Fair to pass economic stimulus cost onto our kids?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Guess who's paying for that $170 billion economic stimulus package? Our children.
Those rebate checks meant to stimulate the economy helped push the federal budget deficit to $166 billion last month, a record high for the month of May. The Treasury Department says this May deficit was more than double what it was last year.
During last month, $48 billion in stimulus checks went out as part of an effort to revive the economy. This stimulus package was actually something that prompted Democrats and Republicans to work together. They settled on checks of $600 for individuals who earn less than $75,000 and $1,200 for married taxpayers who earn less than $150,000 together.
The Bush administration estimated earlier this year that the deficit would be $410 billion, but many private economists believe it will be higher, possibly topping the all-time high of $413 billion set in 2004. And remember, the deficit numbers reported by the government don't include the cost of the war in Iraq, estimated between $150 billion and $200 billion a year.
The largest increase in retail sales in six months in May is an indication people are spending those rebate checks. The increase was double what economists were expecting. But it's likely only temporary.
The point is this is all borrowed money that's being used for the rebate checks. Money that will someday have to be repaid – probably by our children or grandchildren.
Here’s my question to you: Is it fair for the government to make our children pay for the economic stimulus package?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Jesse from Seattle writes:
Hi Jack, What's new about this? This generation has no intention of paying for its lifestyle or problems. It is the story of the last 100 years: the children pay for the crimes of their parents. If the government really wanted to put their policies to the test of the future, then they should drop the voting age to 16...I bet you $100 that if the withering politicians of today had to be responsible to the children of today that they would have a very different attitude.
James writes:
No, It's not fair, Jack, which is why I did the only responsible thing I could think of: I added the money to my granddaughter's college fund. As long as her generation is going to have to pay for it, she ought to be able to at least benefit from it.
Jerry writes:
Of course it's fair to pass this debt along to the kids! Have you seen the children of today? Everything is handed to them, they are spoiled, pampered, fat, lazy, rude and addicted to video games and their iPods. Maybe this little "rude awakening" is just what these little kids need!
Laura from Maplewood, New Jersey writes:
Fair? No. But I'd rather have them pay for a misguided "stimulus plan" than a misguided war. The real question is how Republicans get away with calling themselves fiscally responsible when we all know who was in charge the last time the deficit was under control.
Greg writes:
Massive borrowing against the future, living beyond our means, spending like there's no tomorrow, leaving the bill for our children... Is it fair? Well, no, probably not. But it is the American way.
K. from Bronx, New York writes:
Our children are already in line to inherit trillions of dollars in debt. What's another couple billion? Besides, mom needs a spa treatment and Dad needs some new clubs.
Larry writes:
Kids? What kids? I’m not going to have kids for just this reason.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Absolutely not!
It may not happen until Obama takes office, but I believe the United States will once again become fiscally responsible.
We better develop a 'pay as you go' mentality or the end is near. I don't mean the sky parting, and angels singing.
I mean bread lines, food shortages, impossible energy prices, broken borders, massive unemployment.........
Wait, most of that has happened with in the last 8 years.
Don't worry Jack, Obama will get us out of Iraq, and get us out of the red and back in the black (no pun intended).
As you said yesterday, Jack, "Here's a hint: NO!" Our poor kids and grandkids, don't they have ENOUGH to pay off on our behalf already?? We're bequeathing them a very dubious inheritance all the way 'round, and I see no justice in leaving them the tab for an economic "stimulus" that's in truth stimulating nothing but more government debt. Nope, let's leave our kids off the hook this time ...
No. The youth of today are having a difficult enough time trying to pay off enormous sums of student loan debt and are struggling to get by. It's unfair of us to pass the buck on to them. Maybe the money can be tacked on and hidden within another war spending bill, not that they would ever do that...
Just yesterday I was waiting for someone to ask this question. No, it isn't fair. But it is a lesson we have to teach our kids anyway. Life isn't fair! However, if we can't get it right now and make huge alterations in the way we live (oil dependency), they will have it much worse! Just as millions profited under Clinton, millions are suffering under Bush. If anything, it will initiate the free thinking they need to succeed and the challenges that they will face in life.
Wildwood Crest, NJ
no its just plain stupid. the first tax rebate was lame and the dems hated it and now the dems want to do the same thing and tell us its a great idea. i thought the government was supposed to be for the PEOPLE not for the election of themselves. congress is more responsible for our bad economy than the president is, so why dont they do something SMART for a change and stop playing political one up manship.
Jack,
Fair? C'mon Jack, you should know there is no such thing as fair in a government so overrun with corruption. Fair is what we're told it is. We get our food from China, our toys from China, our clothes and our money from China. This isn't the America my grandfather grew up in and it most certainly isn't the America he went to war to defend. This is China's America and fair has nothing to do with it.
In other words, is it fair to steal?
Jack,
There is very little in politics that is "fair".
It is interesting to note, however, that a Republican is trying to spend his way out of economic difficulty....isn't that something McCain is trying to say Obama will do?
No it's not fair just like it's not fair our kids are going to be paying for a war that could cost up to if not more than 2.7 trillion dollars.
it should be passed on to bush, cheney, wolfawitz, tenet, schwartzkof, rumsfeld and all the war mongers and their children and grandchildren...they all made millions from Iraq and its financial repercussions....corporate america should pay also not our children and grandchildren..too bad fair is not fair in America
Voters made this choice in 2000 when they voted for George Bush and his $400 tax rebate plan. At that time, our national debt was $5.7 trillion. Since then he has continued to borrowed to pay for those tax cuts and to finance his "war on terror" and has since run our debt up to $9.4 trillion. Interest on this debt is now $1 billion per day! There will be a day of reckoning.
