Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Bush tax rebate: not effective, not fairThis from the Economic Policy Institute:With an economic slowdown looming, the Bush administration has proposed a $100 billion tax rebate as part of an overall stimulus package for the slowing U.S. economy. But 70% of the rebate would go to the top 40% of earners and would exclude most low-income families, who are most in need and most likely to spend the money immediately. This week's Economic Snapshot examines the flawed proposal. Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!).
Comments:
No tax rebate will be fair to everyone. Lets be honest, those in the lowest bracket who pay no income taxes should not get a rebate. They already have built in incentives like the earned income credit etc... that is why they will not be part of this rebate.
Also its not fair to other people at the high end either... Lets say your AGI is $85,000 a year.. you basically get phased out of the entire rebate. Now having an AGI of $85,000 is a ton of money if you live in Arkansas (no offense to my Razorback fans) but its nothing if you happen to live in Manhattan. The real problem in this country is that both the extreme poor and the extreme rich can "beat" the system. The poor usually collect unemployment, welfare and free healthcare while at the same time they have jobs that pay them "under the table" and do not pay a dime in taxes. The extreme rich on the other hand can afford to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to their lawyers and accountants to "shelter" their millions from taxes. The real tax burden then falls on the middle class, those of us who work hard, have steady jobs, pay our bills and mortgages and watch Uncle Sam reach into our pockets every week. We pay the lions share of the taxes in this country and I believe its fair for us to receive the most benefit. My problem is that these rebates never take into account cost of living. I never understand how the government can use a specific dollar amount to justify certain cutoffs and limitations. The quality of life of someone making $60,000 a year in Arkansas is much better than that same person living in New York, in fact the same quality of life in Manhatatn would cost almost $135,000. These rebates and the entire "stimulus plan" should focus on improving Americans quality of life, not just giving money to the middle class so they can spend it on the newest iPod. Oh and if you think I'm nuts about the Cost of Living in NY vs Arkansas... see the link below http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html?step=result¤t_salary=60000&fromStateMenu=AR&from_city=Little+Rock-N+Little+Rock+AR&toStateMenu=NY&to_city=New+York+%28Manhattan%29+NY&x=53&y=14 # posted by
 : Tuesday, January 29, 2008 11:48:00 AM
I completely agree --- the tax rebate definitely is not "fair" and adds another $250 billion to our U.S. debt ---- what a waste!! Our country is going to Hell!
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# posted by
: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 7:44:00 PM<< Home |
