1. Gather up your books– the ones in good shape– and go to www.cash4books.net then type in your ISBNs and they’ll tell you how much they’ll give you for them. You can print out the prepaid shipping label and all you have to do is box it up and drop it off. They’ll send you a check or deposit the money into your PayPal account. I sold 6 books for $23. They turned down a bunch of books and there were a few that were selling for so little that I figured I’d get more than that in a yardsale and it didn’t seem worth the effort.
*** Check this out*** Brandon sent a comment about http://bookscouter.com/ comparing book buyers to get you the better deal– check it out! I ran a few of the books that www.cash4books.net turned down and was able to find buyers. I didn’t go through the whole process so I’m not sure how user friendly it is but at first glance it looks really great. Please let me know your experiences.
2. Become a Fashion Designer– go to www.cafepress.com and set up shop with your own designs– no sewing, no shipping, no nothin’. All you have to do is upload the image, select the items you want it on and maybe do a little tweaking. They sell it, ship it and even do some marketing then send you a commission check. Many of the designs are fancy fonts and do-able by anyone with MS Office. (You can have either a simple free shop with one design — or many free shops– or pay about $7.00 for a premium shop with multiple designs. Check out my shop at http://www.cafepress.com/bullfeathers we just got a check for $62.
3. PURGE. Clean out your basement, attic, garage, kid’s room, your closet and have a garage sale or become an Ebay Seller. (Be careful on ebay! Look for tricks of the trade on-line before you post and make sure that you are very clear about what you will or will not do… being too easy to get along with might get you in trouble…) On the plus side– I made $2,000 in three months just by cleaning my house.
Please share your ideas and experiences– Have you tried any of these? others? How did it work for you? Advice? Words of caution?
I’ve been on a real purging kick for the last six months… it’s amazing that I still have enough for a yard sale considering how much I’ve sold on EBay and given away. We moved from a monstrous Victorian to a reasonable (cleanable in 1 afternoon) Tudor and there are still a lot of boxes unopened in basement and attic. I’m tempted to just price the boxes and sell them as a mystery item… that would sure be easier and I wouldn’t be tempted to keep any of these things that I haven’t used in three years!
But no. I’m going through each box and pricing the different items… probably will get more for it that way but, my “keep” pile is growing… Maybe that stuff will go in next year’s yard sale…
I’m amazed at how much I’ve held on to– scraps of fabric, maps I picked up in my travels, a box full of pencils, pens and rubber bands, movies we haven’t watched in years– and computer cables in triplicate for each computer we own. It’s bizarre… I didn’t grow up in the depression like my grandparents and I’m just now getting into reducing my footprint on the earth so why haven’t I gotten rid of this stuff before now?
Growing up making international moves I have one box of my treasures from childhood but, I have a box for each year of my son’s life… maybe I’m over compensating. Will my autistic son care that I’ve saved these things for him? Do I need these things to remember in addition to the many boxes and discs of photos? Apart from photos, my parents have one shoebox for each of their children– that seems more reasonable than what I’m doing. Oh well…
I have become a conscientious consumer. What we need we buy. What we want we consider whether we’ll still want it next week… month… year. We consider where it will go and, frankly if we’d be able to get rid of it when we are done. Is it cheaper to buy or rent a movie? Will it be on cable in a few months? Will it re-sell on EBay for a good percentage of what we paid for it when we’ve seen it a couple of times?
Yard Sales don’t usually make a person philosophical but, when reducing consuption is a concern/priority even a yard sale makes you think…
Victory Gardens were promoted by the US government during WWII as a way for families to deal with the rising cost of food– and, food shortages. It was patriotic to have a garden producing food for the family. Communities sometimes used vacant lots and those with property planted gardens.
I’ve planted my first Victory Garden. Unlike the Victory Gardens from the WWII era, my garden is designed to be beautiful as well as functional. Companion plants are also taken into consideration although they didn’t mandate the layout. (I’ll get more into companion plants in another post but they are plants that use different nutritional parts of soil and therefore grow well together– that’s really simplistic but you get the drift.)
The most important goals of this garden are to provide food for my family and my parents (who live in a condo) therefore saving money and reducing our footprint on the earth. It’s organic. I’m learning about composting. While I doubt that this year I’ll be able to, my goal is to be able to set up a booth at the local farmer’s market– so, I’m growing a lot of unique vegetables– like five varieties of carrots from Seed Savers International and Heritage tomatoes. Things that most people won’t have in their gardens and I hope will be attractive to gourmet cooks.
This is a learning process and I’m documenting my failures and successes. Much of the ground I have taken for this was grass– a nice ground cover but, how much of it do you really need? A little room for the kid and the dogs, right? (I digress.) Anyway, I’ve already missed the boat with the carrots… you’re supposed to put them in as soon as the ground is thawed but, I just got them in yesterday so it’ll be mid August before we get our first taste. Learning curve, right?