Ed Reed
Port Aransas, TX
Revision:
People who had young children or teenages in most cases could use that extra money. Jack, as the old saying goes : there is nothing certain in life but death and taxes. We pay until we die and the next generation takes over and on and on. No matter what we all would like.
No it is not fair but the government had to do something to make the American people feel good. Americans need to wake and get the facts about how our government works. I suggest a mandatory course in high school in civics. If our young kids took this course they would come to understand that we borrow this money from china and the deeper in debt we go the more chance our country's infrastructure will be mortgage to foreign countries who we borrow from. Go figure?
Jack considering I did not even get a stimulus check NO, are they crazy. How about Bush, the rest of the millionaires in and around Washington pay for the dumb stimulus checks. They seem to have benefited quite well during Bush's reign for 8 years.
I am a 21 year old college senior, I will be in debt up to my eyeballs when I graduate. I don’t have any money to be paying for a stimulus check I didn’t even receive.
It does not make sense to me. How do these millionaires in Washington know how to manage their own money but when it comes to tax payers money they don’t have a clue. Simple concept you can’t spend what you don’t have. If they can follow this in their personal lives and it works why no apply to government?
Actually, all of us are paying for the economic stimulus package. The huge amount of debt orchestrated by the Bush administration and approved by an irresponsible congress has already weakened the dollar and inflated the cost of everything we buy. It is a case where we deserve what we tolerate.
Fort Collins, CO
why not? i'm broke now, so they might as well inherit it
I am 62 and will not be here. What the hell do I care 6 feet in the ground in a pauper's coffin?
Jim, MI
Bush ran two Oil Companies into the ground prior to a Political life. And yet the American people voted for him, or did they. Should we have expected anything less when giving him our country to run. He has broken all the rules, gotten away with murder of thousands, and driven us into debt beyond our ability to pay back and placed that burden on our children and theirs.
And yet 20 some percent think he has done a good job???? This country is done, it will never regain it's leadership role or integrity again. Bush Killed it and they won't even impeach him. The rule of law is gone!
Jack, this is always the case isn’t it? It used to be the norm to pass down your job skills, houses, and family heirlooms. Now we are passing down a heavy tax burden, no social security, nuclear waste, a polluted planet, weapons of mass destruction, and an attitude of “Passing it down to the next generation.” We can pass the buck no longer. At some point we have to man up and start fixing things now before the whole stinking thing needs to be thrown out. What fine stewards of our posterity we have become.
Fair? Of course not. We do it anyway. Every generation does it to the one right behind it. We are seeing it now in the presidential race. I say out with the old and in with the new.
All debt trickles down Jack. We have seen that during the last 8 years of bush– even with the greatest tax revenue in u.s. history the national debt under bush has skyrocketed. (while tax breaks continue to go predominantly upward) Bush has openly said that if the top do well then the bottom will do well. the problem is the top are doing spectacular, and the working class keep spinning their wheels because whatever good has come to them has been eroded by increased costs of living.
Sure it is. They will get to experience a true depression and learn the value of helping each other just to survive. Thanks a lot Mr. Bush and those that put us in a war in Iraq. Of course they won't have to worry because they will have plenty of stuff for their kids to be ok.
No, Jack. This policy is an attempt to jump-start an economy which has faltered due to the policies and actions of Bush, his administration, and a Congress which for so long had supported him.
Since our children did not have a say in the election of Bush, as well as in his administration and in members of Congress who supported him, they should not be asked to pay for any economic stimulus package Bush has suggested and has been enacted.
How silly, Jack.
Nothing about the last 7.5 years has been fair to anyone.
Stop the war – keep our money here where we can feed OUR hungry, educate OUR kids, create jobs IN THE US FOR US citizens.
Thanks
Yes if it fair that i pay taxes to send the youths of today to school ;maybe those youths can play me back tomorrow;
This is basically like taking a cash advance on your credit card to pay your mortgage...you still have to pay for the cash advance, WITH INTEREST! If you want to stimulate the economy, try buying American made (and grown) goods for a change (or is that a xenophobic view!?!?).
No but the stimulus is the tip of the iceberg.i
No, but we don't have anyone else who will buy us out of our irresponsibity! We inherited the massive government machine that has long ago lost its ability function effectively. We leave our children with the massive government machine and the debt. Just imagine what those children will pass on to the following generation! Perhaps a massive government machine still creaking along, an even larger debt, and servitude to foreign countries who had the insight to invest in a country falling apart. So much to look forward to!
The Dam Dirty– no heart Republicans are at it again, Protecting the rich, well to do, corporate, Big Oil. All the collatoral damage that Oil has done to especially the most vulnerable, us–America, and Republicans still refuse to hold them accountable. Instead they just want to reward them by giving them other places to look for oil to make more big money to lobby back to the republicans.
The Democrats are trying to do their job as usual and protect the people, but the Republicans are evil-ly fighting against it.(They all just need to be voted Out)!!Then the Democrats can do some things for our country.
Of course it isn't fair! But taht $48 billion is just a drop in the bucket and I doubt our children will be any more responsible/able to pay it back than any preceding generations have been able to. Certainly this is not anything for us or our children to dwell on right now. I've got to figure out how to buy enough gas to get to the hospital to see my new grandchild!
Of couse it's not fair. It won't be fair when I have to lend my kids the money to pay my share either.
Hi Jack,
What's new about this... This generation has no intention of paying for it's lfe style or problems. It is the story of the last 100 years, the children pay for the crimes of their parents.
If the government really wanted to put their policies to the test of the future, then they should drop the voting age to 16. Why 16, well because you are legally responsible for your actions, you can drive and you can own a gun... so why shouldn't you have the right to vote!
