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Ok, so the news is reporting this morning that the country has been in a recession since last December which caused the stock market to drop by it's 4th highest amount ever. I guess my feeble mind doesn't understand why people are panicing about something that happened a year ago but whatever.

And they were reporting more on this 750 Billion bailout plan which prompted me to think of this:

The population of the US is roughly 301 million. The bailout is 750 billion. That is about $2500 per PERSON; man, woman, and child. So if the average family has a mom, dad, and 2.5 kids, that's $11,250 per family! MSN reports that the average credit card debt is $8,000. So if every family got $11,250 they could pay their credit card debt off, and still have $5,000 left for spending...on a car, new furnature, clothes, whatever.

How about that for an economic stimulus plan? What would YOU do if you were making the decision?

Caryn, I think that would be awesome if they did that. If only it actually worked that way. I saw that on the news also. If we have been in a recession for a year, why are they just now proclaiming it. Ridiculous.

I love that no one was allowed to say "the R word" as they put it on Fox news, until some financial bigwig finally admitted, "oh, yes we are in a recession and have been for a year or so" - the rest of us are so blind and stupid we cannot figure this out?? Put any pretty title on it you want to, the fact is people who work hard are losing, or have lost, the homes they hoped to raise families in; jobs are cutting back or going away entirely so that no one is safe and now that we are all on the same downhill slide, no one can get any sort of help unless they were the ones who sat on their collective butts and let things go so they were on the verge of losing everything so when there was a cry for help, there would be far too many people for the banks to be willing to help and so now we're all out of luck. Who knew trying to do the right thing and pay your bills on time was a bad idea?

It's got my vote! And how about the bailout for the automakers? They could give every family $15K to buy a new car. That way everyone would benefit in the bailout.

But I guess we should just be thankful for anything the goverment "Gives" us.

Blessings to all!

I like Gives in quotations. Since the government doesn't give us a darn dime. We give it to ourselves. You know another thing that would help is the Fair Tax. Everyone pays the same amount regardless of income (including drug dealers, prostitutes and other people who don't claim their income).

Wow, I would be jumping up and down if the government gave me and my family over $11,000! What a huge relief that would be! It just seems like big expenses always have to come at the same time. Why is that? I just hope this recession doesn't turn into a depression. It's pretty disheartening to know I am about to graduate, and I am going to thave to serach for a job when people are getting let go left and right.

quote:

Originally posted by carmic1975:
The population of the US is roughly 301 million. The bailout is 750 billion. That is about $2500 per PERSON; man, woman, and child. So if the average family has a mom, dad, and 2.5 kids, that's $11,250 per family! MSN reports that the average credit card debt is $8,000. So if every family got $11,250 they could pay their credit card debt off, and still have $5,000 left for spending...on a car, new furnature, clothes, whatever.

How about that for an economic stimulus plan? What would YOU do if you were making the decision?

The "average" credit card debt is $8k - wow! I am finally above average!! LOL

If someone handed me $11,250.00 what would I do? Aside from giggling a lot and maybe rolling around in a big pile of cash on the floor..... well it wouldn't pay off any of the 'big' stuff but it would go a long way in paying a couple of the smaller ones off. But I would honestly put at least $5k in savings so we are not caught again like we are now. And set aside a fund for pedicures for me for a year at least.

I'm just thankful that through all this crazyness that my faith is in God and not the government or the status of the economy. Also maybe back in the day the good ole' saying of helping someone get back on their feet has now turned into 'let's help them recline'. Which has caused a lot of extra work for everyone else. What if all the money we have been pouring into giving away money, food etc. went into creating jobs. Then it would balance out.
All in all our country is still one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Even our poor people here have it way better off then in India, Africa, etc. Many Americans have been living high on the hog for so long. It won't hurt to cut back a little. And let's not spend what we don't have. Stop purchasing stuff you can't pay for and don't even need in the first place. But I do feel for us hard working average families who are trying to get by. I pray that job opportunities would open up and that our country would find balance in our finances.

That sounds like a wonderful idea...no the kind that would ever come from a feeble mind

But yeah I think the idea of getting 11 grand would be great! I know we all could use it.

Eleven thousand dollars to each family would be wonderful for paying off bills and such, but do not underestimate the power of America's addiction to STUFF. We are a HUGE consumer society and whether you look at personal finances or the big picture of the US GDP, we are not savers. If people got that sum of money, would they use it to pay off debt or buy that new laptop, pair of shoes, big-screen TV, and cruise to Cancun that they always dreamed of? Many Americans spend more time "getting by" than they do planning their financial future on real terms.

The solution to this recession, and it's only the beginning of a solution, is economic reform. There are so many discrepancies and loopholes in the way our country and our country's people manage money that it's surprising that we haven't fallen harder, sooner. The wage gap for poor to middle class to the elites is crazy. Bachelor's degrees in college are hardly more prestigious (or well-paying) than HS diplomas anymore. Meanwhile, the 1% of America that is controlling most of our country's wealth (and therefore media, politics, and government policies) are getting huge bailouts for taking risks that they should not have taken. And contrary to the essential groundrules of free market capitalism, they are investing and making millions without risk. If they fail, instead of giving up a few of their vacation homes good old Uncle Sam will swoop in to save the day. The majority of the population, the working middle class, however has no one to save them when they fall. Reform is the only choice, MAJOR reform. The old and the rich of today are not saving our economy and country, they are leaving a mess behind for the newer generations to sort through.

Sandy

p.s. The reform? Get out of debt, out of wars for resources declared in the name of "terror" (go ahead and define that term and how we can "end it", good luck!), out of other country's affairs, and start focusing on this country's needs. And then from there, start from the foundation of all learning, our children. If we educate them fairly and completely then our future has a hope of being much, much brighter.

Maybe the 11K could come with a financial planning course voucher. Like Financial Peace University or Suze Orman or something like that. You have to successfully complete a training program to get your money. Perhaps that would teach the American population that saving for hard times is more important than a big screen or Cancun vacation.

I still say that economic reform should start with the Fair Tax. How many millions of dollars change hands illegaly in this country and are therefore untaxed in the current system? So maybe of those people start paying the higher sales tax, the country would fare better. I do think that we need to start thinking outside of the box. Just because something has worked in the past doesn't mean it is feasable in today's society.

However I do not think we should isolate ourselves as a country. Yes, we should spend more time and money on getting our country back on track, but if the whole world falls around us, where will those people go? Here. And they will be a drain on the economy once again and the circle will start again. So it's in our best interests to see that the rest of the world is prosperous too.