I’ve done three beds with weed-matted and mulched walks between them which are modeled after German kitchen gardens although this is much larger than the typical kitchen garden. There will be a row of berry bushes dividing it from the rest of the back yard and a fence separates it from the front yard. I’m experimenting with herbs between vegetables– like rosemary next to carrots and basil next to lettuce and spinach. My hope is that it will affect the flavor. We’ll see since there isn’t any pollination I don’t know if it will matter.
My next project is to get water barrels set up to water this garden and greater decrease our family’s footprint and decrease the cost of growing this garden.
There is something good about a garden. Watching things grow from a tiny seed, getting down on my knees to pull weeds and watering in the evening. It somehow cleanses the grit of real life.
I have just figured out how easy it is to make a rain barrel. First I did my on-line search and found that they range (with shipping) between $100 and $450… what’s the incentive?! Ok… I’m all for earth conservation– recycle, reduce, reuse and all that but come on! Gotta be able to save some money on the water bill within a year or two, right?
So– what you need is a plastic barrel (wood works too but unless you luck into a great yard sale that’s more expense than it’s worth), a rain chain (can be made out of copper wire for only a couple of bucks) or gutter extender, a piece of hose for over flow, faucet and a screen to keep leaves out. Also, recommended are mosquito rings– go organic so it’s ok to use in the garden and around pets. Total cost with no shipping–$50-60. Now, that is reasonable. Run an on line search and you’ll find the “how to” guide pretty easily.
I’m going to make three rain barrels in the next few weeks. I’m guessing I’ll be able to make my investment back inside of two seasons. It’s a responsible use of a free resource and can be used to shame my neighbors into a little Eco friendliness!
We are looking at what can be done in our home to decrease our energy use and as a nice bonus decrease our monthly bills.
Four months ago I quit my job to be at home with our 8 year old autistic son. Since then I have learned to shop smarter and cheaper while increasing the quality of food we eat. I have also become consumption conscience and am working toward getting rid of the clutter– things we don’t use anymore like old software and “pretties” that have been in boxes for the last three years. A bonus is that selling this stuff on Ebay has paid the mortgage two out of the last four months. Ebay bought all (yes– all) of our Christmas presents and paid for a lot of our groceries. I’ve begun a recycling program at home and am planning a big garden– the tomato plants are already starting to sprout in the sunroom! My bicycle is going in for a tune up and I’m looking for a big basket to attach to it for running errands. So, it’s only natural that the next step in my transformation is energy efficiency.
Our house was built in the 1930s. It has a lot of charm but doesn’t have a lot of the things that would make it efficient. When we moved in three years ago we planned to replace windows and update the heating/cooling system (which right now is a 15 year old furnace with radiators and window AC units). So these are things that have needed to be done for a while… we just haven’t made it a priority… (Shame on us!)
Replacing windows and insulating the attic are no brainers– that must be done. What about the dinosaur gas furnace and water heater? I’ve been reading up on tank-less water heaters– they are electric, hard-wired and just heat what water you need when you need to use it so there isn’t any electrical waste. These units run about $200 a piece and require someone who knows what they are doing to install. They are small enough to fit under the kitchen sink. As far as the heating/cooling options– there are minimally invasive installation split unit air conditioner/heaters that run between $500 and $1,000 depending on the size (BTUs) you need. These also have to be professionally installed.
In a rough estimate we’d be able to replace windows, insulate the attic, replace the water heater with three tank-less heaters, and swap out our furnace/ACs for under $10,000. Ok. That’s a lot of money. But the timing is right to pull some money out of the market– I have to do something with the retirement fund from my last job. So, I can reinvest it in a market that is kinda iffy right now or we can use it to decrease our footprint and our monthly bills. I think we’ll probably divided it between the two…
It looks like by making these changes we would recover (in monthly savings) our investment in two and a half to two years. It increases the value of our home– or will when the housing market recovers.
I still have some research to do but we believe that decreasing our monthly bills without incurring debt is a pretty smart move. If we are, in fact, in a recession or heading towards one decreasing our monthly expenses is smart.
Financial pundits are making investment and debt reduction suggestions for recession proofing. Our investments need to stay put. Our debt is limited to our house. So apart from aggressive savings (only where do you put it? Watch CNBC for an hour and you’ll need to take a handful of pain pills…) decreasing our monthly bills seems to make the most sense.
Ok… let me be honest- my husband has been to Walmart for batteries and dog food. I drive 40 minutes into the countryside to an Amish Bulk Food Store and, even with the price of gas at three times what it was when Bush took office, I’ve cut our weekly grocery bill down to only $80– and we are eating better than we have in our entire married life!
It took a little cash to get my pantry set up– three boxes of canning jars and a roll of labeling tape but it’s all set to go– looks great!
One nice thing about being a stay at home mom is that I have time to cook from scratch– that also saves money and the food is healthier! Tastes pretty good too!
I know that not everyone has a Bulk Food Store close by but there are lots of ways to improve the quality of your family’s meals as well as reduce the cost. Making food from scratch is actually kind of fun! I’m enjoying being creative– it works out well about 2/3 of the time… the peaches with pork wasn’t all that– edible but not (by any stretch) tasty!
