Economic Stimulus...?

OK, I don't get it.

Forget the crazy stock market crashing all around us for a minute (hard to do when you realize your 401k has been knocked for a loop, I know).

Here's what I can't figure out. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat party are mulling a second "economic stimulus" package, writing checks to get more spending by consumers in the economy.

OK, didn't they just do that? How well did that go? What did you do with your 600 or 1200 dollars? Most people I know paid off debt. Even if you ran out and bought clothes, put a down payment on a car, or got a flat-screen TV... what good did it do? It sure didn't stave off the Fannie/Freddie/Bear Stearns/Lehman/Wachovia/WaMu/AIG meltdown. It sure didn't keep people in jobs. Basically it was blatant pandering. It didn't do anything, and it was a stupid idea.

It will be a stupid idea again.

"But" you say, "I think it's a great idea for me to get another check!" -- really? That's what Pelosi and her minions hope you think. But let's ask an obvious question. When the Federal Government sends you a check -- of any kind-- where do you think that money came from?

It came from YOU. In the form of taxes. It is the ONLY source of revenue for the government. Taxes. "Well, I know that" you say... let's think for a second.

You might recall, if you're old enough, John F. Kennedy cut taxes. The economy boomed. You might recall that in '86 the tax code was reformed and lowered the top rate from 50% to 28%. The economy boomed. Clinton, in the midst of one of the biggest bull markets in history (largely due to the "dot-com" bubble) raised taxes so much that even he said "I think I raised your taxes too much." When he left office we were recession-bound.

(By the way, I think it bears noting that during that fat & happy time, Al Gore pronounced "the end of the economic cycle". Hmmm... how's that global warming thing going, Al? Oh yeah, it's already snowing in several states and it ain't even November yet. Gore has a dismal track record on... well, everything.)

So, George Bush pushed through tax cuts. Despite the breast-beating from Liberals that the cuts "only benefited the wealthy" (gee, don't they pay the most tax? duh), the economy boomed.

Nancy Pelosi and the Dems have always railed against tax cuts. At the same time, they rail against spending cuts (and continually call any reduction in growth a cut). See a pattern here? "We wanna reward our cronies and donors and stupid people who continue to vote for us even though we never deliver on our promises, so we certainly can't cut programs... and therefore you who have 'benefited from life's lottery' must pay more -- it's your fair share! It's patriotic!"

And yet, it's a really good idea to cut you a check so you'll go out and buy the new iPhone.

So, here I am, not getting it. Tax cuts, which would put more of YOUR money in YOUR pocket, are bad. However, if Congress reaches into the pile of YOUR money, aka taxes, and writes you a check, that's a good thing.

MORONS!

Of course, the deal here is this: Tax cuts do not allow the Democrats to rob Peter to pay Paul. They can't take from the rich and (pretend to) give to the poor. They can't pickpocket evil, rich white people and dole out crumbs to "the disenfranchised" among us. In other words, it won't translate into VOTES. Tax cuts give a break to the PRODUCTIVE members of society and allow them to actually hang on to more of the money they have EARNED. There's no political benefit in that! Well, not for Democrats, anyway.

However, if you reach into the tax bucket and write checks to everyone, even those that never pay income tax, guess what? Well, jeepers, you are a knight in shining armor! Oh my, you've allowed Seniors on fixed income the chance to eat people food, not dog food! Saints be praised, you've allowed working families to put food on the table for the children. Glory Hallelujah, you've provided 50" HDTVs for trailer homes from sea to shining sea.

So, no matter how many times the exact opposite has been proven to be true, with Democrats in charge, you'll always hear that we must increase taxes to pay for our beloved and necessary programs. We can't afford tax cuts. This crap B.O. is spouting about 95% of people in his plan... bunk. Is that before or after the Bush tax cuts, which are so horrible, expire? So, when they expire, the result will be the largest tax increase in history... and you, B.O., can throw a couple of crumbs to the idiots that elected you (yeah, I guess I'm making a prediction there) and claim you lowered their taxes.

And all of this is OUTSIDE of the bailout/recession/depression/meltdown we're experiencing right now. Thanks to... well, that's a subject for another post. Just think about this: The Government held a gun to your head and said "we gotta do this bailout, cuz it will save the economy!". So, they sign off on the blasted thing. What happened? Worst market crash in like forever. Then they held a gun to the banks' collective head and said "You better sign on to us buying into your assets or we won't be so generous if you fall on hard times in the future." And what happened? Another MASSIVE sell-off.
So, the government is basically RUINING our free market system by "helping". And you want them to run HEALTH CARE??? Where people DIE from mistakes?

I weep for this country, I really do.