How the GOP wants to help me (not)
So, the GOP is opposing a Democratic stimulus package that would help shore up state governments, assisting them to continue to provide medicaid benefits, unemployment benefits, teacher salaries, education budgets, etc. etc. Instead, the GOP insists that the following measures are what are really needed to help the country (my comments in parentheses):
- Removing legal barriers to speed up new offshore oil drilling. A law banning offshore drilling expired October 1, but Republican lawmakers say lawsuits could block new offshore rigs and want judges to quickly rule on the cases. (which will help big oil companies, but do very little to change the price of oil for years, not to mention the environmental threat they pose)
- Lowering taxes on income that U.S. corporations earn from their overseas subsidiaries. (which will encourage companies to take even more jobs overseas)
- Eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of homes up to $500,000 for a couple. (which won't help me any time soon)
- Suspending capital gains taxes on securities purchased during the next two years. (which will mostly benefit individuals who invest a lot in the stock market)
- Extending government deposit insurance to business transaction accounts. (which will benefit businesses, and sounds suspicously like protecting bad business decisions with my tax dollars)
- Directing the government to guarantee inter-bank loans. (which will benefit banks, and sounds suspiciously like protecting bad banking decisions with my tax dollars)
I don't know about you, but I don't see a single thing on that list that's going to help me and my family. As someone who gets my paycheck from the state, I think the Democrats' plan might actually help me (especially since Kate's health insurance is partially state supported). But the GOP plan is all about their driving philosophy of trickle-down wealth. They still believe that feeding the greed will help everyone. That same philosophy (as executed for the past 8 years) is what got our economy into this mess. It's bull. The economy is driven by consumers, and if consumers don't have money and jobs, they can't spend. The little guy is hurting right now, and the government needs to take steps to help them.