Anyway, I do believe that Walmart is bad for our communities and I’m really proud that my family isn’t shopping there much anymore. Also I believe that when it’s important– really important– it is possible to have a stay at home parent…
I can’t wait to get started on my organic vegetable garden!
I bought a camera three weeks ago on Ebay. With shipping I paid $104.49 from pomaric… he hasn’t communicated with me despite numerous emails and phone calls– the phone number he gave Ebay is for someone else according to the voice mail… I have not received the camera. (See, J broke the screen on my digital camera and I was trying to get it replaced on the cheap without my husband finding out… Oh well… should have just fessed up and paid full price…)
In part two of the issues that matter to me and what the remaining four candidates have to say about it, today I’ll look at the Economy. To recap– Autism, Economy and Energy are my three hot topics. Yesterday, I researched Autism.
Economy
Obama:
Obama offers $210 billion economic plan that creates construction, environmental jobs
The Associated Press
Published: February 13, 2008
(From International Herald Tribune)
Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday that as president he would spend $210 billion (€143.97 billion) to create jobs in construction and environmental industries, as he tried to win over economically struggling voters.
Obama’s investment would be over 10 years as part of two programs. The larger is $150 billion (€102.84 billion) to create 5 million so-called “green collar” jobs to develop more environmentally friendly energy sources.
Sixty billion would go to a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to rebuild highways, bridges, airports and other public projects. Obama estimated that could generate nearly 2 million jobs, many of them in the construction industry that has been hit by the housing crisis.
“This agenda is paid for,” Obama said as the Republican National Committee promoted an “Obama Spend-O-Meter” online to track his proposals and portray him as a tax-and-spend liberal. Obama explained that the money for his spending proposals will come from ending the Iraq war, cutting tax breaks for corporations, taxing carbon pollution and raising taxes on high income earners.
Neera Tanden, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s policy director, said Obama was offering ideas Clinton proposed months ago. “Voters may ask themselves that if Senator Obama cannot produce his own ideas on the campaign trail, how will he solve new problems as president?” Tanden said in a memo e-mailed to reporters.
Obama, who has faced criticism that he does not have enough policy specifics, asked autoworkers at the General Motors plant in Wisconsin, to “bear with me” as his began a policy speech that he said would be unlike his typical rousing addresses to rallies. He read from a TelePrompTer in a cavernous training room, flanked by sparkling new vehicles and a large American flag.
“Today I want to take it down a notch,” Obama said. “This is going to be a speech that’s a little more detailed. It’s going to be a little bit longer, not as many applause lines.”
Obama pointedly did not include one of his biggest applause lines, that he would require vehicle manufacturers to raise fuel economy standards. Obama often points out that he delivered that message straight to the automakers during a speech last year in Detroit.
But he did not mention it on the plant visit that came a day after GM reported the largest annual loss ever for an American automaker — $38.7 billion (€26.53 billion) in 2007.
“I know that General Motors received some bad news yesterday,” Obama said. “I also know how much progress you’ve made, how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you’re churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to retool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years.”
Obama heads into Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary as the favorite in the state and the front-runner for the nomination. His victories this week in eight contests have put him ahead of rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in the delegate chase.
But Obama did not pursue the front-runner strategy of ignoring rivals. He repeatedly criticized Clinton in an effort to beat back the challenge she still poses to him.
He tied her to likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain for their shared vote to authorize the war in Iraq. He lumped her with President George W. Bush for offering an economic recovery plan that did not include immediate relief, without mentioning that both the president and Clinton quickly adopted tax rebates.
Obama’s appearance in Janesville was part of a strategy to reach out to voters who might be struggling in the economy and who have supported Clinton in most contests so far. Combining exit polls from 19 states that had competitive Democratic primaries before Tuesday, Clinton had a 49 percent to 46 percent edge over Obama with voters who named the economy as the No. 1 problem.
But Obama seemed to be turning that around in his most recent victories Tuesday. In Virginia and Maryland, Obama dominated among the one-half of Democratic voters who named the economy as their chief concern. In both states, about six in 10 Democrats who cited the economy voted for Obama.
Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday that as president he would spend $210 billion to create jobs in construction and environmental industries, as he tried to win over economically struggling voters.
Obama’s investment would be over 10 years as part of two programs. The larger is $150 billion to create 5 million so-called “green collar” jobs to develop more environmentally friendly energy sources.
Sixty-billion dollars would go to a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to rebuild highways, bridges, airports and other public projects. Obama estimated that could generate nearly 2 million jobs, many of them in the construction industry that’s been hit by the housing crisis.
“This agenda is paid for,” Obama said as the Republican National Committee promoted an “Obama Spend-O-Meter” online to track his proposals and portray him as a tax-and-spend liberal. Obama explained that the money for his spending proposals will come from ending the Iraq war, cutting tax breaks for corporations, taxing carbon pollution and raising taxes on high income earners.
