Free Money for All!

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by MattR, Jan 24, 2008.

  1. MattR

    MattR Member+

    Jun 14, 2003
    Reston
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080124/ap_on_go_co/economy_stimulus_416

    What an absolutely stupid, stupid idea. I didn't know that a "Free Market Economy" with "Less Regulation" meant that if the stock market heads down a few hundred points every once in a while, the government would step in and start handing out rate cuts and free cash.

    Look, I hate paying taxes as much as anyone. But the money they'll be handing out has to come from somewhere, and more likely than not it's borrowed. Whenever someone bitches that its our "tax money" that's being wasted, I point out that it's not. We're BORROWING the money to waste it.

    And as much as a free HDTV from the government is going to be cool, it's a blip on the radar of most families struggling to pay a rapidly increasing mortgage, and higher gas costs. This money is probably just going to pay down the credit card bill another month or two. And then what?

    Let the market work. There is a housing bubble brought about by irresponsible lending practices. Let's accept that, burst this baby, and get back to normal growth.
     
  2. CaliforniaAlbanach

    CaliforniaAlbanach New Member

    Jan 22, 2008
    Exeter, CA
    so you wont accept the cheque when it comes?
     
  3. Claymore

    Claymore Member

    Jul 9, 2000
    Montgomery Vlg, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yay! Go buy an iPod (made in China)!!!
     
  4. argentine soccer fan

    Staff Member

    Jan 18, 2001
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Well, lending institutions are partly to blame, but they are in business to lend money. There wouldn't be irresponsible lending practices without irresponsible borrowers. You might as well blame McDonalds because you weigh 300 pounds.

    But it's funny, "let the market work" is exactly what the IMF used to tell other debtor nations when they reached a crisis. "Ride it through".

    I believe it's true, in the long term the best thing for the economy is to ride it through. A patch on the economy doesn't help in the long term. But in the US, as it was in other debtor nations, the political realities make the policy of 'riding it through' impossible to implement. People want the government to bail them out in the short term, they don't give a shit about the long term.

    Still, in this case I think the patch wont hurt much, because this so called stimulous package appears to me to be too small relative to the size of the economy to really make much of a difference. It won't hurt much and it won't help much, although it might help a bit psichologically.

    The interest rate cut implemented by the Fed will be much more of a factor than this package, both in the short and in the long term, especially because it will give debtors some relief with their interest payments. (Of course, it won't help the debtors much in the long run if they don't change their habits and keep getting into more debt, but that's another issue.)

    The main reason for the stimulous is that the people in congress need to go back to their district and tell the disgruntled masses that they did something for them. That is what this is about, and that is why in this instance the two political parties can work together. They all are in the same boat. They all want to have an answer for their constituents who demand that Washington solve the problems that for the most part they created for themselves.

    PS: I'll take my check, though.
     
  5. BudWiser

    BudWiser New Member

    Jul 17, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    Old hat for politicians.

    If you want to do some good, print money or borrow money.

    In this case, borrow money. We're already in debt. We go to China and other countries for the loan. Now we'll just go further into debt.
     
  6. IntheNet

    IntheNet New Member

    Nov 5, 2002
    Northern Virginia
    Club:
    Blackburn Rovers FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Actually for $600 you could skip the iPod and get an iPhone....

    Economically the idea of giving money away stinks; but more important the idea of Bush and Pelosi doing something together makes me ill...
     
  7. argentine soccer fan

    Staff Member

    Jan 18, 2001
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    And that is exactly what many people will do. Then they will subscribe to all the services available for the iPhone and have the charges go directly to their credit card. They will only end up getting more in debt.
     
  8. Shaster

    Shaster Member+

    Apr 13, 1999
    El Cerrito, CA, USA
    China opts out from Citibank deal due to the strong sentiment in US Congress. But it is very likely that China will put tons of money in UK after PM Browns pledges. But there are still a LOT of cashes in Mid East and Japan.
     
