Take your stimulus check and...
By bluegal Friday Apr 11, 2008 1:32pmWhile polls show most Americans will use their "economic stimulus check" to pay off bills (and 40% of Americans think the government should spend the money elsewhere) Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation hopes that some taxpayers will donate their checks to organizations that work to alleviate global poverty:
"...the federal government has rewarded the overconsumption that led to economic slowdown by providing many tax filers with an "economic stimulus check" of between $600 and $2,100, encouraging Americans to go out and consume even more to bolster the stagnant economy. This fiscal policy is doing nothing more than feeding our national addiction to overconsumption – and continuing the destructive cycle that got us here in the first place."
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I was thinking we ought to donate our "stimulus packages" to the newly homeless, living in Bushvilles compliments of Bush. It would send a strong message to the Bushies. Who give their campaign donors tax-payer funded multi-million-dollar bailouts. Yet they refuse to lift a finger to help average Americans, who've been systematically robbed by Bush's policies.
You know, this is a darned good idea. I will keep it in mind.
We have to use ours to help pay for our taxes. Does that help stimulate the economy?
At least part of our check is going to the ACLU (we couldn't think of a better way to stick it to W), and some of the rest will go to a local group that helps the poor find and keep good housing.
I make too much to get one myself, but on behalf of all the other Americans who will receive this stimulus check, I would like to thank China, Saudi Arabia, and all of the other countries around the world who have loaned our government the money to make this all possible. It's like Christmas in May!
Mine is going to my church to be used for assistance we give to a Native American reservation. And NO, we do not preach there. We've just been showing up for years with building materials and labor to help them get their government-provided inadequate housing livable. No strings. I want to see mine used to help people our government has been screwing for generations.
Rico @ 5:
Yes, if we are borrowing from China in the hopes that we'll all go out to spend it on goods (most likely made in China), who is exactly benefiting?
Thanks George!
My first thought was "This is going straight to the Obama campaign..."
I will donate some to the Obama campaign (of course) and then I will buy some Obama gear and maybe an anti-Bush T-shirt.
I had a wonderful supposition about this check, Iraq veterans, and weapons...but I decided to delete it and write this instead. No sense giving Bu$hCo's illegal domestic spying goons an EXCUSE to illegally arrest or execute me...
Hi Agent Smith! Hows the wife? She still sleeping around on you with the neighborhood dogs, since you haven't been able to get it up for years? Well...unless it is with a little kid that is, after all you ARE a republican (see the site above).
It's Bullshit. Face it. Going out and spending $600 to $2,100 is not going to help an economy thats dead in the water. The only thing it will do is buy Bush Co a little breathing time till they can figure out another way to keep the ship afloat for another couple weeks and do a quick lube and maintenance on the phony money printing presses.
The most important issue here is to continue to keep hidden from the American people the extent of the problem and to prevent the American people in their capacity as investors from having a knee jerk reaction – dumping their holdings.
Due to issues with my exemption I owe about $400 that I can't afford... so guess where mine is going? Paying that and the fees for being late. Even less fun than paying bills.
Well, I will have $1200 to dispose of. That decision is the easy part. Where to send it is not so easy. I saw a story on '60 Minutes' a few weeks back about the Remote Area Medical organization, now providing health care to those without insurance HERE (of all places on earth), and am inclined to fund them. http://www.ramusa.org/index.html
Doctors without Borders is another good pick, but I really would like to keep local (around New Haven CT if possible) so long as not a religious group. But the story on the RAM group just pissed me off--they need our support. As Obama said the other day in Indiana (addressing charges of elitism) the folks in small towns getting shafted economically no longer expect anything out of their government in DC. It looks as if we have to do it ourselves. I'm game. You?
blue gal, workers wages have been stagnant since Reagan due to pressures from the government and Greenspan. This has resulted in negative savings. Credit became easy because without it workers wouldnt have had ANY disposable income.
These fascists have fueled economic growth on the backs of the workers by suppressing wages and 'forcing' workers to incure debt to consume to generate corporate profits.
