What would you do with $4290?

America's Financial Iceberg

As Kevin McCullough noted today, “if we took the projected size of the stimulus at $1,300,000,000,000, and divided by the population at present time – individuals would get back roughly $4290 per person and the average family of four would get back a little more than $17,000.”

I think the concept of a stimulus package is a farce. Congress tried to scare us into supporting the TARP saying that the $700M was absolutely needed to prevent a financial disaster. It didn’t help, in fact, we don’t even know where the first $350 went. Have we seen a financial disaster yet? Nope. We were sold crap sandwiches for bailing out Fannie/Freddie, AIG, Bear Stearns, the big three auto makers, et al. Our government, a government supposedly of the people, by the people and for the people, is throwing our money away and refusing to listen to our voices. And if you think the current $900B (closer to $1.4T after interest) will be the last request, think again. There are already talks about TARP II, Electric Boogaloo. And how much more will Congress beg for when this magnificent crap sandwich fails? This, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg, and sadly, not even Al Gore’s Man-Made Global Warming can’t melt this chunk of ice.

But back to my initial question. If my family of four received $17,000 I would pay off credit cards and buy a new couch set that my wife has had to repeatedly put off buying to other more pressing needs. That means some of my money would go to banks, and some money would go to a furniture store. I might use part of it as a down payment on a new vehicle to replace our aging van.

I think many people are in the same boat. If we had this money we would not “hoard” it as many liberals think. Most people don’t have the financial freedom to hoard anything right now. If the economy is as bad as politicians and the press say it is, then people need this money to handle immediate expenses. Yesterday President Obama said something along the lines of “We are not rushing to try and ram this down peoples throats. We are rushing because we are told that if we don’t it will lead to certain financial disaster.” My burning question: who are these we people? Are they the same bankers that are hoarding the $350M they have already received? Are they the same financial institutions handing out millions in bonuses? President Obama, I implore you to share with us exactly who is telling you this and exactly what will happen if we don’t act. Stop the scare tactics and give us the facts. The American people are smarter thank you may think.

What would you do with $4290 per person in your home?