Bush's Grand Bribe Is Underway!

But Congress is calling it a "stimulus package" because that sounds more warm and fuzzy:

House leaders and the administration reached agreement today on a roughly $145 billion economic stimulus package that would quickly send payments to poor and middle-class workers while offering businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment and write off tax losses.

In formally announcing the deal this afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. hailed it as a bipartisan effort that would help stimulate the economy by spurring consumer demand and creating new jobs.

Under the plan, as many as 117 million people would get rebate checks. Individual income tax filers would receive up to $600, working couples would get up to $1,200, and those with children would get an additional $300 per child.


But wait, there's more!

Under the deal, nearly everyone earning a paycheck would receive at least $300 from the Internal Revenue Service. Workers who earned at least $3,000 last year -- but not enough to pay income taxes -- would be eligible for $300.

Overall, 117 million families will receive a rebate check, including 35 million with incomes too low to have qualified under the earlier Bush proposal. Those 35 million families will receive rebates totaling $28 billion.

Full rebates would be sent to single taxpayers who earned up to $75,000 and couples with incomes of as much as $150,000. The value of the payments would decline after that and phase out entirely at incomes of roughly $87,000 for individuals and $174,000 for joint filers.


I'm still skeptical; what's their definition of "families?" Because if I know the classic GOP conservative definition it's "Mom, Dad and a Kid." I wouldn't be surprised to see a story in ten months about a single mother of four who couldn't get her check because she got divorced or (gasp!) never got married in the first place.

Also, how can you guarantee that people are going to use this money to strengthen the American Economy? Does the Average American know the difference between a product made in and by Americans, versus something that's from overseas? Why would people buy anything when they could use the cash to pay off some debts? Or put into a bank account? Or under their mattress?

And another thing: It's a freaking bribe!

UPDATE: It feels good to know I'm not the only one who thinks that this is a poorly conceived and constructed plan.

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