The workers DO need this money - but NOT from the government (which means taken from the workers paychecks) - but rather from the workers EMPLOYERS. And not just for one month but EVERY MONTH.
Without an increase in wages very soon, the worker who has no savings and huge debt will go broke. No 'stimulous' will fix that. Only increased wages will fix that.
This became a problem when the fascists replaced sound political economic theory (that respected BOTH supply and demand - worker productivity and worker consumption via disposable income) with corporate finance from the University of Chicago (Stigler and Freidmand) - that only respected the supply side and was out of balance - resulting in vast corporate profits, and impoverished working class and a passage THROUGH fascism to the 'market-state' that transcends borders.
This one time payment is a poor replacement from the monthly increase from employers that is needed to rebalance the economy.
L.A. Confidential @ 11:
Well said. Disgruntled masses? Distract them with a shiny object. Now some are actually developing an attention span. Bring out the secret weapon - give them money and send them to the mall! They'll run each other over getting the best deals on all sorts of junk and forget about BushCo long enough for them to leave office. Brilliant!
L.A. Confidential @ 11:
I agree with your comment. A simple handout of $600 or $1200 does little. The system itself is broken and they do not want people to see it.
I am donating my check to shows like NovaM, Head On Radio Network or anything that would support the liberal voice of truth. Taking steps like donating to a church or alleviating global poverty to me feel like a waste of time at this point. For every person we feed or shelter the idiot leaders in the world (Bush Administration for example) make 100 more. We don't need a tweezer, we need chainsaws.
So in short conclusion, we have to change the minds of the voters and get them to elect competent leaders or we just continue the endless downward spiral.
Just an opinion and the route I'm taking with mine :)
It seems like Christianity today is little more than a buffet religion where people pick and choose what parts of it to follow to suit their own selfish purposes, or worse, they use the Bible as a blunt instrument to beat people who don't agree with them over the head with. It's comforting that there are some out there still practicing good works, based on a simple golden rule as taught by Jesus, Buddha, and probably hundreds of other philosophers - to treat others as you would want to be treated.
Yes, the irony...assuming I'm getting my "stimulus" check, I'm using it to pay the taxes that I owe. W00t!
i stopped giving money directly to any charity along time ago, why?
because their are too many fat ceo's on their boards taking too much
of these charity donations for their own use. instead, i buy and give
bulk food products to the local food banks. that way, i know my
give goes to those the charity serves and not in the pockets of
greedy scam ceo bastards.
think about it. most of the big charities skim off too much
in the guise of operating costs.
if you give to a church, ask them how much they contribute to the local
poor of even to their own low income parishioners. you would be
amazed how much that cadillac driving preacher dressed in a suit
that even you can not afford, is taking in the name of god for his/her
personal use.
It think we should eat the rich
Cannibal Planet
Spend it on lottery tickets, whiskey, and prostitutes. These are the only things still made in America….Maybe some black market military stuff.
I think we should eat the rich
Cannibal Planet
bob @ 21:
Or the guy who used to be fit and trim who's ballooned to 3 times his normal size and weight. Rather then trimming up he'll go out and buy a bigger gas guzzling truck he can fit into and that won't put a strain on the chassis, tires, or engine.
Rico @ 5:
well said, for version two dont forget the small children and helping small furry critters, that always goes down well at any speech. ;)
another excellent idea...
but i'm sending mine on to OBAMA... endorsed and marked "FOR DEPOSIT - TO BARACK OBAMA 08"...
katy hussein katy @ 25:
Just be aware Obama isn't going to be able to wave a magic wand and everything is going to be fixed.
If he wins I pity what he's going to be faced with.
I'm going to go out and git me one bitchin set of virtual reality goggles with surround sound earphones, and maybe an isolation tank, then I'll just set up shop in there, and be happy, no matter what. :)
If your smart you will SET IT ASIDE and not spend it.
Then the heat will be on Bush for a Change.
Another Mea Culpa for public consumption.
AP - 19 minutes ago
MUNCIE, Ind. - Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday conceded that comments he made about bitter working class voters who "cling to guns or religion" were ill chosen, as he tried to stem a burst of complaints that he is condescending.