I would love to tell everyone that this is possible; that the US has the money to spend and that we can use major federal initiatives to minimize the impact to the housing mess.
But we don’t.
And this is not a problem only faced by Obama — it’s faced by every major candidate. After 7 years of Republican dominated politics the US just doesn’t have the money to spend. The damage has already been done.
Let’s start with the fiscal history of the last 7 years. This information is from the Treasury Department and it shows the total federal debt outstanding at the end of the federal government’s fiscal year.
To put that in perspective, debt as a percentage of GDP has increased from 57.29% in 2001 to 64.47% in 2007. That’s a solid and steady increase.
Now — the Republicans have created a meter on their website to track the increases in government spending. You guys ran the government for 6 years. You had complete control. YOU GOT US INTO THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE. SHUT THE HELL UP.
And no — this is not some ephemeral concept that means nothing the real world. Take a look at a chart of the US dollar:
The dollar has been dropping for the better part of the last 6 years. Over the last few years we’ve seen competition from the euro start to knock the dollar out of it once dominate reserve status — which has helped to continue the dollar’s downward spiral. If we don’t start seriously dealing with the deficit soon, we can expect further declines in the dollar which will seriously hurt us in the long run.
No candidate will run on a cleaning up the deficit platform. It’s not an economic winner — especially during a period of economic problems. In addition, the way to clean-up the mess — raising taxes and asking people who benefited from the last 7 years to now pay their fair share of that growth — is a politically dicey proposition at best. So what is actually in the interest of the country in the long-run just isn’t going to work politically.
And some of Obama’s plan is really good — especially the green-collar jobs idea. That makes great sense, especially in the long-run.
But the money just ain’t there.
Clinton:
1/11/2008 Press Release from her Campaign Web Site
Clinton Unveils Aggressive Plan to Jumpstart U.S. Economy
Plan Would Help Hundreds Of Thousands Of Families Stay In Their Homes; More Than 37 Million Would Receive Energy Assistance
Hillary Clinton is unveiling an aggressive $70 billion stimulus package today that would boost the U.S. economy and help families who have been hit hardest by the economic downturn across America.
Clinton will detail her five-part stimulus plan in a speech at the IBEW Hall in City of Commerce, CA. Her plan would specifically help homeowners who have been hurt by the housing foreclosure crisis, provide immediate relief to families who are facing skyrocketing energy bills, support workers who have lost their jobs, and make immediate investments in “green collar jobs” which will not only stimulate the economy, but improve the environment.
More than 37 million Americans would receive energy assistance under Clinton’s plan, and hundreds of thousands of families would get help to avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. “Economists and politicians are finally waking up to what many of America’s families already know: that we might be sliding into a recession,” Clinton said.
“But when the bills are stacking up, and you’re just one pink slip away from losing everything you’ve got, the last thing you need is more talk. In the face of rising global competition, our children’s future is at stake. So we don’t need more rhetoric, we need action. We need an immediate strategy to get our economy back on track. I would work with leaders from both parties to pass an aggressive, fast-acting stimulus package to create good new jobs and revitalize our economy.”
Senator Clinton believes we need to jumpstart the economy without negatively affecting America’s long-term fiscal position. In addition, her plan targets assistance toward hardworking families which are most likely to spend new resources, which will ensure that we give the economy an immediate boost.
Clinton also called on Congress to stand ready to provide an additional $40 billion in direct tax rebates to working and middle class families if the economy continues to worsen.
Hillary’s Economic Stimulus Plan would:
Establish a $30 Billion Emergency Housing Crisis Fund to assist states and cities mitigate the effects of mounting foreclosures
Take bold action to stem tide of foreclosure, including a 90-day moratorium on subprime foreclosures and an automatic rate freeze on subprime mortgages of at least five years
Provide $25 billion in emergency energy assistance for families facing skyrocketing heating bills
Accelerating $5 billion in energy efficiency and alternative energy investments to jumpstart green collar job growth:
Invest $10 billion in extending and broadening unemployment insurance for those who are struggling to find work:
HILLARY CLINTON’S PLAN TO JUMPSTART OUR AILING ECONOMY
Today, Senator Clinton outlined an economic stimulus plan to help hard hit families and give our economy a much needed boost. Over a month ago, in a speech to Wall Street, Senator Clinton called on the Bush Administration to begin considering economic stimulus. In the month since, while the Administration has failed to act, we have seen growing signs that our economy is faltering. Tens of thousands of families have already been forced out of their homes. Recently, oil hit $100 a barrel, and last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy lost jobs in the private sector in December for the first time in over four years. According to RealtyTrac, more than 201,000 foreclosure filings were reported in November alone, up 68 percent from the year before.
Hillary believes we need real action now. While economists may still be debating whether we’ve met the technical definition of a recession, for hard-hit middle class families that question has already been answered.
