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After reading and listening to the news today, it appears as if the economic stimulus package which has been under negotiations by the Congress and the White House has finally been approved; according to the Associated Press. Apparently, most tax filers will be receiving $600-$1200.00, and $300 additional per child.

With all the current problems regarding the economy these days, it seems to many that this "rebate program" is too little, too late. Not all tax payers and filers will qualify, and the checks are not due to be issued by the government until June of 2008. What are people to do now? Why does this take so long?

Fears of a recession are everywhere, gas prices and heating oil prices are thru the roof, basic living expenses have increased exponentially over the last few years, the cost of food has been impacted, and the stock market has been very volatile, to say the least. People are afraid that their savings in their 401k accounts will be gone by the time they retire, and very little individuals have confidence in the United States Government these days.

What is worrisome about this stimulus package is that it will take so long to produce any kind of results. The powers that be in Washington should have been thinking about doing something like this a year or so ago, before the situation became dire as it is now. Due to the incompetence of the current Administration, we all suffer. What would be a better proposal would be to include this tax rebate money in the tax refunds that will be going out within a matter of days, for those tax filers who are expecting a refund. For those who owe taxes this year, apply a credit to what they owe, so that they do not have another long term debt to worry about; and may even be enough to put them in the positive.

The key to this situation is that the administration has waited so long to do this, and now we all have to wait another five months or so to receive these funds. In addition, what is to say that individuals will use this money as "spending money", and rush to the stores?
Most people right now are struggling paycheck to paycheck, with thousands of dollars of debt, and many are behind in their mortgages facing foreclosure. For those of us out there who are homeowners, a good idea would be to credit this rebate money directly to our lenders; offering us all help on our mortgage payments.

We will all have to see how this situation progresses, and hopefully whomever is elected into the next presidency, will have a smarter, more educated head on their shoulders; and will not wait for a grave situation to "start" taking some action! Isn't that what the Government is supposed to do?

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