I bet you a $100 bucks that if the withering politicians of today had to be responsible to the children of today that they would have a very different attitude.
Jesse
Seattle Wa
It always amazes me that the so-called "fiscal conservatives" are able to convince voters that their so-called "tax-cuts" are fiscally responsible. In truth, the Republicans have long been the party of spend, spend, spend, debt, debt, debt. And they will spin it every time trying to convince voters that the "pay-as-you-go liberals" like Obama are to blame.
I heard Wal Marts sales were up because of the rebate checks. Looks like they were the only winners in this economic "stimulus" package. I hope that trip to Wal Mart was worth it to your kids.
Of course it isn't fair. But if we had wanted fair this country wouldn't have RE-Elected this boozo a second term after he took us to war and has continued to raise our national debt daily. DA!
They should'nt have to pay for it, but that is what will happen. We are now the "Indebted States of Chin-erica". We better start making economic classes mandatory from grades 1 thru 12 if we are ever going to teach our children the fundamentals of sound money management. They will undoubtedly be counting in Yen if our government has anything to say about it.
When America wakes and figures out that politicians have the same mentality as used-car salesmen, ambulance chasers and Carnival workers, Then maybe they'll stop reelecting the same unqualified clowns year after year.
no,they should take it back from those who have gotten wealthy,off the war in iraq.mainly contractors and shady companies backed by the bush regime.oil companies drug companies ,and doctors and lawyers and ceos and corporations ,that have been stealing from the american people for decades.not to mention repayment in oil subsidies imposed on iraq to pay for war reparations.sue them all!take every penny they got!then we'll all start over fair and square.
Why not? The government expects them (and THEIR children) to pay for this stupid war!
Well, they can push it to their children and so on. Eventually no one will lend USA any money and then we can sell some of our assets e.g. Alaska, Florida, California, Hawai etc. This way USA will servive for another 500 yrs. After that? Who cares.....
Why don't we ask China that question? They'll know what to do.
C'mon, Jack, this is politics. It has always been corrupt and this Republican Administration and Congress don't worry about who has to pay for their stupidity. All they want is that cushy, after-public service job with big business. Bush has always been the first one to take credit for how well the economy has been doing. I don't hear him taking credit now. This country is now paying for our stupidity in electing this idiot for 8 years and our kids will also have to pay for that same stupidity.
No, when are we going to learn to stop passing the burden of our mistakes to future generations? We need real change; a $600 stimulus check did not make a difference at the time I had to pay for food, gas, rent, etc.
Ray Rubio
Imperial Valley, California.
Economic stimulus packages, foreign funded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, unpaid for tax breaks for the wealthy, corporate tax relief, earmarks for everyone and billions in overspending by the Pentagon.
Bush & Co. have brought the debt from 6 to 9.5 trillion in eight years and the country simply shrugs its shoulders when told that future generations will pay for it.
Fiscal conservatism is my new favorite oxymoron.
Unfortunately, Jack, life isn't always fair. I'm a young American, but I understand that we must do something to raise consumer confidence in the economy. It will be up to the next president to give us a long term solution- how about a $12 billion per month stimulus package, funded by phasing out a war in Iraq?
Sorry Kim from Dodge City, but the Yuan (or RMB) is the official currency of China.
What a mess we got ourselve into. It's going to take some hard and not so popular choices to get ourselves out of this.
No its not fair but in reality were doing more than passing it to our children were passing it to young Americans like myself. although this is wrong and im going to have to pay for it later i still need that stimulus check. more than a stimulus check to help young Americans and "our children" we need things like universal health care, and free education though university. it boggles my mind how we can spend trillions on war but not fund education for our best students when we have some of the best universities in the world. the bush administration has completely put the nations priorities in the wrong place and we need a president who can make these things happen. as a young american and one of " our children" these are the needs i feel would help to offset the burden this generation and this administration has placed on us and thats why i support barack obama
My stimulous check went straight into my savings, where it will quietly earn interest for the next 50 years of my life. When I die, the $600 plus interest will go to my children, who will just give it back to the goverment to pay off this debt. It would've been easier for them to just keep the money to begin with.
Fair? No. But I'd rather have them pay for a misguided "stimulus plan" than a misguided war. The real question is how Republicans get away with calling themselves fiscally responsible when we all know who was in charge the last time the deficit was under control.
What we need to help the economy is a tax cut. It's simple, when people have more money, they tend to buy more things. Instead of having our well earned money go to the government, that our democratic congress is spending on useless things, our money could be going to our economy. Our congress is taking away money from future generations everyday. Spending is out of control and we owe it to our children to put a stop to it. We can't afford to have a tax-and-spend liberal in the White House.
The ones who should be paying for it are the crooks in Washington. They have more money than the rest of us combined. After they pay the bill, they should be thrown in jail for the rest of their lives.
Forget the stimulus package what about the other $118 billion that the government racked up this month. To put that in perspective every second of every day the government spent $44,000 more then it brought in.
And that's before adding in the stimulus package or the Iraq war. Whatever happened to fiscally conservative republicans.
The only thing we can get Congress to agree on is to spend money that they don't have
No, of course it's not fair. But then, I don't see many Congresspeople of either party who are adult about financial management. You would think that at least we could all agree on a balanced budget - we can debate what the federal government should provide, but always with a common understanding among both political parties that taxes must yield enough revenue to pay for it. Surely, in times of recession, we might run a temporary deficit, but then pay it back in times of prosperity, e.g., 2004-2007. To behave as we have since 2001, with huge entitlement deficits staring us in the face as boomers retire, is absolute lunacy. Stagflation and the crash of the dollar are our just desserts, and even worse lies ahead if we do not change course.