That is why today Senator Clinton called on the President and Congressional leaders from both parties to enact an aggressive, fast-acting stimulus package based on common-sense economic principles. Unlike 2001, when President Bush used stimulus as an excuse to force through long-term tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans – which ran up our debt to foreign governments while utterly failing to reignite job growth – Senator Clinton believes we need a strong immediate stimulus to jumpstart the economy without negatively affecting our long-term fiscal position. In addition, stimulus measures should be targeted toward hardworking families that are most likely to spend new resources, which will ensure that we give our economy an immediate boost. As President, Hillary would enact a five-part stimulus package that is consistent with these principles. This package includes:
Establishing a $30 Billion Emergency Housing Crisis Fund to assist states and cities mitigate the effects of mounting foreclosures.With our economy facing the prospect of substantial contraction as hundreds of thousands of subprime mortgages reset and housing values erode further, Senator Clinton believes that any effective stimulus package must take aggressive action to mitigate this contraction and help as many families as possible remain in their homes. Her $30 billion fund would provide immediate, time-limited resources to states, cities and community organizations to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures. States and communities could also use the funds to offset the costs associated with vacant properties by supporting efforts like community-level anti-blight programs and helping local housing authorities buy up vacant properties and rent them to working families. When families lose their homes, surrounding property values and local tax revenues decline and the cost of policing and maintaining vacant properties rise. This reduction in revenues and rise in costs can lead cities and states to cutback services, lay off teachers and other vital workers, raise college tuition, or even raise local taxes. The availability of $30 billion in federal assistance will ensure that states and cities have the resources they need to fight foreclosures, prevent a downward housing cycle impacting large numbers of homeowners and to weather the crisis without unnecessary fiscal contraction.
Taking bold action to end the housing crisis.Senator Clinton is the only candidate with a comprehensive plan to keep families in their homes and keep the housing crisis from dragging down the economy. More than 2 million foreclosure notices went out last year, devastating families and communities. The foreclosure crisis is also contributing to the decline in home prices which has already cost families an estimated $1.3 trillion. Many experts believe the worst is yet to come. To stem this crisis, Senator Clinton has called for a 90-day moratorium on subprime foreclosures and an automatic rate freeze on subprime mortgages of at least five years or until servicers have converted the unworkable mortgages into loans families can afford. In addition, Senator Clinton proposed to temporarily empower state housing financing agencies to help families refinance unworkable mortgages and temporarily increasing the portfolio caps at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enabling them to purchase larger loans in high-cost areas. These steps would immediately increase the availability of mortgages for responsible borrowers.
Providing $25 billion in emergency energy assistance for families facing skyrocketing heating bills: Rising home heating prices are imposing a serious and immediate financial burden on working families. Yet while more than 37 million American families are eligible for home energy assistance, only 5.6 million – or approximately 16% – are slated to receive any aid this winter. Even those who do receive assistance have seen the average grant decline from 36% of a typical family’s home heating bills in 2003 to only 23% in 2007. Meanwhile, the cost of heating a home is expected to soar as much as 20 – 25% this winter alone. Senator Clinton is calling for an immediate $25 billion investment in home heating assistance grants for all 37 million eligible families. The grants will return the purchasing power of energy assistance to where it was 5 years ago. And they will ensure that hardworking families and seniors on fixed incomes will not have to choose between heating their homes, putting food on the table or purchasing prescription drugs this winter.
Accelerating $5 billion in energy efficiency and alternative energy investments to jumpstart green collar job growth:Senator Clinton believes that by immediately implementing components of her comprehensive plan to transition to a green, clean economy, we can both jumpstart green collar jobs and jumpstart our long-term transition to energy independence as well. The immediate actions that could be part of a 2008 stimulus could include a crash weatherization program to cut home energy costs by up to 20% this winter; expanded tax credits to encourage families and businesses to accelerate purchases of hybrids and other low emission vehicles and to reduce energy costs by purchasing efficient appliances, new windows and other clean, efficient technologies, and acceleration of a Green Building Fund and Green Collar Job training program to put tens of thousands of people to work making schools and other public buildings energy efficient.
Investing $10 billion in extending and broadening unemployment insurance for those who are struggling to find work: Senator Clinton is calling for stepped up assistance for those who have lost their jobs and are searching for work while trying to provide for their families. By strengthening our unemployment insurance program and extending unemployment insurance for workers who are laid off for extended periods, these efforts will empower more Americans to reenter the labor market in good-paying jobs.
Standing Ready for $40 Billion Rebate to Working Families: In addition to immediately adopting her 5-part plan, Senator Clinton called on Congress to stand ready to provide an additional $40 billion in direct tax-rebates to working and middle class families if economic circumstances continue to worsen. This additional $40 billion in tax relief should be designed to meet Senator Clinton’s principles for stimulus: it should be fast-acting to kick-start the economy; temporary to be fiscally responsible; and progressive so that it has a high bang-for-the-buck. This means that rebates should not be partially or completely denied to tens of millions of lower income taxpayers, as was the case with President Bush’s plan during the last economic contraction.
