Is your Bonus check going into your system?

[Mort Corey]

I'll probably just buy some more gold coins...just to throw a wrench into the works. This whole idea is stupid....though not quite as bad as the suggestion by helicopter Ben.

Mort

 

[stratman]

Are there brackets for the "bonus", or does everyone get one? I really haven't paid attention to the whole mess and the cavewife hasn't mentioned it either.

 

[Polygon]

Yes, there are. I'm not sure at what points the brackets are but I know that they are there.

 

[MUDSHARK]

Preliminary indications are AGI 75k single 150K married with phase-out provisions.

Also be careful when incorporating as an 's' corp to avoid emplyment taxes. Employment taxes have been a hot topic of the IRS for years. If the coporation does not have many employees the IRS will reclassify stockholder distributions to compensation to collect the payroll taxes plus penalties under the opinion that such distributions are not return on investment but payment of labor.

 

[stratman]

Well then it looks like I'm not getting a "bonus," I wonder if that's why the missus was being quiet about it?

 

[chadnliz]

Either that or she is planing on spendin it on herself lol!

 

[aberkowitz]

Preliminary indications are AGI 75k single 150K married with phase-out provisions.

For every $100 of additional income above those levels, you lose $5 of the credit. Once you hit an AGI level of $87,000 you get nothing. However, you get $300 for every dependent child you have no matter what income level.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

So when are we supposed to be getting these checks?

 

[highfihoney]

Looks like no bonus for me

 

[aberkowitz]

So when are we supposed to be getting these checks?

Mailing timeframe is May-June. It really all depends on how long it takes the Senate to approve the stimulus package that the House has already approved. For the economy's sake I hope the Senate decides to do this plan at all and comes up with a stimulus plan that actually stimulates.... but that's just me.

 

[stratman]

So I'm getting $300!! I'll put it in Mikey's piggy bank, after all I'm getting it cause of him, it's the least I can do.

 

[Tomorrow]

For the guys who dont get a check....be glad as that means you are doing well, as for my choice to call it a Bonus check, write your own thread and call it whatever you wish, some actually participated in the spirit of the thread, what a novel idea.
For the record I am disabled and dont pay taxes so I get $300 and my better half gets $600 so it IS a bonus check for me.

Doing well? I hope I'm incorrect (or the Senate passes their version), but it is my understanding that if the House bill passes as is, we "RICH" people get nothing. Those on Social Security get nothing. I'm disabled, as are you, and receive Social Security Disability (so I am not a dependent that gets the $300). My wife is a secretary. What does that mean for us? She gets $600. Great. I get bupkiss, even though I pay taxes on my SSD. Fair and equitable?...yeah, right, just like the baseless pork and earmark spending we're all taxed on. (Thanks for your input, Clint. Right on.)

This is an economic stimulus package that is aimed at the middle class and to encourage spending. It is a poke in the eyes of some of the lower income classes.

But just to keep this in the realm of your "novel idea and keep it in the spirit of the thread", I'll be spending my $0 on no a/v equipment.

(Can you tell?...taxes are a hot button with me.)

 

[stratman]

Doing well? I hope I'm incorrect (or the Senate passes their version), but it is my understanding that if the House bill passes as is, we "RICH" people get nothing. Those on Social Security get nothing. I'm disabled, as are you, and receive Social Security Disability (so I am not a dependent that gets the $300). My wife is a secretary. What does that mean for us? She gets $600. Great. I get bupkiss, even though I pay taxes on my SSD. Fair and equitable?...yeah, right, just like the baseless pork and earmark spending we're all taxed on. (Thanks for your input, Clint. Right on.)

This is an economic stimulus package that is aimed at the middle class and to encourage spending. It is a poke in the eyes of some of the lower income classes.

But just to keep this in the realm of your "novel idea and keep it in the spirit of the thread", I'll be spending my $0 on no a/v equipment.

(Can you tell?...taxes are a hot button with me.)

This joke of a "stimulus package" will not do anything for the middle class, 6 hundred dollars will not help the middle class, neither will 15 hundred, but if given to the lower class it might actually help some folks that really need the money, to buy food and medicine.

 

[aberkowitz]

This joke of a "stimulus package" will not do anything for the middle class, 6 hundred dollars will not help the middle class, neither will 15 hundred, but if given to the lower class it might actually help some folks that really need the money, to buy food and medicine.

Giving people one-time cash paymentsdoes not stimulate the economy... never has, never will.