Compared to many other things we make our children to pay in the future, stimulus package is nothing Jack. Think about the environment that they will inherit in another 25 years. Bottom line is that they will be paying for far more bigger things than this stimulus package so I don't think its a big deal.
Nuwan from Houston, TX
Maybe we should take a Dubya quote and re-work it to fit your question, Jack.
Rarely is the question asked... is our children " earning"?
All our children will have to move to China to get the benefit of our dollar.
How about making him [Bush] pay for it himself? Take money from his pay check and put him on minimum wage for the rest of his life. Oh, wait, how about everybody who voted for him and put him in office. Twice. They're kind of resonsible for the mess your nation's in as well, aren't they?
Its filthy rich people who should be made to pay. How? By passing a law that bans them from getting any richer for a period of say 5 years during which period all their profits goes towards paying for that economic stimulus.
Is this question meant to cause a massive guilt trip? Let's not forget that the rebate check is not free money...it's a tiny amount of what we pay to the government being returned to us. I don't think that I can feel guilty about the $600 that I haven't seen yet...I feel much worse about how the government is passing the cost of the war, the bailing out of mortgage companies, and every other mess they created onto our children. That is the money that really adds up.
we could pay off the debt if we cut government spending and get this country out of debt. do away with all welfare ssi and medical cards .make these lazy people get out and get jobs . that will save enough tax dollars to get this country out of debt. could use that money to help in lot better way.instead of supporting lazy people
Sure, we're paying for past programs & pork and will continue until we die. Better that they pay for a program that directly benefits them than drugs, alcohol, meaningless video games, porn, gambling, and cigarettes.
Well, that depends whose grandchilden will pay for this. As long it's the grandchildren inheriting the billions George Bush and his cronies managed to take from the middle class to give to the wealthy, either through his tax cuts for the nation's wealthiest or through record oil company profits, I am all for it!! If it's my poor grandkids who may never see the inside of a college and will be working at minimum wage jobs all their lives to pay for this mess, then count me out.
No, it isn't fair but something needed to be done to keep the economy from completely sliding into the tank. A deeper and longer downturn, complete with higher unemployment, higher inflation, eroding buying power would be even more costly. It can still happen, but this regime had to find some way to keep confidence sliding into the toilet. Fiscal responsibility is of course the sounder policy, but we're talking about a regime that so distrusts things like the Constitution that it praises dictatorships as better forms of government. How can we expect responsibility from people like that?
We're making them pay for our administration horrible foreign policies, environmental devistation, and world police attitude.... why not add insult to injury and tac on a fee with it.
actually, jack, it is my feeling that we will ALL pay, especially if
the funds are used to purchase goods made in a foreign country.
What are the odds of that????????
A better choice would have been to fund those businesses that are
the frontrunners in new forms of energy.
I believe congress has done just the opposite and cut funding.
Shouldn't there be some kind of test to run for these offices????
I am VERY frightened for my children and grandchildren.
Mary G
scottsdale, AZ
No, it is not fair at all. When our grandchildren and great-grandchildren are old enough to vote, they may vote to "stimulate" our aging generation to a nursing home on Mars as part of their repayment plan.
This is minor compared to what our children will be facing. For many years the Congress has been spending money "They do not have". I do not know what will turn this mess around..However, I know that the present Congress, Senate and President are doing NOTHING to help us. The "Stimulus Package" was only a token.
Marilyn
Louisiana
No, it's not fair. It's a poor excuse for a long-term and short-term energy policy, monetary policy, regulation of banking, mortgaging, commodities, etc. In the absence of good policy, it's at best a temporary band-aid on an infected, broken arm. If we don't know by now that supply-side economics with unregulated markets does not work, we never will. They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result....
Jack, don't worry about our debt. The Chinese government will write it off when they foreclose on the land between Canada and Mexico, formally known as the US of A.
Jack,
No, our didn't we shouldn't.
No, but Bush has never done anything fair.
Jack,
My generation (born in the forties) has become the me, me, me generation. In the 60's we were out to change the world. What happened. We are putting off paying the price and are willing to let our children and grandchildren pay for our lifestyle. I'm not proud of my generation.
Jack, as a poor college student I can safely say that I have no problem paying for economic stimulus package. As long as you and all the baby boomers say good-bye to future social security checks that is.
David
Bellingham, WA
Great question... Points to the fact that the government has been completely running a fiscal amok... Whose going to pay for all the campaign promises?
C'mon Jack...you know better than use the word "fair" in reference to the government...particularly while this administration is in power.
No, it's completely unfair to pass this borrowed debt onto our children. Everything else bad already gets passed on to them...a polluted Earth for example. This stimulus will only help those who do not need it, and hurt those who have nothing to do with it.
"The sins of the fathers are visited on the sons"–something like that is in the Bible. So is "There is nothing new under the sun"–we've had Bush-types for all of recorded history–powermongering idiots with no vision or compassion.
Nope! But then does anyone in Washington DC listen to us?
48 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to what the Bush Admin. has wasted on everything else in the last 7+ years. And without saving the economy since they destroyed it, their might not BE a functioning economy without measures like this.
Jack,
Our children will have to pay for the deficit caused by the illegal war, so what's the difference. Bush certainly doesn't care.
I don't have any kids, so it's ok with me.
I want my money NOW!
Of course it's fair to pass this debt along to the kids! Have you seen the children of today? Everything is handed to them, they are spoiled, papmered, fat, lazy, rude and addicted to video games and their Ipods. Maybe this little "rude awakening" is just what these little brats need!