Hillary Lays Out Her Economic Plan
Capital Commerce by James Pethokoukis October 09, 2007 02:31 PM ET
Hillary Clinton gave a lengthy economic policy speech Monday. A few things popped out at me when I gave it a read this morning:
1) As I have been saying in this blog, Clinton is not going to advocate repealing all the Bush tax cuts—as much as her GOP rivals would love her to—just the ones affecting wealthier Americans. “For middle-class Americans, I will extend the tax cuts including the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and lower income tax rates than they currently pay,” she said. Interestingly, Clinton made no mention of capital-gains taxes—the lower rates brought about by the 2003 tax cuts are also due to expire at the end of 2010—even though she had ample opportunity and specifically mentioned her support for making hedge fund managers pay higher taxes.
2) Clinton made mention of “stagnant wages,” even though they’ve been growing at a brisk clip. Just one of many stats on the subject: Average hourly earnings are up 8.4 percent versus September 2005, the fastest pace of wage gains for any two-year period since 1990, according to First Trust Advisors. (Here’s more on the myth of stagnant wages.)
3) Clinton announced a three-point plan to deal with the mortgage mess. None of it was particularly revolutionary, but at least she had a plan to deal with a problem on the minds of many Americans. Her GOP rivals have been all but silent on the topic.
4) There is an old joke that says the most frightening sentence in the English language is, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you.” Well, read Clinton’s speech—full of references to trustbusting Teddy Roosevelt, the space program, and the G.I. Bill—and you’ll see that she’s attempting to convince Americans that government is good, helpful, and in need of smart expansion. “The strength of our economy and the rise of the middle class were products of both a free market and good public policy,” she said.
Republicans get their chance to respond at tonight’s GOP presidential debate in Dearborn, Mich. It’s hosted by CNBC and will focus—finally!—on economic policy.
Huckabee:
From his website:
I support the FairTax.
As Governor of Arkansas, I cut taxes and fees almost 100 times, saving the taxpayers almost $380 million. I left a surplus of nearly $850 million, which I urged should go back to the people.
Our massive deficit is not due to Americans’ being under-taxed, but to the government’s over-spending.
To control spending, I believe the President should have the line-item veto.
I believe in free trade, but it has to be fair trade.
Globalization, done right, done fairly, can be the equivalent of a big pay raise by allowing us to buy things more cheaply.
I support making the Bush tax cuts (set to expire in 2010) permanent.
Furthermore, I believe that we need to expand upon these cuts by further reducing marginal rates on individual and corporate income, instituting credits for tuition, and eliminating the “death tax.”
I’d like you to join me at the best “Going Out of Business” sale I can imagine – one held by the Internal Revenue Service. Am I running for president to shut down the federal government? Not exactly. But I am running to completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And I do mean all – personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment. All our hours filling out forms, all our payments for help with those forms, all our shopping bags filled with disorganized receipts, all our headaches and heartburn from tax stress will vanish. Instead we will have the FairTax, a simple tax based on wealth. When the FairTax becomes law, it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness.
The FairTax will replace the Internal Revenue Code with a consumption tax, like the taxes on retail sales forty-five states and the District of Columbia have now. All of us will get a monthly rebate that will reimburse us for taxes on purchases up to the poverty line, so that we’re not taxed on necessities. That means people below the poverty line won’t be taxed at all. We’ll be taxed on what we decide to buy, not what we happen to earn. We won’t be taxed on what we choose to save or the interest those savings earn. The tax will apply only to new goods, so we can reduce our taxes further by buying a used car or computer.
Our current progressive tax system penalizes us for working harder and becoming more successful. As we climb the ladder, the government lurks on each rung, hungry for a bigger bite out of our earnings. The FairTax is also progressive, but it doesn’t punish the American dream of success, or the old-fashioned virtues of hard work and thrift, it rewards and encourages them. The FairTax isn’t intended to raise any more or less money for the federal government to spend – it is revenue neutral.
Expert analyses have shown that the FairTax lowers the lifetime tax burden of all of us: single or married; working or retired; rich, poor or middle class.
The FairTax will instantly make American products 12 to 25% more competitive because the cost of those goods will no longer be inflated by corporate taxes, costs of tax compliance, and Social Security matching payments. When we buy products now, those taxes are built into the cost, so all of us pay corporate taxes indirectly on top of the personal taxes we pay directly. Compliance costs are just make-work with no real added value, yet they consume as much as 3% of our gross domestic product annually. These costs are an especially heavy burden on small businesses, which generate most of our jobs.
If you buy a bottle of domestic wine, you’re paying the taxes/compliance/matching payments of all the folks who produced the grapes, the wine, the bottle, the cork, the label. If you buy a bottle of French wine, the producers had their Value Added Tax rebated to them when the wine was exported. So French consumers pay those taxes, but you don’t. Our current tax system puts our goods at a disadvantage both here and overseas. Other governments give their goods an advantage on the world market, an advantage estimated at 18% compared to American goods.
