American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: What Would You Do to the Bill?

[MagisterCultuum]

By "payroll tax cuts" do you mean rebates? I don't think actually cutting the payroll tax rates could be said to give a specific dollar amount per worker.

I really don't see a point in giving rebates. The administrative costs of sending them out is much higher than for just cutting the rates, and a one time rebate wouldn't change peoples habits nearly as much as knowing they can expect to take more of their money home with each paycheck.

 

[Integral]

By "payroll tax cuts" do you mean rebates? I don't think actually cutting the payroll tax rates could be said to give a specific dollar amount per worker.

I really don't see a point in giving rebates. The administrative costs of sending them out is much higher than for just cutting the rates, and a one time rebate wouldn't change peoples habits nearly as much as knowing they can expect to take more of their money home with each paycheck.

For all intents and purposes it's a flat rebate. Technically it's linked to payroll taxes paid, but it's refundable, so most (if not all) recipients will receive the full $400.

 

[sonorakitch]

Did world markets react to the stimulus bill's passage -- which was assumed for some time -- or Secretary Geithner's apparently nonsensical plan to rescue troubled financial institutions? Since the latter seemed to be more of a surprise, and was received overwhelmingly negatively by all experts I saw, I would think it would have had more effect today.

Cleo

Well, the stimulus wasn't really assumed until Monday, and certainly Geithner's statements on Tuesday were damning. Overall though, world markets are reacting to the lack of any solutions to this mess. Certainly food stamps or bridge building isn't an immediate solution to the most pressing problem.

~Chris