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mastermind1185
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Name: estevan
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Birthday: 12/11/1985
Gender: Male
Interests: Music, give me more, Reading, poetry,Computers, Programming, anything fun.
Expertise: Sarcasm, Dark Humor, Sharp Humor, Procrastination,Being me, BOB, batteries included.
Occupation: Student, government employee
Message: message meEmail: email me
AIM:  mastermind1185
MSN: thepyhsicbard@yahoo.com
Yahoo:  thepyhsicbard
Member Since:
8/26/2004
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| Hello Xangaland,
Although not many people read this I am going to use this blog entry to voice some opinions about the happenings in the US as of late and try and get a grasp on public concern to better understand the issue. Like most citizens i have tried to follow the course of the economic stimulus plan that our president wants past. Reception of this stimulus plan (just like all other plans and bills) is crawling with mixed opinion. I will say that this blog will try and look at some of the benefits and that I support Obama and this bill but will do my best to remain as objective as possible. I decided to write this blog after reading comments to a question posed by the blogger who's blog is entitled Theologian's Cafe. In it some folks were concerned about where the money is spent without actually having any information. So I decided to dig up that information and present it to you.
The following is a clip from an online radio political commentator. I have not researched his political affiliation but I have looked at his data and compared it to other sources and have concluded that the breakdown is fairly accurate. I know my research could be better but mucking around in the bill will just take too much time and so I resort to this breakdown. I have also included the sources the article uses if you want to do further research. So where does the money in the stimulus package apply? Here's the breakdown:
Some highlights of the package, by the numbers:
• $825 billion total (as of 1/15/09)
• $550 billion in new spending, described as thoughtful and carefully
targeted priority investments with unprecedented accountability
measures built in.
• $275 billion in tax relief ($1,000 tax cut for families, $500 tax cut for individuals through SS payroll deductions)
• $ 90 billion for infrastructure
• $ 87 billion Medicaid aid to states
• $ 79 billion school districts/public colleges to prevent cutbacks
• $ 54 billion to encourage energy production from renewable sources
• $ 41 billion for additional school funding ($14 billion for school
modernizations and repairs, $13 billion for Title I, $13 billion for
IDEA special education funding, $1 billion for education technology)
• $ 24 billion for "health information technology to prevent
medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce
cost-saving efficiencies" and "to provide for preventative care and to
evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments."
• $ 16 billion for science/technology ($10 billion for
science facilities, research, and instrumentation; $6 billion to expand
broadband to rural areas)
• $ 15 billion to increase Pell grants by $500
• $ 6 billion for the ambiguous "higher education modernization."
[Source: Committee on Appropriations: January 15, 2009]
Here is a further breakdown of the package:
NOTE: The following are highlights of the package; for the full 13-page summary from the Appropriations Committee, click here:
(as of 1/15/09)
Energy
$32 billion: Funding for "smart electricity grid" to reduce waste
$16 billion: Renewable energy tax cuts and a tax credit for research
and development on energy-related work, and a multiyear extension of
renewable energy production tax credit
$6 billion: Funding to weatherize modest-income homes
Science and Technology
$10 billion: Science facilities
$6 billion: High-speed Internet access for rural and underserved areas
Infrastructure
$30 billion: Transportation projects
$31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure
$19 billion: Water projects
$10 billion: Rail and mass transit projects
Education
$41 billion: Grants to local school districts
$79 billion: State fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid
$21 billion: School modernization ($15.6 billion to increase the Pell
grant by $500; $6 billion for higher education modernization)
Health Care
$39 billion: Subsidies to health insurance for unemployed; providing coverage through Medicaid
$87 billion: Help to states with Medicaid
$20 billion: Modernization of health-information technology systems
$4.1 billion: Preventative care
Jobless Benefits
$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.
$39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay
the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and
providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.
$20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.
Taxes
Individuals:
*$500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, costing about $140 billion.
*Greater access to the $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor.
*Expansion of the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children
*A $2,500 college tuition tax credit.
*Repeal of a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time.
