Were economic stimulous packages a success?
Stimulus packages are short term fixes that have achieved results, but are not long term. As long as 35% of all income is drawn into the federal government before we get a chance to spend that money we will continue to lose.
Many voices on sites like MySpace.com have stepped forward trying to downplay the effects of the economic stimulus packages Americans like you and me received this summer. There are folks saying they spent $900 on foreign made junk sending the dollars overseas or they paid a few bills they were behind on and the dollar stopped there. Heck, one guy even claimed that despite the fact he bought down 3 debts to the point that they will be paid off this month saving him $500 a month that the stimulus package did nothing to help him. Wow get a grip.
Take into account the last guy, the 5th poster on this page.
If in fact he applied the money to 3 debts and is now in position to pay them off faster, he has save interest and penalties, and positioned himself to be $500 a month richer thanks to money he did not have prior to the stimulus packages being released. Others talking about the foreign goods they bought forget it takes a store full of employees, several warehouses, U.S. shipping ports, Tarrifs, Legal teams, and banks on US ground to get those products to the point you can buy them. Fact is that pennies on the dollar actually make it to foreign soil. Worse yet, many of those products are no longer made here thanks to high cost of labor, ( thank the unions) and difficult laws and taxation that make doing business in places like China and India more appealing to business owners. Still many Americans got paid because Congress and the President took action.
Still these effects are short term fixes. Once the checks are all spent there is nothing to look forward to in the future and business as usual resumes. Changing tax laws and lowering taxes across the board though achieves a far greater benefit as it is one businesses and investors can count on for years to come, making expansion and local manufacture more appealing. See some examples of solid economics and how they could turn our economy around below.
The debate over abolishing income tax in favor of a national sales tax has been sidetracked by lies and bad figures. following a dollar on www.wheresgeorge.com will show you that the average dollar is spent not less than 8-12 times in the course of a year. Putting more dollars into the economy and letting people spend them would only require a modest federal sales tax.
The average state tax on sales is around 5%, if you add up the sales tax revenues of all states and then add an additional 35% to the total dollars in the system, you will see a closer number to the potential a 5% sales tax could be bringing in. The numbers amount to far more than the current tax system and the plan would help Americans at all levels of income.
Turning the economy around requires curbing waste spending, and reducing federal government turning many agencies into funneling bodies for cash. We can curb cost and create jobs by putting more dollars into the system permanently where they can be invested on expansion and business creation. I know if I had those few dollars extra coming in that go to taxes, my family would live better and want for less. Being able to provide a better life for my family puts those dollars to work for all of us.
People are scared of change and look for ways we could fail, they often ignore ways to succeed because the change is so different from what they know. From personal retirement accounts to 401K plans we could all be seeing a more secure future, but most opt for federal guaranteed social security etc.. that has been tapped into and under funded for so long it may run out before we reach the now late 60s early 70s needed to even qualify.
A good plan for individual retirement would require that the upper income ladder contribute a portion of their personal savings to a economic equalization plan. Sort of like a tax on large savings accounts that could be spread among those who are on the low end of the earnings scale. Using accounts like 401K shored up with a mix of bonds on a set percentage could see enormous growth while providing stability. People able to add 30-60 thousand a year to a retirement account paying 5-10% of that money into equalization funds would help those of us who fall short on earnings and contribution.
The best part about either of these two plans is that we decide where our money is best spent and not some federal official.
Andy Zeus Anderson
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