Middle Class Bailout
Want to help reduce credit card debt for the middle class? Want to stimulate the economy? Want to help the government make some money instead of just spending it all the time? Then come on down! We’re getting the price right with a middle class bailout. Here’s how it works:
Create a debt tax credit. No, this isn’t rewarding people for irresponsible living. They have to pay it back. They file their income taxes and if they meet a certain debt to income ratio (yes, verification would be needed) they could qualify for up to a $10,000 tax credit (similar to the home buyers credit). The amount of the credit would be 10% of their debt or $10,000, whichever is less. And we’re only talking credit card debt. Not mortgages, student loans, etc.
So I owe $1522 in taxes this year. I have $50,000 in credit card debt (don’t tell my parents!). I would qualify for a $5,000 debt credit (reduced by 1522) which equals $3478. So I would have a refund. But the government isn’t cutting a check to me. They’re paying it directly to the credit card companies I specify on my return. Just like when you apply for a credit card and can indicate that you want to transfer a balance, you would do that on the tax return. You would provide the bank and the account number and the federal government would issue a check directly to the credit card company.
Then, whatever you received in a tax credit, you would have to begin repaying to the federal government by automatic withdrawal within six months. The government could charge 13% interest, a rate much lower than a credit card company, and set a minimum monthly payment so that the debt was paid off in three years.
The middle class would receive a six month grace period to save money, spend money or pay off more cards and then the government would begin collecting repayments in six months, with no interest charged until the start of repayment.
We’re handing out money right and left to big banks, why can’t we give a bailout to the middle class? You can’t tell me they’re any more irresponsible than the executives at Goldman Sachs.
Nick Jr: The socialist network
In honor of Earth Day, President Obama gave the following address:
I believe that everybody should clean up, clean up. Everybody clean up. Let’s work together. In fact, everyone do their share. That’s the only way it’s going to work. When we work together we’ve got the right stuff. I heard Sarah Palin the other day say, “But wait, could I do it just me, by myself? On my own? Save the earth in distress? With no teamwork? Could I save the day? Yes! The Palinator is coming and gonna save the day. And do it my way. You won’t believe when you see the greatness in me. Teamwork, scheamwork!” It is exactly this kind of do it yourself, I don’t need the federal government attitude that gets the earth in trouble. The only thing that’s gonna work is teamwork. What’s going to work? (crowd yells – teamwork!). In fact, I know best. No one needs to ride on liberty, they just need to learn how to do it from an expert such as me. And what I know is this: Helping out each other is good for everyone. This calls for some arugula!
President Obama then thanked his speechwriters, Diego, Dora and the Wonder Pets.
I wonder why the Tea Party doesn’t go after the socialists at Nick, Jr. who are brainwashing our children? As Jon Stewart already pointed out, Bert on Sesame Street is a progressive evil. Now, Nick, Jr’s joined the game! Man, Glenn Beck is wasting his time going after President Obama. He should be going after the socialists at Nick Jr. indoctrinating our children before they even have time to realize they’re becoming communists and socialists. After all, if they’re really afraid our children will grow up in a socialist country they should be concerned about socialism in all its forms. Kind of like McCarthy with his witch hunt. Or maybe the whole Tea Party movement isn’t really about socialism but is actually racism in “politically correct” terms. Nah….
Palin Nailin the President
Or at least she thinks she is. I’ve grown so tired and weary of the tea party and the Sarah Palindrones. I have a good friend whom I used to be able to discuss politics with. She’s a Republican. The other day she told me that the health care bill was one more way the federal government could reach its hands into our lives and control us and that if she ever needed to go in for hip replacement surgery (she’s 35) a federal health board could decide the odds are against her and it’s not worth funding her operation so she wouldn’t get the surgery. She said, “This happens in Europe, not in America!” I guess in response to the incredulous look on my face she added, “Oh, I know that’s not in the bill they passed but it will be eventually.” How exactly? Her crazy ramblings left me feeling depressed.
Which brings me to Sarah Palin. She’s jumped all over Obama for saying:
It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them. And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.