No way. While our government touts freedom, they plan putting our children into slavery. How is this fair or right?
Of course let them pay. They are about to elect Mr. Obama – they can and will surely afford it. We have lost our homes, jobs and can't afford to travel – THEY SHOULD PAY FOR SOMETHING.
what if i don't have children?
I don't know about you but when I was young, my parents told me to take responsibility for my actions. Why is this any different?
It's an act of moral cowardace. Bush and neo-cons take all they can from us now and move on with no regard to the millions of future Americans that must Pay the Bill fo the Bush Cheney reign of financial terror.
Sure. Why not? I am a man who will never have children, yet I have been paying taxes for 23 years to pay for other peoples children to go to school. How fair is that? I wouldn't mind so much, except for the fact that my sister almost goes broke evry fall to send her children to a school system already eating up everyones taxes.
Hi Jack,
NO. Why should my kids pay. I did not receive a check. I make less than 50K and have five kids. Because I have a passive income, no check. So why should they pay. It was a joke to start with, now the joke is with our children. HA HA HA
Our children are already in line to inherit trillions of dollars in debt. What's another couple billion. Besides, mom needs a spa treatment and Dad needs some new clubs.
Of course it ain't right but what has the administration done that was right. Nothing, not one damn thing. It's going to be painful fixing these problems. Extremely painful.
Is it fair to pass the economic stimulus cost to our kids? Jack, the question should be: is it fair for the government to write bad checks? If I write bad checks, I get thrown in jail!
Dear Jack:
No; it is not fair. In fact, it's stupid. We are putting off our financial problems to the future and it gets bigger and bigger. The government has taught us to pass the buck, pass the buck. Don't worry about it now! Let's wait until later. Well, later is now! I don't think the nation will ever be able to fix it!
Debbie, Felton PA
It's not fair, they did not vote for this administration, we did so we should pay for our stupidity.
This speaks to the way American govenment has tried to solve problems in the past years. Temporary solutions to problems that we will all deal with again. Some say if you don't have a solution you are part of the problem. These solutions are only going to create more problems for young american futures.
No it's not fair Jack, which is why I did the only responsible thing I could think of. I added the money to my grand daughter's college fund. As long as her generation is going to have to pay for it she ought to be able to at least benefit from it.
The error is the thinking is that our kids will pay off the debt. Really? My kids are under no obligation to pay King George's bills. They will be moving to a different country. Better get that border wall built before everyone gets loose.
You bet. If we can ask our kids to pay for George Bush's war, than why not be able to ask them to pay for George Bush's idiotic attempts to proove his financial prowess as well.
I feel so bad about the money that I didn't have a choice to receive or not receive from my kids that I opened up 529 accounts for each of my two sons and gave them their money back.
Fair? This government of ours doesn't know the meaning of it.
Is if fair to engage in an illegal war? Is it fair to kill millions of Iraqis and thousands of US men and women?
The list is as long as the injustices are.
When are WE THE PEOPLE going to take back our government? As Thomas Jefferson said: When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Jack,
It's not fair. Unfortunately poitical expediency trumps fairness every time.
Bob
Louisville, Ky
Jack, it is just as fair as when I turn 60 there will be no more social security.
Bur seriously Jack is it not only our children but also the children of Chinese lenders and indeed the rest of the world who will bear the debt of our immediate stimulation?
It may not be fair, but I know quite a few people that need help paying taxes.
The stimulus check helped many people who survive off welfare.
I am 63, semi-retired after teaching GED program many years and have 4 wonderfully independent children ages 28-37. No, it is not fair but noone asked me. I sure wondered the "why" of this stimulus check and I think we need to all be our own stimulus generators by working hard and deligently in our lives!
Just my opinion, thanks.
It is taxation without representation. I think there was a revolution fought over that at one time. However, those who are not yet born are easy to exploit and this is just one more example.
Massive borrowing against the future; living beyond our means; spending like there's no tomorrow; leaving the bill for our children... Is it fair? Well, no, probably not. But it is the American way.
Absolutely Not. I can't borrow a dime from my parents, yet it seems they, and the rest of the baby boomer's display no remorse about borrowing $170,000,000,000 from my generation. It's equally charming to know that they have either no intention of, or ability to pay it back!
Not at all! It means that someday, I'll have to explain to my great grandchildren how my parent's generation could be so stupid and thoughtless, with this and many other issues. It also means that Republicans have no claim whatsoever to knowing how to responsibly run our government or economy. When Reagan took office, our country had less than $1 trillion in debt. With Bush's second term coming to an end, we are over $9.5 trillion in the hole. Guess who was the only president during this time period who actually not only balanced the budget, but gave us a surplus. Here's a clue: he wasn't a Republican.
Eric
Florida
There is no passing of debt to the children of America just because THERE IS NO INTENTION TO PAY THIS DEBT TO THE WORLD, this debt will just keep growing until the dollar collapses and a new currency is created to replace it.
When the dollar collapses and it's value becomes zero this debt will be magically gone!
Jack,
I am currently 16 years old so this question concerns me greatly. I have to say I do not agree with future generation paying off stimulus checks. In fact, the entire concept of a stimulus check was ill fated to begin with. We are borrowing money and putting ourselves into even more debt without actually solving our own economic crisis. And with inflation and interest, the $600 per person will be much more. Talk about a burden on future generations. Once again, something that is too good to be true often is.
It would make sense to have our children pay for a stimulus package if such actually improved the economy in a manner that benefited them. Of course, there is no reason to believe what is being offered is anything but a stimulus package for China, India and other foreign interests.
Jack,
As a parent of some of the most self absorb and ungrateful human beings that has ever existed, I say 'yes' it is fair. It is the ultimate revenge!
