i've been thinking about this economic stimulus package & our responsibility with the rebate $ we receive. thinking things like: if the gov't is giving us money with the intention that the U.S. economy will be stimulated (SPEND THE MONEY!), then we ought to spend it, right? is paying a bill "spending it" the way the gov't is intending? and if we buy goods...should we be very specific about buying U.S. made products?
any thoughts?
10 comments:
in the end i don't know that it matters.. if you are using the money to pay bills, that frees up money to purchase other items... for example, if we used it to pay off a school loan, that would leave us $50-100/ month to spend extra on just stuff... the only way one would not be stimulating the economy would be by saving it, which some may, but most americans probably would not.
maybe i am wrong.
I know it would defeat the purpose to go by a giant TV made in China from Walmart... probably NOT helpful to the US economy... personally, I think it would be a good idea to spend it (if you spend it... but Corrie's concept of ultimatly having money to spend by paying bills is an excellent point) by making it into your grocery budget or spending it in an area that will have the most impact on your own local (city) economy... just a thought.
i LOVE this topic. yay!
my two cents: save it. save. save. save. this package is called stimulus for a reason - it stimulates but it doesn't solve. Ben Bernanke, Chair of the Federal Reserve, as well as his predecessor, have often complained about how little Americans save now and what jeopardy this has put/can put our country in.
A significant percentage of Americans are 'asset-poor' meaning that if any major financial disaster would strike (unexpected home repairs or medical bills, a job loss, a car accident, etc.), the family would not be able to survive financially for more than 3 months (or even one month). Yet, compared to our peers in other western countries, working Americans should be in a position to live without having to strongly re-adjust their lifestyle for at least 3 months should they be without an income. That is how much money we should be saving ...
Our love of credit (generally speaking, of course), our debt (in the form of mortgages that we can't afford, credit cards, etc), our 'spending' habits are just a few of the reasons this country is in this potential economic slowdown. I find it interesting that given that fact, our government is suddenly telling us to spend. Granted, it isn't money that we counted on having but statistically speaking, when people are provided with a significant amount of unexpected money (i.e., tax returns), they are more likely to spend beyond what they were given. While spending might assist business and retail sales, in the short term, I am not able to foresee any long-term impact without additional planning in place for some major economic overhauls.
so again. i say save - but that's just me.
if you are going to spend - I'm with Corrie and Alicia. Pay down debt and buy American and buy Local!
One of the best ideas I've heard in relation to this (and man, I sure wish it had passed) was to just pay everyone with food stamps. Then, local business would primarily benefit as well as the local workforce and agriculture. It would also equal the playing field a bit more.
Ok. Getting away from the podium ...
paying in food stamps sounds good....because we ALL need food!
after talking a bit about it, we are going to save some, pay down some bills (to ultimately free up more money in our monthkly budget...which equals more money on a regular basis to put back into the economy or give away!) and spend some too.
i agree with anne-marie, we do usually overspend when we get extra money (ala tax return)...i mean, who doesn't go over a bit when they go to spend a gift card?
i also agree with corrie too. all well said!
but with globalization today, it's getting really hard to find completely American-made products. especially electronics & cars. even food! components are made or assembled overseas more often than not. i don't know how to reconcile that.
I say spend it any way you want. Last rebate I took a class, and this time I want to use if for a vacation, or new carpet.
you all should use your respective monies to make trips to comes see friends you have on the coasts...let's see. who lives on the coast? Oh! i do!! come see me! the travel industry is not without its financial hardships. they could use it. and i'd love the company. think about it...
i'm not planning on that money until the bill passes. this group in washington hasn't agreed on much so far. show me the money and then i'll plan on how i'll spend it.
you all have some great ideas for me to think about and interesting perspectives. thanks, m
for my 2 cents- I think we will probably send it back. yes. you heard me. SEND IT BACK. This is NOT a rebate. this is not money we have paid into the system that we are getting back. this is money our government has yet again borrowed from some other country. Our gov't needs to cut their own budget, not add money to mine.
No, I'm not rich. After budgeting the other day I realize I'm actually a lot poorer than I thought, but I do not at all believe that this will "stimulate" our economy. Getting rid of illegal workers and giving the jobs to legal citizens; cutting taxes; and cutting our national budget will do just fine. thank you.
~putting my sopa box away.~
ok. so after talking to my husband, and considering that we sold a house in the last year, I'm not so sure we'll be getting a "rebate" check anyway. And if we do- he wants to buy- dum dum dum- another gun. still, I say- send it back. bah humbug.
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