Joe O. @ 16:
au contrair, nice widescreen HD LCD and bought a 7.1 reciever and will be DIYing (from scratch) some speakers to go with it :)
perfect for watching the garbage (visual quality analog and content) cable TV.
In the British radio & TV tech world NTSC was jokingly taken to mean 'never twice same colour' , seeing the analog cable signals I can understand why NOW, even digital barely is up to the UHF broadcast standard of PAL transmissions.
Disabled veterans are only getting $300. At first they weren't going to get anything at all since Republicans think they don't have anything to contribute to society anymore. Just run them through the meat grinder and tell them to F... Off when you're done.
"Identity Through Consumption" has been the foundation of Madison Avenue Advertising since the late 50's.
Psychiatrists hired by the Madison Avenue Advertising firms recommended "Identity Through Consumption" as the vehicle to sell Americans just about anything.
You are the brand of car you drive, the brand of cigarettes you smoke, the brand of clothes you wear, the professional sports teams you favor, ad infinitum.
Consumption has become our way of life.
hmmm, jayden... another good idea: liberal radio...
...
hey LA - don't be bursting my bubble! i KNOW that barack can work miracles!
you just gotta believe! that "hopium" is powerful stuff, doncha know!
jeez...
ArtiseLife @ 31:
"Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy."
Henry Kissinger, as quoted in Kiss the Boys Goodbye: How the United States Betrayed Its Own POW’s in Vietnam (1990) by Monika Jensen-Stevenson and William Stevenson
well, then i'm a 15 yr. old toyota corolla wagon...
which they don't even make anymore...
the rest goes along the same lines... nuttin' special here... sorry, madison ave...
MountainMan23 @ 32:
L.A. Confidential @ 36:
Sorry bad edit.
I say if you're gonna donate it, do at the local level. Keep it in your community. I think one of the big problems with so called "global" charities is that it goes out of the country. Plus you just never really know if it's being used for what it's supposed to be used for. Donate it to the guy down the street that's about to lose his home. Donate it to a senior that barely gets by each month. Cut out the middle man and give where you think it would be best used.
Just don't give it to a church.
L.A. Confidential @ 34:
and they dont come dumber than McInsane.
L.A. Confidential @ 29:
that's on another thread... check this out...
Yeah, okay, so it's "bullshit," so it's a scam, so it's all phony. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And it'll go right to the collection box at my Quaker meeting, with a bit for the ALS Society, too.
The income tax rebates are total horseshit. Most working people are probably goint to use that "rebate" to pay their bills, so it won't be going back into the economy. Smply buying shit doesn't stimulate the economy. Large scale investment grows the economy. Since most companies are shipping their capital overseas and not investing HERE in this country, I just don't see how people running out and blowing that 600 bucks Uncle Sam just gave you on some frivolous, one-time purchase is going to make one bit of difference. OH, by the way, Mr and Mrs Moron American, you do know you're probably going to have to declare that "rebate" on next year's taxes, don't you??
dadams @ 20:
Cadillac driving preachers are in the minority. The people on TV are indeed charlatans, but many of the local preachers are working with the poor and downtrodden every day. It's best to know who is getting the money.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 42:
Actually, it's more like a high interest loan that will have to be paid back by the Federal government with your taxes and to the foreign countries that provided the money in the first place.
We're homeschooling, my wife is the breadwinner, I work waiting tables at night in order to be home with the children, she lost her job. We owe $4000 in taxes this stimulus will pay less than half. We're doing okay, how are others surviving???
Slaw @ 43:
Thank you. The small, unaffiliated churches are the ones that do the most for their communities or others, no strings. My pastor drives an old Toyota, has a 20 year old pick-up he keeps trying to fix himself and makes the most hilarious jokes about TV preachers. All of the money we collect for a cause goes to that cause and every church member gets a full report of all financial accounting each month. I guess that's why the Evangelical group we were once connected to kicked us out....
I'm gonna use mine to buy some sturdy rope - then hang onto it and hope that the world courts will correctly do their jobs regarding our current administration.
