Forget Helicopter Ben: Bush and Congress Set to Drop Thermonuclear Confetti Bombs
January 18th, 2008Let me get this straight: My wife and I are going to owe no federal income tax and the maniac state is going to give us $1,600!?
I don’t remember smoking crack this morning, but that’s what the Bloomberg piece tells us! Wow, now I know what it’s like to be an evil U.S. corporation! Owe no income taxes AND get a hand out!
Man, you have got to love the “unseen hand” of the state in collapse. The free market. Democracy…
Who is going to pay for all of this?
The Chinese?
The Japanese?
The Saudis?
The Kuwaitis?
If this was any other country, I would have prefaced this post with the “EMERGENCY” label and then suggested that readers immediately eliminate exposure to U.S. Dollar denominated assets.
But the U.S. is like a weird and frightening carnival ride. You know the ones I mean. You notice the rust and loose cotter pins first. “Are we going to get off this thing alive?” might be a common thought as people strap themselves in with frayed safety belts. As the cart takes off, maybe you catch a glimpse of the skulls tattooed on the bearded freak carnie who’s at the controls. You tell yourself that you didn’t see a swastika on his neck…
And away you go! Wee!
That’s the U.S. financial system! That’s the financial system to which the rest of the world is joined at the hip.
Is the cart going to go off the rails this time? Or will this dose of government cheese be enough to help the zombies limp through another Presidential (s)Election, or longer?
Via: Bloomberg:
The Bush administration is close to completing an economic-stimulus proposal that will include $800 rebates for individuals and $1,600 for households as well as tax breaks for businesses, people familiar with the plan said.
…
The plan the administration is close to proposing includes a temporary elimination of the bottom tax rate, which is now 10 percent, and a consequent lump-sum rebate to all taxpayers, according to the people.
Businesses would get a tax break under the plan that would allow them to deduct 50 percent of the price of new equipment they purchase this year. Small businesses would be able to deduct as much as $200,000 in new equipment purchases, up from the current $112,000 limit.
Looking at http://www.marketwatch.com last night between 3 and 4 in the morning (new york time) I thought it was interesting that after such a nasty day on wall st., asia and europe didn’t have such a tough time. Of course, how this’ll all shake out is still unclear, but I couldn’t help think that this is the shape of things to come: the US sinking lower and lower as the rest of the world gets on with their lives, leaving the US behind.
I’ve learned from medical TV dramas that the first two defibrillation attempts are only for effect (Bush tax cuts I and II). The third attempt’s do or die.
CLEAR!
Sound advice. Fortunately this “stimulus package” buys more time to exit.
P.S. Now Mitt Romney’s proposing a quarter trillion dollar stimulus package!