So no matter how hard Americans work, no matter how innovative and creative we are, no matter how superior our products are, we suffer from a built-in competitive disadvantage simply because of our tax system. A recent study by MIT found that our tax system deprives us of about $1 billion in exports annually. When you export over-priced goods as we have, you inevitably end up exporting jobs and industries as we now are. We are the square peg trying to fit into the round hole of international trade. The rest of the world isn’t going to change, it’s time that we do.
Under the FairTax, American companies are far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies are far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants. The FairTax encourages growth by promoting investment and capital formation.
We have to scrap a 20th century tax system that is holding us back and keeping us down in the 21st century. The FairTax is the path to greater prosperity and job security for us and for our children.
As Governor of Arkansas, I pushed through the Arkansas Legislature the first major, broad-based tax cuts in state history – a $90 million tax relief package for Arkansas families. I also doubled the standard deduction to $2,000 for single taxpayers and $4,000 for those who are married. Some taxes I eliminated entirely: the marriage penalty, bracket creep caused by inflation, income tax on poor families, and capital gains on home sales. To encourage investment, I cut capital gains for both individuals and businesses. To help people better themselves, I provided tax credits for employee training and education. In total, I cut taxes and fees nearly 100 times during my ten-and-a-half years as Governor, saving the people of Arkansas almost $380 million.
When I left office in early 2007, Arkansas had nearly $850 million in state surplus, which I urged should go back to the people in the form of either a tax rebate or tax cut.
I believe that our massive deficit is not due to Americans’ being under-taxed, but due to the federal government’s over-spending. Achieving and maintaining a balanced federal budget is an important and worthy goal necessary to our long-term economic well-being. To achieve a balanced federal budget, I believe the President should have the line-item veto.
I believe in free trade, but it has to be fair trade. We are losing jobs because of an unlevel, unfair trading arena that has to be fixed. Behind the statistics, there are real families and real lives and real pain. I’m running for President because I don’t want people who have worked loyally for a company for twenty or thirty years to walk in one morning and be handed a pink slip and be told, “I’m sorry, but everything you spent your life working for is no longer here.”
I believe that globalization, done right, done fairly, can be a blessing for our society. As the Industrial Revolution raised living standards by allowing ordinary people to buy mass-produced goods that previously only the rich could afford, so globalization gives all of us the equivalent of a big pay raise by letting us buy all kinds of things from clothing to computers to TVs much more inexpensively.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s rise to the top tier of Republican presidential candidates is one of the major stories of this election cycle. Although his strong support among evangelical Christians is a factor in his rise, Huckabee has also benefited from the backing of a small but intense group of people favoring abolition of the federal tax system and its replacement by a 23% national retail sales tax known as the FairTax.
The states would be required to collect this new tax, thus allowing for abolition of the IRS. To prevent poor and middle-class people from being overly burdened, Americans would be sent monthly checks as a partial rebate of the tax.
Unfortunately, like all things in life that are too good to be true, so is this one. Here are a few problems with the FairTax.
True rate. …
Governments must also pay. …
Rebate problems. …
Prices will rise. …
The FairTax is unworkable. It is a fantasy to think otherwise.
McCain:
McCain’s economic plan takes long view Associated Press / January 18, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Despite calls in Washington for short-term economic relief, Senator John McCain yesterday proposed a long-term economic plan that would lower the corporate income tax rate and provide a host of other tax breaks for business. ”We will get through this rough patch, my friends,” McCain told supporters.
The Republican presidential candidate proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent, saying it would expand the economy, creating jobs and opportunity. He said his plan was “progrowth, less taxes, and less spending.” He contrasted it with what he called the Democrats’ “tired ideas of tax and spend.”
McCain appeared to be resisting temporary economic relief for individuals, even as President Bush indicated support for a short-term boost and Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, called explicitly for it. Bernanke urged the government to adopt a plan quickly and make it temporary, and he said “putting money into the hands of households and firms” would be more effective than measures such as making Bush’s tax cuts permanent.
McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin suggested the Arizona senator does not favor temporary relief at this time.
“One of the reasons we have the difficulties we do is that spending went out of control,” McCain said yesterday, two days before the South Carolina’s crucial first-in-the-South primary.
McCain’s plan would also establish a permanent research and development tax credit and allow tax breaks for equipment and technology investment. Rudy Giuliani has also proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 25 percent, while Mitt Romney has suggested eliminating taxes on income from interest, dividends, and capital gains for those earning less than $200,000 a year.
McCain, like the other leading Republicans, supports making permanent the tax cuts Congress approved in Bush’s first term.
Romney, however, said, “It makes sense for Congress to take immediate action” and he’d have his own plan soon, while Fred Thompson said it’s not time for the government to give the economy a jolt.
John McCain and the Economy – A Profile of the John McCain Economic Platform
By Kimberly Amadeo (Your Guide to the US Economy)
McCain’s Economic Stimulus Plan:
Cut the corporate tax rate to 25% from 35%. Fund the reductions with cuts in “pork-barrel spending”, such as the 10,000 local projects, totaling over $10 billion, in legislation recently signed by President Bush.