Then I will gladly donate that rope to those courts in order that they can do what is right and just.
Tell you what; I'll devote one-sixth to charity. Like most other people, I'm puttin' most of it into paying off my personal debt--even while contributing indirectly to national debt.
Whatta world.
Support liberal RADIO!
NovaM & HeadOn Radio Network
I am a die hard liberal.... but you must be out of your fucking mind if you think that I am going to give any of this money away to anybody.
Rob Eberhardt @ 8:
OOOH nice!
I can't think of a better way to ensure that your phone rings off the hook every night and your mailbox is stuffed with dead trees to the point the mailman can't close it than to write a four-figure check to some charity. As far as I'm concerned, charity begins at home. We get enough fundraising phone calls and junk mail as it is.
I agree with most of the aforementioned comments. And since I live week to week, I'm forced to use the gimmick money to for gas, food, etc.
What a shame. The richest country in the world, with it's own ppl suffering every day, dying everyday, still "staying the course", as if everything's going to be just fine.
Meanwhile, other countries like China, and India, are growing at a staggering rate, while at the same time buying up Western companies left and right.
We are in BIG TROUBLE folks. I pray for our future everyday.
Donate it towards starting a competitive third party! Donate the check to the Libertarian or Constitution Party.
Or donate the check entirely to Ron Paul's Presidential campaign. That will definitely get people's attention on Capitol Hill.
What a wonderful idea. I hope that it gains enough publicity to really make a difference. Let's make poverty history!
My suggestion? Use that bribe check to start growing marijuana.
If you smoke, it'll save you a bundle. If you don't, the investment will pay for itself and then some inside of four months. You'll probably even still have money left over!
I guess the $600 to $2100 check is going to someone else. My estimated check to fire up the economy has been reduced to a measly $188.
I guess I earned too much money.
I feel quite elite!
Could someone please refill my champagne glass and get me some more caviar?
I'm putting it in my mattress.
here's a pie chart showing the breakdown of exactly what americans will be spending their stimulus check on.
There is going to be a whole lot of financial pain to go around after this coming weeks dismal expousres are made public regarding Q1 2008 profits or the lack there of. The Fed is between a rock and a hard place as they only have two options. The first is inflating the hell out of the dollar by reving up the printing presses and bailing out brokerage firms and banks rather than see them going under. If you think price increases have been wild, just wait..
Remember, inflation is caused when a government debases its currency by printing more of it. Higher prices are the seconday fallout from more dollars chasing fewer and fewer goods.
The only other option for the Fed is to raise interest rates as Paul Volker did back in the early 80's when interest rates went to 21%. If you want to kill an economy over night, that's the way to do it. Imagine paying 15 to 20% interest on the purchase of a new car or mortgage.
The nightmare has begun in earnest for both the Fed and our elected officials with no where to turn. Like rats in a sack they can now begin eating their young. There is however, one option that can kill this financial cancer that has plagued this country and the rest of the world for nearly 100 years. That remedy is the ablosihment of the 16th amendment and thus doing away with both the Federal Reserve banking system and returning to a sound Constitutional monetary system which backs our currency with something of value as Kennedy had wanted. In this case Silver. Executive order 11101 is still in palce and has never been overturned by any seated president since. Hang on folks, that day is coming. It may take serveral years to make the change over, but it will happen.
I'm going buy Club Gitmo Gear from Rush Limbaugh.
I'm donating mine to the Pentagon so they can keep us safer.
Andrew @ 61:
The govt was you to put the check into your checking/savings account. With fractional banking that means the banks can lead out $8 for everyone $1 that is deposited.
I'm gonna spend mine on some good weed so I can stay blotto until Nov.
Gretchen @ 6:
Great cause, nice to hear this. Thanks
BeeSting @ 39:
There is ALOT of need outside this country and lots of good charities, many list their overhead and (if accurate) many are allocating only the bare minimum to overhead. While Americans are hurtling toward Third World status (with credit cards to soften the blow) there are many living in absolute filth and squalor with nothing, barely able to survive the day
Buy gold with your check, you're going to need it.
