I rarely air my opinions about government in public forums like the internet because it’s akin to being at a giant dinner party, and I believe it is better manners to avoid discussions of religion, sex and politics while at the table. However, as a taxpayer I have an interest in how my government is proposing to spend my dollars. So, I did a little research on the president's proposal to spend billions of dollars on a “jobs program.” Thought you might like to see what I discovered, and my suggestion on how to spend all that money.
Let’s get the facts:
As reported by Bloomberg, Fox News, et al, President Obama’s Jobs Plan (as proposed in his September 8, 2011 speech to Congress) will cost $447 Billion.
$447 Billion = $447 followed by 9 zeros and looks like this: $447,000,000,000. To put that gigantic number into perspective, if I made $100,000 a year in salary, it would take me 4.47 Million years to earn $447 Billion Dollars. That is one huge number the president is proposing we spend.
According to the latest statistics available from the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), there were 141,167,000 individual tax returns filed in 2010, down from 143,103,000 in 2009. In other words, 2 million fewer people filed tax returns in 2010.
http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=171961,00.html
Why? I suspect the answer is that they were out of work and didn’t have enough income to report. However, that’s just my guess. Let’s get back to the facts.
http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=171961,00.html
Why? I suspect the answer is that they were out of work and didn’t have enough income to report. However, that’s just my guess. Let’s get back to the facts.
Obama’s own economists say the last gigantic stimulus money spent actually cost us (the taxpayers) $278, 000 per job created, as reported by The Weekly Standard a Jul 3, 2011 article. The same article also pointed out “the government could simply have cut a $100,000 check to everyone whose employment was allegedly made possible by the “stimulus,” and taxpayers would have come out $427 billion ahead.”
Given these facts, I suggest the $447 Billion be spent directly on the taxpayers. As a taxpayer, you can count on me to go out and spend money to stimulate the economy and create jobs. As my husband frequently reminds me, “you spend money like it’s your business!”
How much money would I get from the $447 Billion? Let’s do the numbers.
$447,000,000,000 divided by 141,167,000 equals $3,316 per taxpayer. That’s a decent amount of money. I can do plenty of economic stimulation and job creation with $3,316. My husband wants it as a down payment on a new truck. I have other plans....after prying the check loose from my husband’s grip, I would spend it all!
Susan Spending Plan for $3,316:
· $2,000 – Down payment on truck
· $1,316 – Susan’s Spending Spree – for all the things I want to do but haven’t because my personal budget is at the limit.
Specifically, my spending spree would include:
· $225 – Clothes, to replace everything with holes in it!
· $325 – Lawn Service ($25 x 13 weeks – new job)
· $360 – Pest Control Service ($90 x 4 treatments – new job)
· $165 – Mountain bike (replace the ancient one we have)
· $250 – Tennis Racquet + 2 pairs of court shoes – I want a new racquet + shoes and one child has outgrown their shoes and needs new ones)
If you add up all the numbers, my spending spree totals $1,325. Oops, I went $9 over budget! I really can spend money like it was my business. Bottom line: Susan Suggests, Give Me The Money. I will gladly spend all of it (and more) to stimulate the economy and support job creation!
How would you spend $3,316?
How would you spend $3,316?