Jack: Did you know that the government is sending stimulus checks to dead people?
My husband passed away in Feb. of 2007. I filed a joint tax return as required for last year. Last week i received a stimulus check for $1200, made out to Joseph B., dec'd and Ruth. That is what our kids will be paying for!!
Ruth in Santa Rosa, CA
Since the Borrow and Spend Conservatives took over the Republican Party with the election of Ronald Regan the national debt has quadrupled. Bush has almost doubled the debt all by himself. This is so irresponsible that it is off the charts. the voters need to turn them out of office.
Jack, don't worry, most of the Stimulus payments are never paid. In my case, the IRS says my payment should have been mailed on May 16. Using my SSN and an IRS tool, the IRS website says they do not know where my payment is. When I call the IRS "stimulus hotline", there is no way to get to talk to a human. When I call my local IRS office, they say to call the "stimulus hotline". Thus, no check and no way to bring it to the IRS's attention. Sounds like another Bush program that is full of lies and deceit.
Why blame the government? Every person receiving a rebate has the right to destroy that check – therefore not receiving that money and not impacting the debt.
So every person that takes that money is culpable – period. That is not a government problem, that's a people not caring problem.
No, it's not fair – it's not fair that they are borrowing money for US to pay back either. We got our check yesterday and we are sending every penny to our 4 favorite peace organizations. All we want to stimulate is an end to the war in Iraq and push impeachment in congress.
Lydia and Dave
From Florida but taking refuge in Canada for a bit
My stimulus check of $1200 bucks went as follows:
$200 to Barack Obama Campaign for PRESIDENT
$1,000 to Bob Tuke (D) Candidate for US Senator (TN)
Jack, the number which never gets publicized is the amount by which the national debt increases each year. That's the real deficit. This fiscal year, that number was forecast at $704 billion in the budget that was submitted to Congress in early February. Add in the stimulus, Iraq/Afghanistan suplementals, and various other goodies passed by Congress since February, and that amount may reach $1 trillion by the time this administration closes the books on fiscal year 2008. Why aren't you publishing this number?
As a recent graduate, I cannot help but thank this administration for everything it has done for my future. With little federal aid going for tuition relief, not only will I have to pay for my own student debt, but will have to pay for the debt our nation has accrued over the past 8 years. Thanks a lot.
It's amazing how we post judge all the moves of the Bush Administration. He is the President that the American people hired. Yes we hired him. It was all legal and all of us are at fault. Dems and Rep. Every American that got that check put it inb the bank and spent it, just like our forefathers did. Was it wrong? No, my generation is still paying for the Revelutionary War, the Cival War, th War of 1812, and so on, all the way up to the Iraq War. Get it straight. Absolutly not.
You ask if it's FAIR that are kids to pay for the stimulus check,I ask is it fair for the middle class to pay for all of America,Is it fair for the middle class to pay other countries welfare?Is it fair that i have to pay more for gas because the goverment doesn't want to drill for our own oil and get rid of foreign oil.We could go on and on Peace to all
Good Question Mr. C im 16 and this just makes me feel like im already in debt, but my question is how will Barack Obama and John McCain help this issue I think their response to this is critical. All of this mess is just being pushed back even further...
Jack, I'm seventeen, and can't get too worked up over paying for my parents stimulus checks in 20 or 30 years. The budget defecit my generation will inherit from the Bush administration is only the tip of the iceberg. A shmorgasboard of other problems await. Thanks, George.
Boy this sounds like the Republican rhetoric of the 70's. It was used in all the campaignes back then and was part of the argument to get Ronald Regan elected. However, They have the highest defficits with Rebgan , Bush I and Bush II. As proven in the 90's the budget can only be balanced when the parties work together (partially paid for by children of the 70s), but that seems a long way off.
I've been paying taxes, every day, week, month, quarter, year since I was 15 years old, I'm 56 this year and I've trusted my government to manage that slice of my income in a sensable way. Jack, the trust is gone, sucked dry with all the empty promises and senseless spending from the people we vote for and again I say TRUST in.............Getting Ugly, good call mate but it's not 'Getting' anymore, it's ugly right now!
M Johnson
Fort Wayne
Absolutley not. I just graduated high school and must say I am appalled at this administrations failure to act in the interest of its citizens. All of its citizens. Its time for the adults in charge of this nation to act like adults rather than sticking their heads in the sand and making it someone elses problem. As a result of such irresponsibility my generation and many to follow will now have to deal with an out of control debt, global warming, and a number of other issues. This is simply unacceptable.
Jack, I think you could safely say that if something is "fair" then our "government" had nothing to do with it.
Bernice
Kentucky
Of course it is fair! Will they not also reap the benefits from the increasingly unpopular foreign policies and the ever shrinking value of the dollar that are also the offspring of our current decision makers?
Kids? What kids? Im not going to have kids for just this reason.
Well Jack the oil companies with all their profits from present and years past are not going to pay it. Wal-Mart is not going to pay it. Dick Cheney is not going to pay it. Halliburton is not going to pay it. The government is broke. The people are broke; The Chinese have about half the country anyway. So next to the pets are the kids, so I guess so.
From Gautier, MS
Jack, Anyone with half a brain should be able see the entire world is on the verge of economic collapse. The World as we know it is extremely fragile. I believe basic survival will be my Grand children's #1 concern if and when they reach adulthood. National dept will be far from anyones mind within a decade if we, human kind, continue on our present path. I'm not a religious man but, God help us all.
