As a Detroit native I know firsthand what the bankruptcy of the big 3 will do to my hometown. A city that is so close to getting back on its feet, thanks to the recent Super Bowl, newer baseball and football stadiums, and the end of Kwame Kilpatrick's reign, will take a serious hit in a state that already has the highest rate of unemployment in the country. That doesn't mean that I'm pro-bailout. But it doesn't really matter what I, or anyone really, thinks about the bailout, because it's going to happen. However, I wonder what would this economy would look like if Congress took numbers in the billions or trillions, as they're doing right now, and distributed it to the estimated 138 million taxpayers in the United States. Just for fun, let's say that Congress gets out a calculator as I just did, and realizes that if they gave each taxpayer $500,000 to stimulate the economy, they'd be "loaning" just over 6 trillion. Not much more than the total they've loaned to wall street plus the total to automakers.
What would happen to the economy if each of us got a $500,000 check? After paying off my student loans, medical bills, and credit card debt I'd still be left with about $480,000. I could snag up a foreclosed condo in the valley outside of LA with that. I could snag up 2-3 foreclosed houses in the midwest. Or I could continue to rent and start my own business. Maybe I'd blow it all on new a new car with some leftover for a new wardrobe. What would YOU do with your $500,000 bailout check?
However we spend the money it would do some serious stimulating to the economy. This taxpayer bailout is only a fantasy that I daydream about. Instead, I overdrafted on my checking account twice this month, racked up more credit card debt, and am getting "creative" with my Christmas gifts. Hope you guys like homemade candles.
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And let's not forget that the government would tax that $500,000 as well, so they'd get some of that money back come April 15th. Sounds like a win-win to me.
I'd take a payroll tax holiday.
As Instapundit points out today, the tax holiday won't happen because there's no graft involved. Politician's wouldn't be able to find a way to grease their own pockets... so there's no incentive to push the idea.
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