Thoughts on this bailout and “stimulus”?

Those of us still very early in our career simply have not had the time to build up that kind of savings. I also sincerely hope you are not suggesting someone live out of their car if they are getting by paycheck to paycheck...
 
I too don't like the bad incentive bailouts provide, but to not do them can actually hurt the "little guy" even more. So if "rich guy" owns a big company and has a billion dollars in stock in that company he doesn't want to loose that billion dollar paper value, but even if he does he probably still has millions or tens of millions in other asset types - he will be just fine. But the employees who loose their jobs, the small businesses that are interconnected with big companies and their employees, the average person who relies on their services, the pensioners who rely on big company continuing to fund the pensions, other pensions who invested in big company, all lose - and they likely are harmed much more than rich guy.

I think the middle ground is embedding restrictions in these bailouts - restrictions on future stock buy backs, restrictions on re-setting stock option strike prices unless the majority of shares re-priced are held by non-"highly compensated executives", requiring minimum "rainy day" cash resources, etc.
 
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Cheers to everyone getting a check, keep in mind, government doesn’t just print money, someone sometime is gonna pay that tab, likely your kids or kids kids.
I will write this off as an 'oops'. The government does print money. Literally and figuratively. And they are going to print a lot more of it. Like the saying "there are no atheists in a foxhole", "there are no libertarians in an economic crisis".
I find it strange that some people are for tax cuts ("that's my money" argument) but are against the government sending out checks. Money is fungible. There is no real difference.

I don't like bailouts on principle, but they have been lucrative. There is a reason Fannie and Freddie are still owned by the government. They are cash cows.
https://projects.propublica.org/bailout/
 
Obviously these stimulus packages aren’t good for the long term in this country. Once the money is sent, it’s gone though. Find a good way to use it. If you’re sitting in a good place financially, a person can always give it to a family that’s could use it tight now for food and essentials, or one could inject it back into the economy and help a small struggling business. Maybe not the best idea, but it’s a thought.
Good points.

Dove tailing with @VikingsGuy if you are in a good position, and get some sort of stimulus through this, at the very least spend it on take out from local restaurants or at local business... all of it. The stimulus really doesn't help the country if we all use it to pay down our mortgages a little.
 
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I've always said I would sell crack on a street corner before I would take an unemployment check. So it's a no vote here.
 
If you cant save 6 months of bills then you are living above your means. Its literally that simple folks.

Oh ya and that stupid Bitch Nancy Peolosi sneaking the billion dollar abortion earmark into the bill.....ya that was freaking Rich.

But you wont read about that in the democratic liberal news.

I digress.


We are all a bit stressed... but keep it in the rails not everyone shares the same political belief's and thats perfectly fine this forum is a great place to have factual convesations and share information with folks around the country and from many walks of life, let's keep it that way.
Or else I'm borrowing ben's cattle prod.

Also especially now use credible news sources for your own good... gonna be a ton of BS out their right now.



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I won't pretend to understand national let alone global economics, so I won't make a value judgement on whether it should be done or not. I likely won't need the money (knock on wood). If I get a check, I'm going to spend it 100% on made in America products and local businesses.
 
Good points.

Dove tailing with @VikingsGuy if you are in a good position, and get some sort of stimulus thorough this, at the very least spend it on take out from local restaurants or at local business... all of it. The stimulus really doesn't help the country if we all use it to pay down our mortgages a little.

^^This^^. Plus other ways to help if you are able:

  • modestneeds.org - Modest Needs is a unique charity that actually vets and funds specific personal needs. There are many great charities, but they tend to run "programs" - wonderful programs, but programs that don't always fit every need. There were times in my early twenties when my family couldn't cover a car repair or a few missed shifts due to illness. I was blessed to have a few extended family members who a couple of times covered a bill or brought a bag of groceries. That allowed us to stay on track and now we are able to "pay it forward". Lot's of people don't have that familial safety net. I think of Modest Needs as that kind uncle. They are starting a CV-19 lost income fund and also have their normal need base options. You can just give them a contribution or you can actually read through the need requests and fund the ones that resonate with you.

My wife and I have given our two teenagers this job for the next month. Every day they are asked to go through various need requests for 30 minutes. When they find compelling cases they can fund them with funds we put on "their" account. They have have a pool of money we have asked them to distribute. We talk about what they have learned and why they made the choices they did. Hopefully they are learning a powerful lesson in empathy, charity and giving, in addition to helping some in need.​

  • Your local church - we gave some funds to our pastor to dole out as he sees needs arise in the community. I know this isn't for everybody, but for some this may be a good way to make giving more personal.
 
