What is with the "largest middle class tax cut in history" stuff?

[dkf]

I thought we were getting $400 a person and $800 a couple. Is there more to this?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. We're getting some money?

I feel like I'm not keeping up with the news!

:eyes:

[dkf]

3. Not all at once like the checks we were getting but spread over the year.

I'm just amazed that 7.70 a week is the largest middle tax cut in our history.

It seems not worth it.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

15. It does seem not worth it. Why don't they spend it on food stamps or something? nt

[AyanRand Is Dead]

35. They increased spending on food stamps as well.

The middle class tax cuts are a return of funds to the primary source of productivity in this nation, hence it is the most representative of the populous of the United States, which is what a Democracy should be. It's not something to be resented.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

36. Thank goodness! nt

[glowing]

4. Its in the pay roll.. not a check. It will equal about $13.00 extra a week.

which for me is like more money for fuel or groceries or something.. not much, but nice.. He wanted $500.00.. But for me and hubby, $800.00 extra over the year is something that is nice... Its actually for two years in a row.. for 2009 and 2010. should be coming soon.. within the next couple of weeks. I suppose though, if you don't have a job, it would come directly off at the end of the year.. or be like a refund or extra deduction for people who work for themselves or are independent contractors.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Oh I see... What about those people who have been laid off?

Hopefully they're keeping a close accounting of this. I have plenty of friends that have been laid off down here in Miami.

Hope things get much better for you, if they're not right now.

[SoCalDem]

27. Apparently, they will fall through the holes in the safety net

Social security recipients and some very poor, will get a one time $250, but the rest of it is via payroll tax rollback....But here's what I wonder..

Those payroll taxes on your paycheck are "pre-payments" toward your eventual social security eligibility, and for pre-payment of state & federal taxes, so won;t many just get whacked on the "other end"..when taxes are due?

$400 & $800 probably won't make a big difference in spending anyway..

[dkf]

29. Payroll tax? Really?

I must have missed that.

[SoCalDem]

30. Thta's what they have been reporting..and at $400 per person, I assumed

that a family with only one paycheck earner, would only get the $400 (Us..:(..)

Time will tell..

[CJCRANE]

2. Maybe they mean the number of people it goes to

not the actual amount per person...

:shrug:

[dkf]

5. I guess.

Maybe it will guilt us all into spending a little more!

[BlueJac]

6. How does that work for unemployed people like me?

No tax cut, nice fucking deal!

[dkf]

7. I guess the extension of unemployment would be more helpful

not necessarily the tax cut part of the stimulus.

[HughMoran]

10. SO you don't know about the increase in unemployment pay AND extension of coverage?

It's embarrasing to read a post like yours on a Democratic site!

[Honeycombe8]

11. Actually, people with kids will get some sort of credit, even if they paid no taxes.

They already do, under current law, but I think that figure has been increased.

You'll also get help with COBRA coverage. If you don't have COBRA coverage, the govt will help you get some other health ins., but I forget how.

Plus your unemployment payments are being extended.

Hope you can find a job by the end of all this. Because it's only temporary.

P.S. This only counts if you lost your job after Sept '08 or some time around there.

[Pirate Smile]

13. I believe there will be $25 more dollars a week and the time frame is extended.

Plus it helps the unemployed get/keep healthcare.

It actually has a lot focused on helping the unemployed.

I can't believe you are bitching at Obama on this.

edit to add - here you go:

Stimulus Bill Would Bestow New Aid to Many Workers



By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Published: February 13, 2009
Many part-time, low-income and female workers who have lost their jobs stand to benefit from the federal stimulus bill.

Under the legislation, approved by Congress on Friday, not only would workers who already receive unemployment benefits get some additional money in their checks, but also many workers who have fallen through the cracks could soon be brought into the system. About 500,000 more people could become eligible for benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Each state has its own criteria for who is eligible to receive benefits and how much. But under the stimulus bill, the federal government would offer a $7 billion carrot to states that cover certain categories of workers, like part-timers and people in training programs. A few states, like New York, are already generous with these eligibility guidelines, and others — eager to get federal assistance — are likely to expand their coverage in coming months.

While the vast majority of workers contribute directly or indirectly to the unemployment insurance pot, just 36 percent of people who are out of work actually collect such benefits, according to the Department of Labor.

The percentage is low primarily because large categories of workers do not qualify under the states’ rules. Workers must have lost their jobs involuntarily, for example, and most states do not grant benefits to people who are looking only for part-time work.