Businesses:
*An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to
claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of
two.
*Bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment
*Doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases.
*Allowing businesses to claim a tax credit for hiring disconnected youth and veterans
[Sources: Associated Press: Highlights of Senate economic stimulus plan; January 23, 2009; WSJ: Stimulus Package Unveiled; January 16, 2009; Committee on Appropriations: January 15, 2009]
I will also include an article that provides a pie chart that visually breaks down the bill:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/stimulus-pie-chart/
There is a lot of information above so I am going to work through some of it and discuss the biggest question people are asking: in what way does this package benefit me.
1. As shown in the pie chart by the New York Times, the largest percentage of the stimulus plan is in tax cuts. From Obama's economic policy I will suggest that a fair amount of the tax cuts will be aimed at middle and lower class families. Although the Republican portion of the House did not vote for this bill, we must also assume that the bill has tax cuts for the higher tiers of the populace since they asked for these tax cuts. Even if these tax cuts were included to persuade Republicans to vote for the package, they are most likely included.
So in answer to the question posed above, I would have to say that we all benefit from this portion of the stimulus package. Tax cuts are one demand that many people have made to make the economy jump back. More money in our pockets will result in more spending and the ability to continue to pay on bills and necessities as well as leisure spending. You wanted tax cuts and here they are.
The set backs to tax cuts must also be looked at. In regards to the current situation spending is a key concern. Although this would mean more money in our pockets it doesn't insure that the money will drive up the economy. For this money to affect the economy it has to be spent (kind of a no brainer really). There is concern that people will not spend this extra money but stow it away for a rainy day. Although there is nothing wrong with this idea, the economy doesn't benefit. We say the consequences of this when the bank bail out money was not spent by the banks but kept in coffers for whatever reason. Another set back to tax cuts is that taxes are the number one revenue source for government money. People don't realize this. I know it seems like its not a big deal to discuss this but its amazing how many people don't realize the results of tax cuts. Lately all I hear from the opposite camp is we want tax cuts not government spending. Spending government money will increase the national deficit. The truth of the matter is that tax cuts do the same thing as government spending. Thats why the amount of this bill is so high. The loss of revenue from taxes is included in its cost. The percentage of the cost is not money actually being spent. It is the amount of money lost from tax cuts.
I know the biggest concern of this plan is objection is that this plan will spend money in areas that don't benefit all citizen's. the rest of this discussion will focus on this.
One final thing that I must bring up is the tendency for people to ask the question "What happened to the bail out plan designed to save the banks and large companies?" Many are saying that due to this bill not helping, we should not propose another one that won't work. This is a huge mistake. First, the entire bail out money has not been released. To date, only half of the bailout has been issued. The second mistake is to forget that the original bail out has different flaws than this new plan. Our government, under President Bush's support passed a financial bailout plan that would buy out billiions of dollars of debt from banks and mortgage companies to keep them from going under. The problem is obvious, in cutting these companies large checks and handing them to these banks means that there is no way to ensure that the money will go to things like restructuring, or paying the general employee. Where do you think this money went. Yep, that's right, it went into bonuses for executives and CEOs. Why did the original bail out fail? Do we really have to ask.
Another observation I have made is that those who are so against the stimulus package were perfectly fine with President Bush's financial bailout bill. Conservatives critisize Obama's plan but will rally behind President Bush in issuing free money. Does this make sense to anyone? It certaintly doesn't to me. So before you go bashing one man for his attempts to solve the situation, you should look at your reasons for doing so.
I have to start on some work and school work so I will return to this blog later. Comments and suggestions of content are appreciated so send them even though this blog is not finished.
We will return after this short commercial break.
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| Second day of school and things are already getting interesting. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying most of my classes and most of the reading is really interesting. The problem is that the schedule I have to follow is rough. Tuesdays and Thursdays were my days to sleep in. Now I am up at the same time that I have to wake up for school. In addition, study time is restricted to the weekends and the long break I have in the morning. Classes are solid from two pm until after nine. Six classes two days a week. Add to all this the types of classes I have, three upper level English classes and three upper level Religious Studies classes, and you have a very busy Bob. So Bob is waving goodbye to his social life and most of his downtime. Oh well. The future looks great for me and so this is a necessary evil that I have to contend with so that the future can become a reality.
