“It’s a little too quiet” - US Politics February 2021

speaking as somebody whose payments would be curtailed if the cap was set at 50k, i can definitely tell you i don't want that to happen, but as of right now it's being floated as a "maybe" and more from Senior Democrats who frankly need to be taken into a room and flogged until they stfu about it.

The $1200 checks last year goosed the stock market. Bad to have govt funds basically just inflating stocks. Some kind of means testing or unemployment screen needed.

Stimulus goosed the stock market because our economy is built on people spending money on consumer goods. Which they don’t do if they’re scared of having no money. The line didn’t go up because rich people bought $1200 in stonks.

I FPed you, Bnad, because I've legit never read such absolute bootlicking bullshit

ah yes the famously rational stock market

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that's gonna be a "no" from me, Bnad

Anyway....

NEW: Marjorie Taylor Greene was the moderator of a Facebook group that featured death threats, racist memes, and shared a wide variety of conspiracy theories. @DavidCornDC reports: https://t.co/TS9eCSHoM1 pic.twitter.com/8ewcw3OZJY

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) February 3, 2021

The stock market has been goosed far more by the Fed announcing it will keep interest rates near zero for at least another year.

Lord, please let this end with her being kicked the eff out of her seat.

so they're going to phase out payments for almost half of the recipients, and 25% of americans get $0?! sounds like a real winner!

It's all gonna end with Olive Garden 10% off coupons.

Re: that deepcapture link posted by Ned.

I have read quite a bit about the past several months of political shenanigans, malarkey, and hijinks. The following words seem to resist consistent spelling:

Sidney (Sydney and every other possible variant)

Martial (marshal, marshall, marital)

Secession (succession, sucession, and every other possible variant)

His response yesterday after Stein’s initial report (that I linked) was ‘getting mad because someone on Twitter said it.’

No need to paraphrase. The relevant exchange starts here, with my contribution you are paraphrasing occurring nine posts below that point.

so they're going to phase out payments for almost half of the recipients

that's the question for which the answer has not arrived, yet. it is being reported that this is "being looked at". nobody is reporting "this is what they plan to do".

Do people get these checks if they are still working?

At this rate they're going to investigate Greene's house and find a dead girl *and* a live boy.

and a trunkload of expired Olive Garden coupons

Do people get these checks if they are still working?

Yes. This is not unemployment, it is an economic stimulus.

Then go ahead and means test it. I don't need the money.

So give it to a food bank.

yeah trust me, there are other places that can use it if you can't.

Not taking a dig at how you spend a hypothetical stimulus, though, but this isn't about what we individually need - it's bad politics and bad policy to winnow the number of people who receive this stimulus for absolutely no reason. Money still isn't real (when you have the power to coin it).

Like Joe Manchin and Joe Biden aren't hashing out how they can increase the $1400 checks by targeting them to fewer people (which would also be stupid but is somewhat defensible), it's just taking checks away from (some) people completely without anyone getting a bigger check.

Agreed, if they were going to reduce some payments they should increase them to people who need them most.

The problem with the whole thing is that using 2019 income information isn't a good reflection of people's needs on the other side of 2020. I don't need the money either, but there's more danger — policy and politics-wise — in not providing help to people who need it than giving it to people who don't.

Then go ahead and means test it. I don't need the money.

― DJI, Wednesday, February 3, 2021 5:21 PM (twenty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i don't imagine most people who make what i assume is $200k/year plus stock at amazon need the money. what are your thoughts on not cutting checks for people *not* in the 95% income percentile?

I gave a chunk of my last check to a local food bank too, DJI, so I don't understand your objections.

If we get this round, I plan to put in new kitchen cabinets. Helping the local contractor economy!

I cannot believe this conversation is still going on

Well, yeah.

Set the means test as high as it makes sense. I’m happy to donate my check but seems weird to give me and my coworkers tax dollars when we don’t need it. And counting on every individual to make good charity choices (rather than our representative government thinks is the best use of tax money) is exactly what I don’t like about the US.

It's got nothing to do with charity choices. If you don't need the dough, a plausible development, then someone or something else does.

It's already means tested for your tax bracket. The question now is people making $60k per year.

The powersharing fight is now over in the Senate. With a simple unanimous consent agreement, Democrats are now fully in charge of the US Senate, as the two week delay by GOP Senators has ended.

— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) February 3, 2021

Thanks, Milo. I thought it was, which is why I asked the question.

things you can do with your stimulus if you don't need it and have nothing you want to spend it on

-keep it anyway - who knows what this country will be like in 6 months, much less 6 years
-donate it to a charity
-donate it to family members or friends who might need it
-donate it to as many GoFundMes for friends as you can muster
-buy a painting of Edward James Olmos

Helping the local contractor economy!

A good point. People in that income range who don't need it for daily expenses are likely to put it into the economy somewhere (unlike the very wealthy, who would just bank any excess). Or donate it, either way.

also this is otm

4 - if you absolutely must solve the non-problem of a teensy bit too much income, it’s so easy to do it on the back end with our extremely well-develop policy tool of *drumroll* income taxes

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 3, 2021

5 - this is a battle we should be having about MONTHLY RECURRING CHECKS, which could truly stand in as reliable income during the crisis. Instead we’re having it over one-time checks that are little more than political totems. Why would you whittle *those* down? They’re symbolic!

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 3, 2021

Those are good points too.

And it’s crazy that we don’t have monthly checks in this country like the rest of the developed world.

Obviously I would prefer checks for everyone, even billionaires. If you make $300k you can blow $1200 at a local record shop that could use the business if you don't want to give it away. Even if the rich just put it in the bank, oh well. Billionaires get Medicare too.

Meanwhile over at the mystic temple of Mar-a-Lago

The Poster’s Torment pic.twitter.com/FMNKx8SqdY

— henno (@jrhennessy) February 3, 2021

the reason the NHS has survived (just about) and is politically untouchable is that it is *not* mean tested. means testing benefits seems like common sense and being reasonable. but it's not. it's a wedge issue that weakens the foundation of what will hopefully become a welfare state. don't fall for it.

Means testing is dumb and we shouldn’t do it

so much paperwork! just raise the top tax bracket!

And it’s crazy that we don’t have monthly checks in this country like the rest of the developed world.

heh uh well i got bad news from over here in the uk

"written out"

xxpost Former leader of the Free World now 'suggesting putdowns,' figured as much

I keep imagining Mar-a-Lago visitors gawking when Trump does this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umU8vKRNnRw

One of the big problems with means-testing the stimulus checks is that it's all based on 2019 tax returns, which doesn't really give a good indication of current need. Better to give 'em to everyone and then make the necessary adjustments to people's 2021 taxes.

so much paperwork! just raise the top tax bracket!

Yeah, basing it on 2019 returns feels like a sure way to fuck over a lot people.