Gene's Blog

Rebate/Shmebate

I simply cannot believe anyone is taking this seriously. Not the economic situation, the solution. Does no one see through this? I understand the Senate has an issue with not including extended unemployment benefits – this is not a new problem, it has come up in “negotiations” in years past. That isn’t my issue with this idea.

Do I love the idea of some “free” money? Well, sure, why wouldn’t I? But if you think about this for a minute with me, I’d like to talk a little bit about what “free” really means and just exactly who is going to benefit from this largesse?

Free. mmmhmmm. Where exactly does the government, any government, get its money? Well, sure, they print it, but that isn’t what I mean. The money they have to spend comes from US, the people who pay taxes. The government hasn’t any of its own, in the sense of earned, money, to give to anyone, at any time, for any purpose. What money the government uses to pursue its particular goals it gets from US, the people who pay the taxes.

The initial proposal was based on the idea that the people who get this rebate will immediately spend it, thus injecting enthusiasm, however temporary, into the American economy. I understand this is a worldwide issue and why other nations are worried about a recession in the United States. I mean, gawd, we consume more than 60% of what everyone else produces, there is no porkier country on the planet. If WE stop buying, EVERYONE stops selling, and, well, we all know what a ripple effect looks like when we drop a stone into a pool of water. If we don’t buy, China goes broke. I mean, nearly everything sold here these days is made in China. Apart from the silliness of that scenario, though of course it is deadly serious, the point I want to bring out here is that, although we make virtually nothing anymore, we still consume most of the world’s production. I mean, gawd, those poor oil sheiks, the mere thought of an American recession dropped the price of oil $10 a barrel in minutes yesterday. Do you suppose that means the terrorists may have to make to do with 70 or 71 virgins instead of 72? Okay, that’s an aside, but it made me giggle anyway.

So – the president, exercising his usual wonderful brand of leadership, proposes a rebate, which remember is designed to be spent into the American economy, that excludes the 29 million poorest of our populace. THE group most likely to indeed spend that check immediately. What is it that commercial says? Oh yeah, brilliant.

No one seems to notice this flaw in the plan. No one seems to notice that the people who get this rebate are going to, on the whole, do one thing with it. Pay on an existing bill, credit card or mortgage. Which means that Bush is proposing to give 145 billion dollars to people who are going to give that money to his friends, the people who own the companies, the credit card issuers and mortgage holders. He wants to give $145 billion MORE dollars to his pals before he leaves office. Are THOSE people going to spend that money on Chinese made goods? I sorta doubt it. I suspect they’ll sock it away or buy another beach house on the other side of the continent, or globe. It is a tricky way to slide one more perk through to his “base” before leaving office. He doesn’t want to give the money to the poorest of the poor, those who get back their entire withholding plus Earned Income Credit, etc. He wants to give it to people, essentially the entire “middle class”, who will in turn give it to people who own businesses that CAUSED the recession with predatory lending practices, usurious interest rates (oh, please, 23% interest on a TV at Circuit City is REASONABLE?) and which give insane compensation packages to their top managers – again, his “base”. What does that mean? Google William McGuire, or search here. I’ve mentioned him before. And he is but ONE remember.

So this whole rebate idea takes taxpayer dollars and passes them back to taxpayers to pass on to the people who created the recessionary problem in the first place. Short answer? The rich get richer.

I wonder, when will we ever learn? If you wish a robust economy with as many people participating as possible, then you educate everyone educable. You encourage investment in the future, you build infrastructure even if results won’t be seen for decades. You give up the idea of me and mine and embrace the idea of we and ours. You make love your campaign promise. And you mean it. THAT is the answer to the woes of the current crisis. It is the answer to the mistakes of the past and it is the answer to the promise of the future. Love. Unconditional and uncompromising. Do unto thy neighbor as thy neighbor would have you do unto to them. Yes, that is a twist, but it is an important one, and it is right. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene