So with that in mind, what are Americans going to do with their tax cut? Will they stimulate the U.S. economy out of a recession? Check this poll out from Boston.com:
WASHINGTON—One in three people say they will use this year's tax refund to pay bills as that nice annual check from Uncle Sam becomes less of a luxury for many people.
Thirty-five percent said they plan to use the money to pay utility, credit card, housing or other bills, an Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll showed Thursday. That is up from 27 percent who said so a year ago, in a fresh example of how the ailing economy is affecting many families.
About a third said they are saving or investing the money, down slightly from last year. Nearly a quarter said they are using their refund to pay debt from credit cards and other loans -- essentially the same as the one in five who said so last spring.
Thirty-five percent of Americans are going to be using their tax cut to pay bills--utility, credit card or housing bills. And that number is up from 27 percent. This money is not going into the U.S. economy as consumer spending--this money is going to pay down the enormous debt that Americans have accumulated. Sure, some people are going to spend their tax cuts. But I seriously doubt there will be enough Americans spending their tax cuts in order to keep the U.S. out of the looming recession, which King George and his GOP criminals have gotten us into.
2 comments:
It is a published fact that accountant professionals are urging people to pay bills with the stimulus package. It is again a sorry example by the Bush administration to garner public approval by handing out money. It did not work the first time he did it so what makes him think that he succeed this time around?
Hello Chooch:
Thank you for your comment. I'm not surprised that accounting professionals are urging people to pay their bills with the stimulus checks, considering the amount of debt that Americans have taken on with their credit cards, or equity loans. I found this December 23, 2007 AP story reporting that Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments and even defaulting on their credit card debt. The value of credit card accounts that are late by at least 30 days, have jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October, 2007. The AP story also reported that lenders who write off the credit card debt have risen by 18 percent to almost $961 billion. And the credit card debt is almost nothing, when compared to the even bigger problem of the subprime mortgage collapse, and Americans who are faced with even bigger interest payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages and the real prospect of losing their homes to foreclosures. We are a nation of debt.
Now getting to the Bush administration's stimulus package, you have to understand that this program is really a CYA for President Bush. The Bush administration is hoping that Americans will take their stimulus checks and spend the money on goods, keeping the U.S. economy somewhat afloat until after Bush leaves office. President Bush wants the entire economic house of cards, that he built, to come crashing down on his successor (who will probably be a Democrat by the name of Clinton or Obama), and the Republicans can blame the Democrats for sending the U.S. economy down the toilet. If President Bush had done nothing, you can bet that the American people would attack the GOP and Bush at the polls this November. They may still attack Bush and the GOP anyways. But by handing out these stimulus checks, the Bush administration can claim that they tried to help the U.S. economy, and the American people, by handing out even more tax cuts--regardless of whether their plan will work or not. This stimulus plan is not about economics--it is all about politics.
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