Jack,
I'm a 19-year-old who will vote in his first election this fall. I am disgusted that my parents' generation tried to teach their kids responsibility while the politicians they sent to Capitol Hill have no fiscal responsibility themselves. And worst yet, they keep electing these "leaders" who will give my generation the biggest credit card bill in history to try and pay off. Thanks... not!
Jack,
I'm a recent grad from Pomona College and I live in Los Angeles.
Now Jack you know that you are being misleading by framing your question in terms of "fair[ness]" and eliciting empathy by using "children".
The fact of the matter is that every dime the federal government spends has to be paid back.
Depending on the economic school of thought that can be done increased spending (by the government or by consumers) or increased taxes.
Yes the economic stimulus has to be paid back. The best thing is to not spend it, but that doesn't help the economy. "Our children", which includes me I guess, don't have to pay if you agree to pay the government back in the coming years.
..instead of paying the government back in 50 years when your generation is well...no longer paying taxes
********************************
Age 22
*******************
McCarthy was right.
No it isn't fair. And no, this is not much of stimulus package. It was sold as $600 per person, but my wife and I got $600 together. It is a joke.
Why only now, jack, do you have concern for our children's future...what about the pollution and environmental damage that has been caused to this planet over the past 50 years (your generation)? Do you think that our children deserve to take on a planet that has been forever scarred?
Fair, what is fair?
When you consider that your economy is in tatters and that when dollars are spent, tax dollars are collected (at least at a state and local level). Now imagine how many times each dollar is spent again and again with tax dollars being collected each time. The point being that a good portion of the total will make its way back to government coffers.
The folks who spent their check helped the economy in the short term.
The folks who saved it may use it to stay afloat with their payments.
And what is the alternative?
If the Bush/McCain tax cut for the wealthy were to be reversed and if the Iraq military action were stopped you would be able to issue checks like these quarterly with ease and march out of the current economic situation.
Why not Jack?
My wife and I, who are in our early thirties, pay for a host of benefits for the baby boomers, that we will never be able to take advantage of when we come of age. Hopefully we impress upon our child the importance of working hard to get herself out of the middle class and into a tax bracket where she can make maximum income while paying minimal taxes. Then she can laugh at all those poor fools paying the bills, like our government does to us now.
The stimulus package was just throwing red meat at the masses to take the heat off the fat cats, Jack. Typical political solution. Keep putting band aids on serious problems while the powers that be figure out how they can keep getting richer and not disturb the real working people too much. Our kids will be paying for much more than this package before this failed President gets done.
Jack, I'm young enough to be your child and I'm getting a check. This is like our parents giving us a $600 allowance and charging us $600 in rent. I guess I can kiss my retirement fund good-bye, between paying back this check plus interest and Social Security, it will be gone before I retire from the Air Force.
It is such a shame to bill our children and/or grandchildren for something they had no say about and didn't vote for but they will be paying the price for these bad tax policies.
This country will be be paying the debt (including the economic stymulus-current and past) created by this administration and this congress for decades to come (we are still paying for the last republican take over – well, president and senate anyway in the1980s.
When Bush left TX to campaign for the presidency, he was asked by a reporter how he felt about leaving Texas in debt; he said he didn't much care because he wouldn't be around to deal with it. He feels the same about our country.
As an individual I could never walk into a bank, ask for half my annual income as a loan and provide no collateral and no means of repayment in the forseeable future. As the government I'd get to do this every year. Shame on us for putting up with this. I think it's time for a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. Maybe then our money would be spent wisely!
I am 16 years old and find the idea of stimulus checks appalling! To expect my generation cover a debt caused by $600 checks is simply absurd. I think our government should be ashamed at having to stoop this low. My generation already has enough debts on our plate. We are unrelated to the crash of the economy so why should we be the ones paying for it?
No it's not fair .But I have aquestion whose's economy are stimulating . It's hard to find anything made in the US So I supect that the Chinese economy will get more stimulas then our's.
Jim and Kathy Oldenburg Indiana
Why wouldn't it be fair? Everything we buy, finance or promote federally is funded on the backs of future Americans. Social Security, welfare, the war it all funded with borrowed money. There is no reason to think this is any different.
For that matter, its not like any of these lawmakers will be alive to deal with the consequences of their actions and I am sure the future lawmakers of this country will find some ingenious way to pass the buck along, they always do.
Jack,
What else would we expect? Change doesn't seem to be within the vocabulary of many Republicans, as they've shown by creating a pattern of passing along many major issues to the next generation, my generation, in which we will have to pay for. One word: cowardly
Our government has no regard for it's citizens. The stimulus package is a joke. It has taken money from foreign interest and causing the taxpayers a burden to repay just for a political manuver.
No, it is not fair to pass this burden on to our children and grandchildren. How about tapping the Bush and Cheney trust funds and selling everything each family owns, take away their health care and retirement funds, etc., and just apply all proceeds to the costs of the stimulus package. It would only make a dent, but at least the two of them will find out what so many people in this country are facing. They will know what it is like to not have a job, money, cars, homes food on their tables, and health insurance.
Reminds me of Lyndons Johnsons Guns & Butter policy.History shows you cant have both.The rides just started. Stimulus is a band _aid with bad glue. Wait till the oil runs out !
Jack: Regarding your comment today on the stimulus payment. Despite the earlier statement of $600 or $300 when the payment idea was conceived, the final product has a kicker phrase: "based on your filing status, the amount of your stimulus payment is $600 or your 2007 net income tax liability, whichever is less" . FYI: The stimulus check I received (I had filed as usual my 2007 income tax return since the goverment takes out income tax on my civil service retirement) was for $478 - the exact amount that I had paid to the government for my 2007 taxes due. I have heard from others who were counting on the $1200 amount for a couple filing jointly and their check was lowered also. Keep on pressing, Jack. Thanks for listening. Charlotte Jennings, Virginia Beach, Virginia
No Jack it's not. But probably most American's don't care. We live in a charge and spend society, never thinking about what we have to pay tomorrow, only what we can buy on credit today. Our children and grandchildren will have a very different life then we have had, and not for the better.
