So to help the economy Obama would

[Red Knight]

Give us 250 bucks to spend!!!!!

Whoooooo-hoooo! Where do I sign up?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/us/politics/15fiscal.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

Mr. Obama would provide an immediate tax rebate of $250 to workers and would pay an extra $250 to every person collecting Social Security benefits. If unemployment increases three months in a row, he would pay an extra $250 to workers and retirees.

I know the Obama people will be all over me for this and I know there's more to his plan than this and it's certainly better than wealthy tax breaks so don't get too riled up.

But I do find that a bit funny. 250 bucks won't make that much difference for people struggling. In hard times they may not even be so quick to spend it, or if they do it may go to something like a healthcare cost, or paying increased gas prices or keeping up with inflation in general.

I just don't see 250 dollar tax cuts that meaningful.

[rox63]

1. For some people, that's several weeks' grocery money

It will immediately go right back into the economy. Not a cure-all. It's a little bit of immediate relief for poor families.

[Mass]

2. You may want to read further down

Mr. Obama’s plan would also provide $10 billion to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, $10 billion to states that are hardest hit by the downturn and $10 billion to extend unemployment benefits to more people, including temporary workers and self-employed long-time unemployed workers.

Austin Goolsbee, Mr. Obama’s top economic adviser, said the payments represented the fastest way of getting money to people who are most likely to need it and to spend it quickly.

[Red Knight]

3. That's kinda why I said

I knew there was more to his plan. Also--why I posted the link.

I still find the 250 amusing.

I have a family of four and it wouldn't go far.

The post probably comes across harsher than I meant it to but I know these are sensitive times.

[itsrobert]

5. Why should we bail homeowners who were foolish to buy a house that they couldn't afford

thus driving up the prices. I guess I should of bought a house so I could get bailed out too.

[Dawgs]

9. Because, as Democrats, we know that helping the whole community helps everyone.

And, not just the smart ones.

[Warpy]

4. $250 won't make one mortgage payment

and people who are getting foreclosure threats because they're a couple of months behind will only laugh at such an amount. They might stash it aside, hoping they can find a cheap studio apartment to cram all the beds into, kids and parents sharing the same room, security deposits needing to be put down in cash if you're a foreclosure case.

It's obvious Obama has forgotten where he came from and can only see where he wants to go.

[FrenchieCat]

11. There is also a 10 Billion fund that will provide funds to those who qualify

to act as a bridge in helping them with their mortgage....while the banking industry is re-regulated.

If it is your primary residence, and you make $75,000 or less per year, you qualify.

Also, the $250 turns to $500 for seniors.

Along with the immediate tax cut and Social Security payments, Obama's plan would provide $10 billion to help state and local governments avoid cutting services because of budget shortfalls and spend $10 billion to extend benefits for unemployed workers.

``We're seeing significant challenges,'' Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, an Obama adviser, told reporters on a conference call. ``We've got to have a strategy to keep the economy strong.''

The tax cuts would apply to workers with salaries less than $75,000. Obama said the plan will ``jumpstart the economy by putting money in the pockets of those who need it most and will spend it quickly.''

If the economy continues to deteriorate after the plan is enacted, Obama proposed an additional $45 billion in stimulus, which would include doubling the tax cut and Social Security payments to $500.

Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, a professor at the University of Chicago, said the stimulus plan would widen the budget deficit in the short term, while increasing revenue in the long term by preventing a recession.

``The goal is to get the money into the economy,'' he said. ``If you put it in and take it out at the same time you don't have a stimulus.''

``Everybody is now starting to talk about some stimulus in Washington,'' Obama backer Bill Daley, who was commerce secretary under former President Bill Clinton, told reporters. He said the Obama plan ``can get results quickly.''

[Warpy]

12. The problem is that the foreclosure mess will be into the

trillions before this is over. Having a tremendous amount of inventory on the market is going to keep driving housing values down even after all the subprime loans have been shaken out of the market. People more and more will find themselves in upside down mortgage situations, owing far more on their houses than those houses are worth.

The least conservative estimate I've seen for the eventual price drop is to 1996 levels. I think that's overly conservative, and I see them dropping far lower.

Eventually, banks and brokerages with massive amounts of unsalable real estate on their hands will have to start to use it as rental property, often keeping the foreclosed family on the property, maintaining it while they pay at least token rent. This is what eventually happened during the Depression and I think history will repeat itself.

In the meantime, that $10 billion is chump change. I don't think Obama realizes quite how nasty this whole thing has the potential to become unless the real problem is addressed: depressed wages.

[Mass]

6. Here is his full economical program. I would not count on the NYTimes whores to try to understand it

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

[Kindigger]

7. I'm homeless &

have been living off the generosity of my elderly parents, following major back surgery. I've overstayed my welcome & will be moving on next week. $250 would pay my storage building fees for five months.

[Dawgs]

8. It's not about the individual here, it's about stimulating the economy with billions of dollars.

[Kindigger]

10. I understand that but

it isn't often that a stimulus package includes a few crumbs for those physically unable to contribute much to the economy. I would be grateful.