Allow expensing of businesss equipment and technology investment for the first year.
Establish a tax credit equal to 10% of wages spent on research and development.
McCain’s Long-term Economic Platform: McCain’s Economic Platform includes his short-term stimulus measures, and adds the following:
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) saving middle class families nearly $60 billion a year. This tax was originally designed to fall on the wealthiest but, thanks to inflation, each year it snags more middle-income taxpayers who claim a lot of deductions.
Extend expiring tax cuts from Bush’s first term.
Approve the President’s line item veto.
Add personal accounts to Social Security.
More trade agreements.
Increase troops in Iraq.
More nuclear energy.
Tax credit of $2,500 per person / $5,000 per family towards health care insurance.
Reduce wasteful government spending, control Medicare costs, reform unemployment training.
Impact on the Economy: Extending the Bush tax cuts would have no effect on the economy until 2010, when they expire. Repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax is sorely needed, however the $60 million in revenue needs to be replaced. Providing tax cuts to businesses may spur business investment, but may not trickle down to prices which would help consumer spending.
Increasing troops in Iraq would raise the budget deficit. More nuclear energy would help relieve dependence on oil to some extent, however the U.S. has become dependent on Japanese engineers to build them.
More trade agreements would certainly help the economy. However, McCain doesn’t address the main impediment to any U.S. trade agreement, which is massive subsidies to agri-business. This one issue effectively halted the World Trade Organization Doha round. McCain’s general calls to reduce government spending are good, but he gives no detail as to how to accomplish this.Overall, the McCain economic platform would reduce budget revenues and raise costs, increasing the deficit and weakening the U.S. economy. More detail is needed on many of his proposals to effectively determine their impact.
My Take: Hummmm… Well, I don’t think Clinton and Obama are that far apart from each-other. McCain has said– and been reminded often– that he doesn’t know much about economics. Huckabee; I’m still having trouble getting my head around Fair Tax.
The idea of rebuilding our infrastructure as a means of stimulating the economy makes sense. I like the democrat’s idea of investing in “green jobs” and improving our environment in the process.
So, my ratings:
Obama: 1.5 (.5 for Autism Total: 2)
Clinton: 1.5 (1.5 for Autism Total: 3)
Huckabee: 1 (0 for Autism Total: 1)
McCain: 0 (.25 for Autism Total:.25)
Stay tuned for my research on Energy.
Want to irritate your local Walmart’s cashiers? Save the planet!
I don’t like Walmart. I don’t know very many people who do but there aren’t many other options in our town and their prices really are the best… I also find myself in a catch-22 while wanting to cut back on drive time and fuel they are the best option for one-stop-shopping… (I know– they have too many imports so I’m actually contributing to the Chinese economy…)
The last two times I’ve been to “Wally World” the cashiers have been down-right rude about my canvas bags. The first time I said “I’m sorry that my efforts to save the planet inconvenience you but, when it takes 1/2 gallon of oil to make one of your bags and there are 14 million of them going into landfills every year, I am going to use canvas.” The second time the lady told me outright that she hates the canvas bags because they back things up– “besides” she says, “a couple of bags aren’t going to make any difference” OMG!! I started to go on about how her grandchildren could blame her for not doing anything to save the planet but mine aren’t going to be able to do it but stopped myself and just told her that if only 25% of American households bypassed 10 bags a year it would make a huge difference.
Thing is that people like that– who don’t do anything and have the gall to criticize those of us who at least make an effort– are the problem. I’m not optimistic enough to think that everybody will change out their light-bulbs and use canvas instead of plastic but it’s really not hard to do… You can get nice sized canvas bags at any craft store for just a few dollars each… I keep a few in the car and a few by the back door so that I always have something to use.
If you want to irritate Walmart cashiers: Take Canvas Bags!
We’ve all heard people say that teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and theyonly work 9 or 10 months a year! Our teachers are a tremendous bargain! Here is another forwarded email from my mother in law who is a retired teacher and principal.
Let’s do the math:
It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them forwhat they do–baby sit!
We can get that for less than minimum wage. That’sright. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked,not any of that silly planning time.
That would be $19.50 a day (7:00 AM to 3:30 (or so) PMwith just 25 min. off for lunch).
Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachersto baby-sit their children.
How many do they teach in a class, 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! We’re not going to pay them for any vacations.
That’s $585 x 180= $105,300 per year.
What about those special teachers and the ones with master’s degrees?
Well, we could pay them minimum wage, and just to be fair, round it off to $7.00 an hour. That would be $7 x 6 1/2 hours x 30 children x 180 days = $245,700 per year.
Wait a minute–there’s something wrong here!
Average teacher salary $50,000/180 days = $277/per day/30 students = $9.23/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student. A veryinexpensive baby-sitter and they even try – with your help – to EDUCATE your kids!
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