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Linking to Snopes and including a graph that shows AP, Bloomberg and the Compost as politically neutral. As the kids say "SMH" :rolleyes:








We are all a bit stressed... but keep it in the rails not everyone shares the same political belief's and thats perfectly fine this forum is a great place to have factual convesations and share information with folks around the country and from many walks of life, let's keep it that way.
Or else I'm borrowing ben's cattle prod.

Also especially now use credible news sources for your own good... gonna be a ton of BS out their right now.



View attachment 131673
 
Does every damn thread have to become a "conservatives" vs "liberals" vent. Come on folks, contribute content to the discussion or move along - snarky political BS is not helpful. Maybe start a new thread, "Political BS, folks who see conspiracy in everything, and axes to grind" - and enjoy yourself, I will pass on that one.
 
I love the idea of UBI. I think it is a good thing even in times of non crisis.

I think it is a great next step forward and would be a great option to replace the current social programs.

Rather than providing people social programs through bureaucratic means, provide them cash and let them make their own decisions.

**Opens Milton Friedman Propaganda and starts to read**
 



We are all a bit stressed... but keep it in the rails not everyone shares the same political belief's and thats perfectly fine this forum is a great place to have factual convesations and share information with folks around the country and from many walks of life, let's keep it that way.
Or else I'm borrowing ben's cattle prod.

Also especially now use credible news sources for your own good... gonna be a ton of BS out their right now.


www.allsides.com is a great source to make sure you are seeeing views from across the spectrum. They also have a "media bias" categorization that is a little less busy:

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If you cant save 6 months of bills then you are living above your means. Its literally that simple folks.


I digress.

What a joke...care to explain how someone in a lower paying job, that barely has enough to cover the basics, like rent, heat for your house, water to drink, food to eat, clothes to wear, a car to get to work, retirement contributions, etc. is supposed to ALSO save up 6 months of reserves?

Its just not that easy for a lot of people, even though they are fiscally responsible. '

Just the necessities eat up any chance for some to save 6 months of cash...in particular when the middle class continues to shrink.

Get over yourself, not everyone is in the same boat as you are, just be thankful you aren't in theirs.
 
Y’all are some David Ramsey ass MF’s.
America doesn’t want to see me save, America wants to see me live!
6 months seems like a lot to me.
Especially for people with children.

Wouldn't having children be motivation for most parents to have 6 months of savings for a rainy day/pandemic? Not an excuse as to why they can't save it.
 
Good points.

Dove tailing with @VikingsGuy if you are in a good position, and get some sort of stimulus through this, at the very least spend it on take out from local restaurants or at local business... all of it. The stimulus really doesn't help the country if we all use it to pay down our mortgages a little.

That is exactly what I intend to do. Two days ago I stopped by my favorite little coffee/pastry shop. They were on a skeletal crew. Only take out allowed. Since everyone is working at home, nobody was there. Normally the tip cup is flowing over. There was nothing in it that morning. They know my order and had it ready as I walked up to the counter. I left $20 as a tip, walked out thinking how screwed these young folks are who I know are working this as their side jobs to make ends meet in an expensive place like Bozeman.

Yesterday was an even pointed reminder. I drove into the parking lot and noticed a new sign on the door. "Closed until further notice." Now, I can't leave a tip or support them. These young people are screwed. If one wonders why they seem somewhat disenfranchised by the system, it is times like this that only serve to add to that feeling. They are working their asses off. They are waiting to catch a good break and they all seem talented and ambitious enough that when that break comes, they will ride that wave. Yet, they see a lot of other industries being bailed out, at whose expense.

I'm at a point in my life with no debt, rental property providing monthly cash flow, and other sources of income that I don't need this "stimulus." My wife and I each have our own charitable soft spots. I suspect most of ours will go to the local food bank or to places we know are suffering in the same way we would have been 30 years ago with a baby, college loans, and not having been in the workforce long enough to start saving for the rainy days.

I know there are plenty of kids who rely on school lunch programs who are probably not getting much to eat right now. The Food Bank has always been a group that has been on the front lines of that battle. That seems a better place for this stimulus than the Newberg bank accounts.

Personally, my biggest focus right now is the eight employees I have in this outdoor media operation. For me, this is a passion. For them, this is the rent or mortgage payment, the grocery bills, and other basic necessities. I have no problem with any of them getting this stimulus check. They need it. And, given they are all under 35, odds are that their generation is going to have to pay the future cost of this stimulus package.
 
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