  9. M

    M Member+

    Feb 18, 2000
    Via Ventisette
    That's the idea isn't it? The Fed reduce the lenders' cost of borrowing so as to increase their margins and then Congress encourages people to borrow more and pay more interest thus helping to rescue the banks' balance sheets.

    Anyway, this is not the worst part of the deal. That honour belongs to increasing Fannie Mae's conforming loan limit to $720k. The almost inevitable result down the road is that more risky loans are going to be dumped on the government's (aka the taxpayer's) lap whilst at the same time getting the banks off the hook for some of their past dodgy loans. Privatize the gains, socialize the losses...
     
  10. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm gonna put it in international stocks. ******** the American economy
     
  11. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In defense of that, alot of people in the NE and California were forced to take jumbo loans on a regular 2 or 3 BR home since the price was outside the FNMA range. This in some cases actually make the loans less risky in certain situations.
     
  12. Demosthenes

    Demosthenes Member+

    May 12, 2003
    Berkeley, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm going to invest it in the economy of the sovereign nation of Foxwoods.
     
  13. BenReilly

    BenReilly New Member

    Apr 8, 2002
    When I saw the title I was going to ask the moderator to merge this with the Mitt Romney thread. I was sure it was a Romney campaign promise. My mistake.
     
  14. Wingtips1

    Wingtips1 Member+

    May 3, 2004
    02116
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    the loan amount is too large, MitH. take that $400k and then use the governments own Cost of Living index to increase that amount. That way it only moves it up to $550k at most.

    but this disgusts me. in the long run, only $50 billion is going to be given to consumers. hardy going to do anything to stimulate the economy, especially seeing as people won't be receiving these checks until May at the earliest. by then, who knows what will be happening to the economy. going by the jobs data, we could be back in a period of 3% growth!
    this is a drop in the bucket that will do nothing for the economy as a whole. if we go into recession, let us make the necessary adjustments. don't try to keep us afloat with crap spending.

    and before you ask, I wouldn't take the check, no (not that I'd be getting one).
     
  15. Wingtips1

    Wingtips1 Member+

    May 3, 2004
    02116
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    fixed.
     
  16. M

    M Member+

    Feb 18, 2000
    Via Ventisette
    Forced? Renting not an option rather than taking out a risky loan?
     
  17. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's the option I took. Perhaps forced was the wrong word.
     
  18. argentine soccer fan

    Staff Member

    Jan 18, 2001
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina

    Yeah, right. And miss out on the housing market boom?
     
  19. spejic

    spejic Cautionary example

    Mar 1, 1999
    San Rafael, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Free money! I love free money! Why, just today I went to my bank, put my card into an ATM, and got a bunch of free money!

    I get the feeling that we've been heating our communal house to 85 degrees with a big bonfire for a very long time, and we are starting to run out of firewood. And the government is saying, "If you break up your furniture and internal walls, you will find free firewood!"
     
  20. Stogey23

    Stogey23 Member+

    Dec 12, 1998
    San Diego, CA
    We have to pay taxes on this "free money", don't we?
     
  21. CrewDust

    CrewDust Member

    May 6, 1999
    Columbus, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe it's not the best possible policy, but I'm not going to return it.
     
  22. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For any of you that don't want your free money, please send it my way. I've got a wedding coming up...:)
     
  23. saosebastiao

    saosebastiao New Member

    May 22, 2005
    Me too! Congrats!

    I'm donating my rebate to Ron Paul though, sorry:)
     
  24. Foosinho

    Foosinho New Member

    Jan 11, 1999
    New Albany, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've never understood this angle. It's not at all hypocritical to live under the law of the land, and think the law should be changed.

    Where have you been? Most of my 401K has been in international stocks for years.

    Hot.
     
  25. CosmosKramer

    CosmosKramer Member

    Sep 24, 2000
    Yokohama
    Club:
    Yokohama F Marinos
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    I'll be putting mine into Yen ASAP.
     

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