Palin took issue because she believed he doesn’t think we should like being a dominant military superpower. Liberal bloggers say she misunderstood the President and he was actually saying whether we like it or not we always get pulled into conflicts. I guess I don’t see what the big deal is either way. Maybe we don’t like being a dominant military superpower because we will always have to show up as the world police. Or maybe he’s saying whether we like it or not we always get pulled into wars.
Why is it always about patriotism and “real America” with Palin? This whole notion that their idea of America is the only right idea is the most un-American philosophy they could have. If Palin and her drones had been present for the writing of the Constitution or at any of the Constitutional conventions they would have been joining in with the anti-Constitutional crowd saying the Articles of Confederation were the best way to go and that James Madison didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.
I guess I’m just really hoping that the “real America” crowd starts their own party with Sarah Palin as their distinguished leader. The Republicans ought to be able to weed out the weirdos that way.
Stewart’s McCain Diatribe
Stewart:
We revisit the curious case of one senator, John McCain. A man so principled he refused to leave a Vietnamese POW camp if other soldiers could not leave, too. That’s what we loved about him. Well, that and the shadow puppets. How did he do that? He’s really quite clever. John McCain struck people as a principled politician who took stands that were sometimes antithetical to his political party. Like his position on “don’t ask don’t tell,” his position on redistribution of wealth, his position on intolerance. Even his almost heretical feelings about Ronald Reagan. The last one was not as publicized as some of the others. These were strong stands.Now, McCain did walk a couple of them back, like when he needed to win his party’s nomination for the Presidency. Or when he wanted to win over his party’s conservative base during the Presidential election. Or when he just wanted to change his position for no apparent reason whatsoever. There were a couple of other instances. McCain’s position on tax cuts, torture, cap and trade, the deficit commission, immigration, the confederate flag. There’s a shitload of them, quite frankly.
But even with all that you never felt like the guy was selling his soul. You just felt like maybe he was shaving little slivers of his soul off for money. But you always felt like he maintained a controlling interest in his soul. Fifty-one percent of his soul. The majority shares of his soul. Until now.
McCain says he never considered himself a maverick.
Stewart:
I’ll give you a moment to scrap your brains off the ceiling. Now normally this is obviously where we’d toss to a montage of John McCain calling himself a maverick but I don’t even fucking need to. That’s how embedded the word “maverick” is on his persona. It would be like Rudy Giuliani coming out saying, “Hey, I never mention 9/11. What are you talking about?” It’s like “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” saying, “I never believed I was butter. Why would I believe that? I never believed it.” It’s on the container! Something like that is such an abject and easily disproved negation of the entire premise of this man’s political career that it can’t even be considered selling your soul for political gain because at that point the currency of your soul is utterly worthless. It’s like, at that point you’re just printing your soul on Zimbabwe dollars. Even political expedience does not, there’s no logical reason… Oh, my God. He’s completely devalued his soul. I know what’s going on here. McCain is shorting his own soul. It’s brilliant. What he’s doing is driving down the price of his own soul by completely stripping it of its pride, its backbone, its integrity, all of its tangible assets. All the while knowing the value of his own soul will soon plummet. Then, in a backdoor move, buys soul default swaps on the back end. Makes a fortune and just picks his soul back up for a song when it hits bottom. And you know the worst part? Come election time, he’ll still get his tax payer bailout and get re-elected. You know why? Because John McCain is too big to fail.
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Hannity Calls Tea Partiers “Tim McVeigh Wannabees”
Even FOX news can’t pretend anymore that the tea party is anything but a terrorist organization. At what point in time did it become acceptable to call a crowd a bunch of “Tim McVeigh Wannabees” and have them cheer in return? Since when is glorifying the deaths of 168 people, including 19 children younger than six!! a good thing? Has FOX News really sunk so low that an anchor can get away with calling the crowd Tim McVeigh Wannabees and no one even bats an eye? I’m appalled.
Justice
Scott Roeder, the man who shot and killed Dr. George Tiller while he served as an usher in his church, was sentenced to the Hard 50 today. He won’t be eligible for parole until he is 102. That seems too soon.
