment better and seek innovative ways of URBAN PLANNING that make the BEST possible USE of every sq. inch of a city and its transportation/housing needs by reconfiguring all ZONING and zoning laws.
SAVE and PRESERVE the remaining wilderness/open spaces!
Seek and find alternative fuels/ construction resources.
Just a few ideas.....some might not be so great though, just thinking outside the box and reaching for something.

Enact new legislation making it far more difficult for ANYONE to become an American citizen and try to "cap" our total population and its growth from this point on so as to CONSERVE our resources?

MORE tariffs?

I know.....a LOT of the above is probably un-realistic or impossible.....or just stupid.

NOTHING would remotely be construed as FAIR though......with this tax "rebate"..... but a LOT of people won't care and just be happy for a brief moment........to go shopping and maybe pay off some bills.

It's just NOT going to solve a thing in the long run......but maybe make this current "recession" a bit more tolerable /delayed for a few more months.....or just long enough perhaps.......for GW to wrap up his days in DC!

Do you not realize that many of the things you propose is exactly what has caused the costs of manufacturing here to be too high for a company to compete and caused the jobs to be moved out of the country? Why would you support raising the cost of manufacturing by mandating an increase in wages and then support "enticing" companies to stay here? To do both would be inconsistent.

Corporations are not greedy, though some of their management may be. the CEO's job is to make the corporation profitable for its stockholders. Many of those stockholders are middle and lower class individuals who are depending on the value of that stock for their retirement. Many people lose sight of this as they continue to bash corporate profits. If the CEO doesn't fulfill his/her obligations and tries to make the corporation into some type of social do-gooder without the stockholders' permissioin, he/her will lose his/her job and likely, with some exceptions, lose money since much of their salaries including stock options.

As I am against government handouts for individuals, so am I against handouts to corporations, though a corporation desolving typically hurts more middle and lower class individuals in the long run. A free market will provide an alternative eventually.

BTW, the U.S. still leads the world in innovation and inventions, despite the efforts of many who want to punish the corporations, making ithem less profitable and with less resources for research and development.

[Skytripper]

Sorry Amazon......but it is my belief that due to Corporate GREED (outsourcing for cheapest labor) to boost profit and contribute massive salaries/bonuses to inept CEO's IS a real slap in the face to many Americans who helped too many companies become and be successful in the first damn place!
Americans NEED work and a decent wage to live on and keep up with the high cost of living thesedays.
Too many Americans work too hard just to survive and keep a roof over their heads and food on the table!

Too many living from paycheck to paycheck......because more often than not.....thesedays....their stuck in NOWHERE jobs! THESE are the most available jobs more than any else!
Too many young folks just out of college.......with a degree.....stuck "waiting tables" or another hospitality/customer service job that pays minimum wage or just over withm little or NO benefits or security!
The list goes on and on!

Profit of corporations for the stockholder's retirement security you say?
HA.....what about a huge percentage of today's younger generation's retirement and security?!

GONE......
to ensure ALL those Baby Boomers get their very BEST care and comfort in old age. Really WANT and need those damn "Golden Years" to truly be 24 carat don't 'ya?

[jufrbo]

I am against it in theory. But in reality, I want a check for 800 dollars, I would be lieing if I said otherwise.