You can thank my children, your children (if you have any), and your neighbors children for this farce called a rebate. We will be paying billions in interest for this stupid stunt.
This government is run by a bunch of idiots (dems and repubs alike) that have no idea how the real world works. They think they can stimulate an economy with money without a clear understanding of why we are in the mess we are in. Their own lack of fiscal awareness is partly to blame and what do they go out and do? Act like Robin Hood by robbing from future generations to try and prop up an unsustainable economy. In this case Robin Hood is stealing from those he should be protecting.
I wish we could use it to pay for anything except bills.
*
L.A. Confidential @ 30:
These "bitter" working class voters are trying to hang onto cans of beans.
*
Boop @ 3:
Same here. It seems I owe the IRS $2000 still from when I ran a business in 2003. Actually I owed the IRS $4000 on an income of $20,000 which after interest and penalties they had jacked to almost 8. Thank God I talked them back down to 4. It seems they charge you a self-employment tax on top of the FICA, SSC, Medicaid, etc that I did not have enough to cover as well. Whats up with that? Another tax for being an entruapenur? Talk about the free market. If I had worked just ONE day for a real company in 2003 my 1099 would have be viewed as side work and I would not have had the extra $500 or so in self-employment tax. After all of that being said, I talked them down to $4000, $2000 of which they ate from my 2007 return. So now I am left with $2000 I owe them. Guess where my stimulus check is going?
As corporate exec's walk away will multi-million dollar parachutes, I am here literally at the bottom being fucked up the ass without a condom or a reach around. I have 3 kids a wife, no car payment, no house payment, living in an apartment of modest means. The only good to come from the coming crash is that as long as I can keep enough food to feed my family and manage to find somewhere cheap to live, I won't have lost much. What is coming will be worse than the depression, I just thank God that we have enough of a heads up to start preparing for it. What the hell is Obama going to do? Or Hillery? The system is a scam, it depends on future inflation to cover existing debt. At some point all the money in the world is useless because its mostly created out of nowhere with fractional reserve accounting.
I'm retired on disability and live on a VERY small SS check each month. I don't have medical insurance (of course), so I spend about 1/3 of my income on drugs (and thank God my doc gives me the expensive stuff gratis!). My check will go toward paying down my heating bill and to buying seeds for a garden. I figure if I can grow stuff to eat in the backyard, I might be able to manage a little longer to keep my house. I have high hopes that we may get a new administration with the guts to withdraw from WTO and re-establish the tariffs that kept us competitive in the 50s, 60s, etc. Card check for stronger unions would also be a god-send.
Bluegal,
thanks so much for highlighting this. Our goal is to raise the issue of overconsumption in our society and how insane current economic policies are. As a Christian organization, we also want to raise this in the context of how an ethic of overconsumption is contrary to the Christian Gospel.
A couple notes on some excellent points raised in the preceding comments:
*Giving from your "stimulus check" to local organizations that relieve poverty is an excellent thing as well. There is plenty of work to be done at home. However, we have an emphasis on global poverty for a few very good reasons.
1) The type of poverty addressed in the Millennium Development Goals (http://www.e4gr.org/mdgs/fast_facts.html) is poverty that, with very few exceptions doesn't exist in the U.S. We're talking about more than a billion people who live on less than $1 a day. We're talking about nearly 30,000 children a day dying from extreme poverty -- of preventable, treatable things like malaria. We should be working to alleviate poverty everywhere, and we have enough resources to alleviate poverty domestically and globally ... but the only place we've seen the kind of poverty the MDGs address in America is the post-Katrina gulf coast (and in some pockets of Appalachia and native reservations).
2) Despite how much more extreme poverty is elsewhere in the world, the overwhelming majority of funds given to alleviate poverty in this country stay in this country. More than 95% of private U.S. philanthropy stays within our borders. In addition, we and all the so-called "rich nations" of the world have pledge to give 0.7% of our Gross National Income annually toward the achievement of the MDGs. Currently, we are last among those nations at 0.17% giving --- and if you add in private philanthropy, it only goes up to 0.19%. (For more information about 0.7% giving go to http://www.e4gr.org/documents/14).