The reason you give it to the middle class is because theoretically they're the most likely group of people to spend the entirety of the rebate in a down economy in addition to money that they would be spending anyway. Under this theory the upper class is viewed as inelastic (not sensitive to changes in prices, or in this case the broader success of the economy)- they will spend money regardless of the state of the world. Maybe they'll spend a little less, but a $600 rebate is a drop in the bucket for this group and won't affect their level of spending. The lower class is viewed as being very "price" sensitive, or having a high elasticity- they are unlikely to increase their monthly spending by receiving a $600 rebate. This group will most likely save the money and use it to supplement their income on basic monthly needs- as Stratman described.

In order to stimulate the economy you give the money to the group who find it the most meaningful as excess cash and are willing to go out and spend it immediately.

Needless to say, the theory is severely flawed because in practice people have historically "saved" tax rebates- generally by cutting back normal monthly spending to account for the cash influx. Even when they do spend, they rarely spend the money in its entirety.

P.S. I took liberties with the economics term elasticity- it just seemed like the best way to explain my thoughts.

 

[Tomorrow]

Giving people one-time cash paymentsdoes not stimulate the economy... never has, never will.

The reason you give it to the middle class is because theoretically they're the most likely group of people to spend the entirety of the rebate in a down economy in addition to money that they would be spending anyway. Under this theory the upper class is viewed as inelastic (not sensitive to changes in prices, or in this case the broader success of the economy)- they will spend money regardless of the state of the world. Maybe they'll spend a little less, but a $600 rebate is a drop in the bucket for this group and won't affect their level of spending. The lower class is viewed as being very "price" sensitive, or having a high elasticity- they are unlikely to increase their monthly spending by receiving a $600 rebate. This group will most likely save the money and use it to supplement their income on basic monthly needs- as Stratman described.

In order to stimulate the economy you give the money to the group who find it the most meaningful as excess cash and are willing to go out and spend it immediately.

Needless to say, the theory is severely flawed because in practice people have historically "saved" tax rebates- generally by cutting back normal monthly spending to account for the cash influx. Even when they do spend, they rarely spend the money in its entirety.

P.S. I took liberties with the economics term elasticity- it just seemed like the best way to explain my thoughts.

I think you and S-man are right on the mark, Abe. Permanently reducing wasteful expenditures and cutting reliance on these excessive tax revenues might actually help the economy recover more rapidly. Permanent tax cuts, and perhaps the cessation of printing money like this was a game of Monopoly, would go a long way toward economic recovery.

Still, this thread is a nice little mini-indicator of who will be spending the rebate vs. saving.

 

[chadnliz]

You need to read before you rant, folks on SS who DONT pay any taxes get $300, people earning less the $75000....couples $150000 get $600, people who earn over $3000 but dont pay taxes get $300 aswell, each child gets you $300 up to 4 maximum credits.

 

[Tomorrow]

You need to read before you rant, folks on SS who DONT pay any taxes get $300, people earning less the $75000....couples $150000 get $600, people who earn over $3000 but dont pay taxes get $300 aswell, each child gets you $300 up to 4 maximum credits.

Read what? Would you happen to have a link to a report that indicates a rebate specifically to SS holders? I have been unable to find such a statement. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Further, and again I'm no expert, one of the principle differences between the Senate and the House/Presidential plan is payment to SS folks. Here is a link to one report e.g.... http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/FRONT01/80128019

The pertinent quote... ."Adding rebates for senior citizens living solely off Social Security checks — who are ineligible under the plan hatched by House leaders and the White House — would likely mean doling out smaller rebates overall, shrinking the size of the payments from $600 to $500, according to a senior Senate aide."

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Giving people one-time cash paymentsdoes not stimulate the economy... never has, never will.

Agreed. I will enjoy getting it (kind of like a birthday present), but it will neither have a substantial impact on the economy nor make me approve of the current administration.

 

[Davemcc]

Permanently reducing wasteful expenditures and cutting reliance on these excessive tax revenues might actually help the economy recover more rapidly.

Take it one step further. While the government is currently into massive deficit spending, the entirety of this rebate program will be financed with debt. That is another argument in favor of reducing expenditures and broad based personal and corporate tax relief.

 

[10010011]

Mine will probably go to buying a PST.

See my post in the Venus/Jupiter Close Conjunction thread and you will understand why.

I recall last time they did this was the only time I ever had to pay taxes at the end of the year.