Stimulus or No Stimulus -- That is the question!

First, just want to say Soorrry, for not posting in a while. I’ve been sick ... stupid flu! A Valentines present from my loving hubby, couldn’t just settle on the typical box of chocolates and pink carnations this year. I’m going to kill him! If it wasn’t bad enough to have a thermometer rooted in my mouth, wearing my jacket all the time because of the chills, cool compresses to my head, I thought my head was going to explode! Hubby had a headache, I had migraines! I’ll kill him twice!

Still, hearing on the news night after night the plight of the country, it seems headaches are the least of the worries. People losing homes, jobs and money it seems the “End of Days” are here. I’ve read and seen all the hoopla over the new “Stimulus Package” out of DC. My daughter, Barb, and I talk about -- debate -- it everyday. I love her now more then ever, finally someone I can truly “debate” with, I love debating. When she was younger she was a mouthy, disobedient, never listened to a word I said, pain in my butt-crack! Now she is fast becoming my dearest friend and worthy adversary. I’m very proud of her! You go girl!

Back to point! I know I’m going to get lambasted for this, but I agree with what our new President proposes! I know, I know, the republicans believe only tax cuts will solve all our problems, their ideology, giving tax cuts will cause people to spend more which will make more business and yada, yada, yada! But...think about it! What happens when the tax cut money is all spent? The tax money will not be enough to do much of anything with anyway. What are we looking at, a couple of thousand more in our pockets that will be eaten away by catching up past due bills? I just don’t see anyone buying a new car, furniture or family vacation when their home is about to be foreclosed or utilities shut off! Any tax cut monies will be spent playing catch-up! Not to mention, what about those who have lost jobs? How do you get a tax break, when you can’t even afford to pay taxes in the first place? And…if any tax break can be given, all the money will be spent feeding families who can’t afford to live now. Again, after the tax break money is gone then what? The people will still be facing foreclosures, jobless and no way out because there will be nothing to fall back on.

Whenever I read about how the republicans poop-poop Obama’s stimulus plans, how it will cost to much, or the time will take way too long to do any good I can’t help but think back to an old childhood story. It was about a wealthy fisherman and his neighbor.

Here is that story:

A long time ago, ancient times really, there was this fisherman who was one of the richest men of his village. He got up everyday and took his boat out to the best of fishing spots. Always he would come back to dock with a boat of more fish then his wife could sell in the market.

One day, his neighbor, who was a bricklayer and out of work, came to the fisherman as he was coming into dock and asked for a fish. His family was starving, his kids were crying for food and he had no money to buy the fish. But since the fisherman’s boat was so full, surely he could spare one fish to help feed his neighbor’s family that night. Instead of giving the man a fish, the fisherman picked up a rod, show the man how to bait and cast the line into the water. This outraged the neighbor! How could he be so selfish? He had more fish than anyone could ever need and he would let his neighbors starve then to part with just one fish! Instead he gives him a pole! This, of course, outraged the whole village. How could a man be so cruel? To let children go hungry! The fisherman was dragged before the village elders to explain himself, to go against God’s law of helping your neighbor in times of trouble. After the calls for him to be lashed, beaten and even, in some eyes, stoned to death for his greed the man answered humbly. “True I could have given my neighbor a fish, I had more then enough in my nets. But…It would have only fed him and his family for one night. By giving him a fishing pole, teaching him how to bait and cast his line to catch fish, I have fed his family for the rest of their lives.

This is how I look upon the stimulus package. Obama is the fisherman who want to teach the country how to fish. Yes!! He can make tons of tax cuts, which really only help the already rich, or he can create jobs that will put money back into the pocket in our overwhelming numbers of unemployed, that grows by the day, and even start putting tax money back into the country. Another way to look at it is this way. How can you get a tax cut if you can’t pay income taxes because you have been unemployed for months or a full year? Can’t pay tax on a zero income! Right? So you have no taxes coming in, you have no cuts! Am I wrong in this?

A big complaint “Well, a $800 trillion dollar package will put our grandchildren in debit! Only if you sit on your @$$! Here is another way to look at it, if the package creates jobs, income taxes revenue will rise, when more money is coming in to the IRS because more people are working then the package can actually start paying itself off. Besides where the heck is the money coming from for the tax breaks?

Obama wants to create jobs, building and repairing our infrastructure. Build schools, fix roads bridges and other things that have gone by the wayside for far too long. We have roads that are all but dilapidated, bridges that are at the brink of collapse and yet the republican’s can only think that throwing good money after bad will fix everything! Look what happened to the first republican bailout! Did it open up credit? Nope! Did it help millions of families save their homes from foreclosure? Nope! Instead the banks felt it was okay to order $50 million dollar private jets, have star studded luxury week-ends being pampered, wined and dined while children were being tossed out of their homes and into the streets by their own banks!

Go back into history. When the depression was at it’s height FDR became our president. I’m sure the “New Deal” had it’s opponents too. Still, it did go through. With it came the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Cumberland county, TN that put hundreds of unemployed back to work. Actually, all my kids at one time went to school in the old TVA’s project headquarters offices. Look up Homestead Elementary School -- Crossville, TN. The old buildings are gone, so I hear, and a new school build, but I’m sure there are pictures of the old school on the net somewhere. They were charming, natural rock classrooms. In essence the “New Deal” took a rural, hungry, no income area and turned it into a viable, self sufficient community that brought electricity to the valley and thousands of new homes and businesses.

Anyway back to point, dams, bridges, and cities began growing in leaps and bounds. YES! It did take time! A couple of decades, but…as everyone will agree, by the mid 1950’s America was living in the golden age of Camelot! Never have we, as a country, been as prosperous and successful as the years between 1955 and 1965. Let’s face it, this country’s been on a downward spiral ever since another Texan became Commander and Chief and LBJ tossed us into another useless war of Vietnam! Now it is time to tell our government to take their heads out of the butts of banking CEO fat cats with their luxury spa week-ends and help the little people who really need it, preferably before the fat cat banks padlocks them out of their homes!

Oh and one more thing, why can’t those same fat cats pay back their multi-billion dollar salaries, bonuses, awards or whatever they want to call them and bail out their own stupid banks; instead of stealing the last few pennies we, the general public, has left in our empty pockets?

Well, enough of this for now, go wash your face and hands it’s time for dinner!