So far I find only one class that I view as a waste of time. My Sociology of Religion class is boring and rather drab. The subject is interesting and so I will endure but once again my professor doesn't know how to teach or lecture. Well class is starting I will write more later.
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| Hello everyone. My name is Bob and I'm an addict. Yup, that's right. These last two weeks a new addiction has arose to gobble up all my extra time and a lot of time that I should be dedicating to sleep and other necessities. What has Bob so enthralled? Well, being the nerd I am, this addiction comes in the form of sheets of paper glued together, surrounded by cardboard and covered with ink. I have spent the last week and a half reading The Dresden Files. Holy shit. Every summer I make it a goal to read 10 books throughout the course. For winter break I don't make any reading goals because I am never sure if I would have time to read. This last week I have read four books within this series. Holy shit they are good. Read them all you nerdy fools that subscribe to this blog. Read them. | | |
| Every day that I log onto my page, i spend 15-20 minutes reading some of the featured content on the homepage. As time has gone by, I have gone from reading one or tow of the featured posts to reading everything that is on the page. Today one of the featured posts by a fellow blogger got me thinking. I know that I have commented on the question of the day, and that I sometimes have warped and twisted ideas when certain issues are concerned. He asked if his fellow bloggers have avoided commenting for fear of the controversy that would come about due to their opinion. Some who commented on the post said it was a form of playing nice, others said it was a form of avoiding drama. Why are we so afraid of stating our opinion for fear of the retaliation of others. I have had some people flame some of my posts. I have had others refer to my banner as explaining my ideas. It hasn't affected me in any way. At times, the flaming justifies my actions. Its not my fault that others are so entrenched in their ideas that they cannot think outside their ridiculously small box and flame others with ideals different from theirs. I encourage comments and things on anything I write and will never flame others for their opinions. I may debate it, adapt my thinking, or a number of such reactions but never will I resort to flaming others. ( Yes, some who know me may say that this is an inaccurate statement, but in all honesty, there are some exceptions. Yet even then it is not flaming but a more aggressive argument that may have some scathing points but never such things as calling them idiots, stupid, or telling them to shut their mouth or other hateful words.) It baffles me that we are afraid of our opinions for fear of what may come out of our expressing them publicly. What are we so afraid of? I have to be honest, I have refrained from commenting on certain things to avoid the back lash I knew would ensue ( I know such a shocker) but why? | | |
| Now that the election fever is over its time for me to congratulate everyone who voted, no matter who your candidate of choice was. This election resulted in many firsts that I hope will continue. Americans have always been criticized for their apathy toward the way their country was run. Yet this year we made a statement. We do care. Most likely the next election won't be as heated but that doesn't mean that the numbers have to go back to what they were eight years ago. Minority turn out was larger, and as a result, showed the world that if the minority groups pulled together they can accomplish great things. In addition, it was nice to see the rise in the youth vote. We are the future of this country, so why wait until we are forty and facing threats to social security and other problems that middle age folks face before we make our voices heard. In a time of economic hardships and numerous issues the idea that change is needed. Yet as we have seen, a single bill or one time vote cannot fix our problems. It takes time. I encourage all the youth who voted in this election, and those who will be eligible to vote in the next election to do so. We can't wait for the future to become the present to begin caring about what is going on. Change is gradual. Let's us begin to work to mold our future instead of reacting to it.
Even the majority of voters need to be congratulated. This election showed that we can cross the division lines that we have been fighting to eradicate. Don't get me wrong, I know that those lines will continue to exist for centuries and new ones are being drawn as we speak, but we have shown we can cross the bridge and work together. Lines along race, age, ideals did not absolved, but this election shows that they are not uncrossable, a little food for thought as we head into some of the hardest times for our nation.
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