Labor groups across the country have been lobbying for expanded unemployment insurance coverage for decades. Many states raised their eligibility requirements in the 1980s, partly because their finances had been depleted by a deep recession in the 1970s, and partly because of a national sentiment that, as President Ronald Reagan put it, unemployment benefits were merely “a prepaid vacation for freeloaders.”

To encourage states to cover more workers, the new stimulus bill offers money in two lumps.

States are eligible for the first installment if the time period they use to determine eligibility includes a worker’s recent earnings. (Most states use slightly older pay data from practices before the days of computers.) The change is expected to help more low-wage workers and women, who cycle in and out of the labor force more frequently than others.

The remaining incentives, two-thirds of the stimulus money, go to states that broaden their eligibility requirements.

To qualify, states must provide benefits to people in at least two of these four situations: those who are looking only for part-time work; people who left their jobs for “compelling family reasons” (like a child’s illness or domestic abuse); people who request extra financing for dependents who qualify for benefits; and workers who had previously exhausted benefits and are now in training programs.

These categories primarily help women, who represent about two-thirds of the part-time work force and are more often primary caregivers.

At least four states — Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York — already meet all the requirements, according to the law project. Nineteen states would qualify for just the first third of the funding. Others meet some of the requirements.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/business/economy/14benefits.html?ref=us

[Honeycombe8]

8. And seniors get $250. It's working people who get $400 (or less). nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

34. Per person? nt

[Honeycombe8]

37. That's what I read. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

38. Should I get some Botox with it, or give it to the poor? I think I'll give it to the poor....

they need it more than a plastic surgeon or dermatologist does.

[OHdem10]

9. I hate to say it, but thirteen bucks a weeks sounds pretty much

the same as when Regan gave the largest taxcut in History--so
far as Middle Class is concerned.

Likewise when Bush gave his first taxcut, the story was what a
pittance the Middle Clsas got.

In order to get the school construction, etc in the bill the
Middle Class had to forego a few bucks.

From 1000 a year to 800 yearly, I suppose

[msongs]

12. people who don't want their $13/week can send it to me :-) nt

[dkf]

16. It only sounds like a decent amount of money when you have to

write a check at tax time. Then its a HUGE amount of money. haha.

[sandnsea]

14. College tax credits, child tax credits,

Down payment waiver and auto state tax offset. There is a lot in this bill for average people.

[dkf]

18. Does all that stuff work through our tax filing then?

Will we only see it in early 2010?

[sandnsea]

20. EIC can work through a paycheck

I don't know when all the rest of it kicks in. I don't see much of it as stimulative anyway, just some of the things he promised in the campaign.

[dkf]

21. Hmm. I find that a little scary because I really wanted a big bang type

stimulus to get us out of this malaise.

Who knew I'd be so anxious for people to spend money. Weird.

[Davis_X_Machina]

22. There's a fair amount of data...

..from the post-9/11 and 2007-8 tax year stimuli that large lump sum checks mostly go to pay down debt, which is better than nothing, but not as stimulative as straight consumer purchases. All those extra $13's and $20's will get spent, immediately. Velocity of money x amount of money = impact.

[dkf]

23. Wow. I had no idea of that statistic. THANKS!

[sandnsea]

26. I think the spending is stimulative

We've applied for $350,000 of road projects in our town. The school should get some money to rehire some teachers. Unemployed will get more in their check, our retirees will all get an extra $250. It'll be stimulative in that regard.

[book_worm]

19. the thing about the tax cuts is that Obama pledged to do so during the campaign

and he delivered. No it's not a huge tax cut (particularly for me as a single guy), but he did promise it and if he didn't cut taxes the GOP would have attacked him for not doing so.

[leftstreet]

24. Depends on how you define 'middle class'

It's a politically flexible term

[dkf]

25. What was Obama's criteria? Less than $5 million a year?

[Pirate Smile]

28. More like under $150,000 a year.

$5 million or less was McCain's definition of Middle Class, not Obamas.

:)

[dkf]

31. I'm just laughing at McCain.

It was one of Obama's nice little put downs.

[Pirate Smile]

32. Oooppps. Sorry for being dense.

:blush:

[dkf]

33. Should have added an lol.

Obama sure has made the gentle put down an art form. I love the guy. Doesn't mean I won't give him grief once in a while, but its because I think he can be pretty damned perfect.