*You do need to be careful where you give. Corruption is everywhere. One person left a comment that you should give to the person down the street whom you know -- that's a good point. Giving where you have relationship is a good idea because relationship is one way to build accountability. But there are excellent ways to give globally. First of all, you can give where you or a friend already have a relationship. There are plenty of people who travel to poorer nations on a regular basis and do great work. Support them. Also, there are great websites like www.charitynavigator.org that rate global poverty organizations based on things like the percentage of money that actually gets to the people and the percentage of staffs that are actually local people.
*Finally, what we're asking people to do here is not just a financial act -- it's a political act. If you go to www.giveit4good.org, you will see that there is an advocacy action attached to the pledge (as well as encouragement to join the ONE Campaign). It's one thing to tell your Senators and Representatives that you think giving us money to continue to overconsume to support an economy based on overconsumption is a stupid thing. It's another thing to put your money where your mouth is and actually do it. A letter or email to your Senators and Reps that lets them know you feel so strongly about this that you are willing to take money out of your own pocket, carries a lot of weight. That's why we want to get as many people as possible to take the pledge and tell our leaders about it.
For all the conversation on this thread, since this was posted NOT ONE person from this site has gone to www.giveit4good.org and taken the pledge. The pledge isn't necessarily about giving your whole check (though that would be great). You can pledge at 100%, 10%, 0.7% or another level of your choosing ... and you can pledge to give it to the nonprofit OF YOUR CHOICE.
SO please, if you believe that these economic policies are insane. If you believe that our economy of overconsumption is immoral and people around the world (in addition to people here at home) are paying the price with their poverty -- go to www.giveit4good.org and take the pledge.
Again, thanks for giving this some pub and starting the conversation.
peace,
Mike
I'm using my 'stimulus' check (read: Hush Money) to help finance my travel expenses as a Washington state elected delegate for Obama. I didn't think I could afford to be a delegate until I realized that W and company were actually making a big contribution to my campaign.
yes, we can.
interesting to see the episcopal church of england with it's hand out to collect. fuck the church of england and that miserable queen. be like #65 odanny and due somethin enjoyable with the cash and smoke up and pass it around. screw paying bills to the corporate governments and corporations who are stealing from us all. stop paying for your own enslavement, the corporate bigs and the stinking queens and church are behind all the corruption and thievery, all money today is created from overconsumption, the set up is all based on consumption, without consumption there would be no money in the system. the irs is illegal you do not have to pay taxes to begin with, wake up to the fraud created by all the venerable institutions. ALL MORTGAGE DEBT IS ILLEGAL,FRAUDULENT. the federal reserve that prints our money is a private for profit banking corp, incorporated in england. the deception is yours ,wake up to the facts and keep or enjoy YOUR MONEY or keep paying for YOUR ENSLAVEMENT. and thats what i got to say about that.
dadams @ 20:
Well said. My wife and I have been volunteers, for various groups, for over 20 years. Too often we see groups begin to lose focus on their mission, and spend most of their time 'being an organization'. Fundraising becomes their primary agenda. That is when we know it is time to 'move on'. We do not feel that our valuable leisure time should go to creating jobs, paying escalating salaries to executive directors, writing grant proposals, or licking fundraising envelopes.
As for this current thread, I like the idea of using the 'stimulus' funds for causes that appeal to each individual. There are so many of them. I wish the government would have offered an option to pay down the national debt. Indeed, this would have been a better idea from the beginning. However, there is far less political milage to be gained doing this. I do not think the majority of Americans truly appreciate the consequences of having this huge debt burden dragging us down. Of course, if we are using debt to fund this program, it would just be the same as using one credit card to make payments on another one - net zero.
Hey folks, if you don't want some of your hard earned money refunded to you - it speaks of your intelligence. Grow up and get real. What a mass of retards. Are you so blinded from your belief in big government and communism that you have turned your brains off?
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