I really think that the stimulus was slap in the face,I paid over 21grand in federal taxes and getting 600 dollars back,ha ha ha, what a joke! I don't think if my kid had to repay the stimulus check it wouldn't take long to repay 600 buck
Stimulus check, fiscal responsibility...it's all nonsense anyway. McCain's definition of fiscal responsibility translates to spending a billion a day for a war against a country who had nothing to do with 9/11but voting against a bill that would extend unemployment, support children's health care, require lower emissions for cars...all because they are "too" expensive. And provide tax relief for the very people who don't need it. He is in lock step with Bush on this. This will affect generations beyond the next one. Too bad Bush's begging Saudi Arabia for cheaper oil didn't pay off.
Pathetic.
No. This is ridiculous. Not only do you place the upcoming generations of Americans in debt, you provide no example for these generations whom already have debt issues of their on. All of this occurring while their public education system is being starved of funding.
I believe John McCain is much more capable of taking care of these issues. He has been in the senate for a much longer period. A length that has allowed him to actually have made achievements before he ran for president. He is much more centered in the Senate. Congressional support is critical to our ability to cope with these issues.
Of course not! Just as it is unfair for us to ask our children to pay for the war in Iraq, or the big tax cuts to corporations, or the big tax cuts to the wealthiest of Americans! In the past when America went to war we did with less so that the war effort could succeed: we sacrificed! Of course it hard to ask someone to sacrifice when the reason for going to war was a big lie! A lie so big that it's costing us 10 to 12 billion dollars monthly.
Imagine all of the good all of that money could have done for health care, the environment, our infrastructure and the energy crisis, just to mention a few good projects that sorely need our attention.
As a college student, and one of the people who'll likely be paying that tab, I believe the answer is quite simple: smaller government. The Republicans promised us that, and they go ahead and outspend the Democrats. I'm still a supporter of Ron Paul, the only major candidate who would make meaningful strides to lower the size of the government and reduce the debt.
Jack, Experience sent these stimulus checks to dead people. Experience got us in Iraq, Experience got our Healthcare where it's at today, experience got our economy in this negative condition it's in today. Experience got our energy, environment, homeland security, education, veteran's social security in this bad condition it's in today.
I am not surprise that our children will be the ones to carry the load.
John McCain and George Bush is call experience.
It time for the right Judgment and experience in the White House.
Keith
Unfair? Absolutely. Will it have a devestating impact on our children's lives? Not really. We have become a pass-the-buck society ever since Al Gore did not become the President in 2000. Our children have learned and now model our bad habits. They will pass the deficit to their children and so on, until the sun goes supernova and no one's around to point a finger at anyone else. The last man on earth will wonder why we invented money in the first place.
Jack....You are absolutely correct about those rebate checks coming out of our children's pockets. But that is simply par for Bush. He gave some of the largest tax cuts in history to the very wealthy in this country, and as a result began running up record deficits (debts that our children will inherit). In effect, what Bush has been doing is taking money out of our children's (future) pockets and handing it to his wealthy pals. This country should hang its head in shame for allowing Bush to do that to our children and grandchildren.
No its not fair Jack and Bush Knew it because he knows his time is short in the white house and he is just looking out for the future generation. Love that man!
Jack, All of the money belongs to the American people. This tiny return of our money can be paid for with just a few pork barrel earmarks being eliminated.
I Love You! You tell it like it is. Keep up the good work. Linda from St. Charles MO.
Jack it would be nice if we would give those tax dollars to the business' of America to stay here or better yet start new companies and get off the reliance of China and other countries. With fuel going up wouldn't it start to be cheaper for the companies to start producing goods here again. Lets use those tax dollars to keep things here and guess what get tax dollars from what is produced here to actually stay here in our own country! WOW how easy is this, plus then get the American people to buy American goods again and quit helping out the world and start helping ourselves again. I am conservative but I do not care for McCain or Obama they both scare me.
No it's not right to leave this debt for our kids to pay, but something has got to give before the bottom falls out of our economy.
i'm one of those "children" who will have to be paying for it. however, i'm pretty sure that by then, we would've found a way to pass it on to our children, thus averting disaster for a few more years.
I don't see the purpose of the checks any way if they wanted to do the checks they should've cut out incomes tax returns this year and done these in the place of them.
It is not fair for our children to pay for eight years of government misuse of funds. This is not a fix to the main problems which is jobs! Over the last 10 years we have seen jobs after jobs have pack up and move overseas without punitive.
Alvin
Dallas, Texas
I don't care.
I have no kids.
And Brad, you're TOTALY uninformed.
Maybe I'm just an optimist, but at least the Democrats and Republicans are working together to screw us young people out of any hope of a stable future.
You want to really stimulate the economy? Take a quarter of Iraq and Afghanistan’s monthly allowance ($2,500,000,000) and keep it here in the U.S. For Pete’s sake, it’s more than enough for the U.S. population 304,322,867 to receive a million each plus some. What a concept! People can actually buy homes, clothe their children and eat and just think, Iraq and Afghanistan won’t even miss it and our children will not have to pay our debts.
Hello Jack, I am writing from Germany...This passing of the big Debt on to our kids and grandkids can be solved like Bush & Co have done
all along,,,he knows the guy running the Money Printing Press...use
different paper and print more of it.
Tom