I thought the "Stimulus Package" was a dumb idea as soon as I heard of it. "Throw a bunch of money at low to middle class Americans, they'll go out and buy some crap and save the world" - yeah right....
I mean, even if I got the highest amount possible, it isn't enough to really affect my spending habits. I mean, sure, I could use it to offset the cost of my trip to Alaska, or my addictions to World Market and Whole Foods, but really, $600? My rent is more than twice that.
But I knew the money was coming my way anyway, so for months now, I've been trying to figure out what I could do with the money. I wasn't about to play their game of bribery with the American public, but I didn't want to let the money go to waste. That made both spending and saving the money out of the question. I thought about just not cashing the check, but that was throwing the money away. The best I could think of was donating it to charity.
The only problem with that is it feeds into the whole "private charities can do better work than government programs" which is only true when we underfund those government programs, like we do now. Then it hit me - give the money to one of the hundreds of underfunded government programs! Finally, and just in time too, the checks are arriving this week. I still think the stimulus package is a bunch of bullshit, but at least I'll know that those tax dollars were well spent.
Note: Bear in mind, that this is my situation. Most people that don't need the money won't be getting any anyway, I just make the cut. I just wanted to share my idea.
5.13.2008
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6 comments:
Woah. That is actually a really great idea, Urs. A really really really great idea.
Have you decided on which program?
I am sad to say that I am spending, spending, spending. I am taking a weekend trip to Denali National Park...which, sadly, is going to cost a big chunk of my economic stimulus money. (Damn the tourists for being rich...it drives the price up for the rest of us.)
I know I should be a good girl and use it to pay off my student loans, but...it would be embarrassing if I had lived in AK for four years and had never been to Denali, and I can't afford to go to Denali without my government check (which is set to arrive June 13).
So thank you, government, for making my last Alaska dream come true.
...but I wish I was being better about it, like Urs is. Kudos to you, Urs, for being the most sane person I've ever seen in the face of free money.
We're using it to help for for our trip to Denver and CA later this year. It's nice to have kids - we are getting quite a bit back - still barely enough to cover two plane tickets, but it helps. We should use it to pay debt, but there's no other way we'd be able to twist the budget so we could get out for a good friend's wedding.
That's a good idea Urs. Let me know what programs you're considering.
I desperately need a new computer, so I am thinking it might go towards that...But I *really* need to make it out to SF, too. *sigh*. What to do, what to do.
Ours is going to pay off debt.
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