Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Stimulas Plan

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/18
/stimulus.spending.chart/index.html

23 Comments:

At February 18, 2009 at 1:06 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Nice information. I really like the picture format, makes it so much easier to grasp. But I still don’t get how this is going to impact me and my neighbor. Lots of money, but none of those checks have my name on them. How is it going to help someone out of work to get a job and hold on? I know everyone says this is going to create thousands of jobs. But where, and when? Where do I go to apply, and who is going to be signing my paycheck?

 
At February 18, 2009 at 2:17 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

Jason,

The chart simplifies, overly the thousand page plan laid out by the President. The area's that will get stimulus money, will: start up new business, let companies that are already in business, keep going and hopefully expand with more orders and more buying of their feed stock. Shovel ready road construction will lead the way, with transportation projects, etc. Many of the new jobs created will be in energy, (where I hope to be very soon) Pay close attention to ALL of your employment possibilities and act quickly. This means, looking for that good job, will be a full time job. No one will knock on our doors and ask us to work for them. WE need to seek out our own future and survival. Sign up with as many web sites that offer jobs as you have memory on your drive. CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, all the news outlets, Craig's List and finally, do web searches on companies that you know off that are in your area. Working closer to home will be a financial advantage in the future. And stay freaking positive, adapt and overcome whatever obstacle stands in the way of your goals.

 
At February 18, 2009 at 2:18 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Sure is a lot of money being given away. Now, this is my money, right? And they are giving it to someone who is going to help me go back to work, right? Who makes sure this person actually gives me a job and does not put his whole family on his payroll even though they never show up for work? I know I am being negative, but this is MA and I think there is a pretty good reason to be asking this question. They sign this huge stimulus package and then they say, ok, we fixed the problem. But me, I still have no job, am behind on all my bills, my retirement fund is less than 1/3 of what it was a year ago, and I am fast approaching retirement age. When is some of that billions of dollars going to land in my pocket?

 
At February 18, 2009 at 2:37 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

Edward,

I believe when the ground thaws, you will see major hiring in construction and infrastructure repair.

The State of Mass now has an oversight committee, for stimulus fund spending. Given the track record of other oversight that the State Government has had, there's a likely chance, some of the funding will be squandered on pet pork, but we all will be watching for this and so will the media. We need to have some faith in the system of checks and balances, on this one.

Lastly, any of us who MAY be in trouble in the future with our mortgages, will have the opportunity to seek some help and that will give many, peace of mi

 
At February 18, 2009 at 4:15 PM , Blogger Angry in Framingham said...

Sure seems like a lot of money to help a lot of people. People like me. Well, I bought my small, little house in 2006 for $215,000 with 5% down. Mortgage was for $204,250. I have paid every payment on time since I bought the house, 28 payments. I now owe $198,650. My house, like almost all other homes in the country, has lost 17% of its value (that is a conservative estimate) so my house is now worth $178,450. But I still owe $198,650. This plan will let me rewrite the mortgage at a lower rate for up to 105% of the homes value. That is $187,372So aren’t I lucky, I can take advantage of this plan if I have $11,278 to put into the mix. You have got to be kidding me? Tell me how this is going to help people? I am sure some will be helped, but I am betting the majority of the people around here are in the same position as me. I can not take advantage of this home owner plan at all. The only help for me is for more jobs so my wife can go back to work. She was laid off 9 months ago, and we are just about at the ends of our rope. We wiped out every penny of our savings, sold off our second car, and eat an awful lot of pasta. So where is the help for us?

 
At February 18, 2009 at 5:15 PM , Blogger Jerry G. said...

We have to believe this is going to work.So lets all send positive vibes to this new plan.Think positive and act positive.It is all we can do.Hang tough as Pillsbury says, hang together, and keep our heads up.The only other option is to give up and I am not ready to do that yet.This should work according to all the people who wrote this legislation.Let’s give them some credit.There must be smart people behind the scenes who are figuring this out.Imagine the burden on their shoulders. Have faith in them, and in our new President.This will stop the downward spiral at least, and maybe even start the upward climb.

 
At February 19, 2009 at 9:31 AM , Blogger Tim W. said...

Blind faith. That is what everyone is saying we need to have. Problem is I have no faith in the government, either on the state or the federal level. I say show me the money. I need a job. Get all the millions of people who have lost their jobs in the last 6 months back to work and the country will turn around. Oh yeah, do it before any more of us lose our homes and send our kids to school hungry. I hear people say it may take 9-12 months before we will see new jobs created. Do you have any idea how many people will lose everything if they have to wait 9 months for help?

 
At February 19, 2009 at 9:48 AM , Blogger Linda and George said...

Hey, if anyone has a better idea than this stimulus plan then lets hear it. If you don’t, then lets give this one a chance before we condemn it. Jim, great job keeping us informed of what is happening, as well is in explaining a lot of this to us. You are really providing a valuable service to the community here, and doing in an a pretty much unbiased way. We would apprecite you letting us know how the shovel ready list pans out as you find information. I am more than a little curious about which of the projects on that list will actually get funded. Thanks again for all the hard work you are doing to keep this blog up to date and informative.

 
At February 19, 2009 at 5:20 PM , Blogger 6th Middlesex constituent said...

Anyone out there able to explain what the heck this means? Lots of money, and going to lots of projects. But how does the money get there? What is the process for all of this happening? The link is no longer valid Jim, it says that took that story down. Maybe the link would have given me some insight into this, but to be honest, I am clueless here. Can you give me a quick synopsis of what we can expect to see happen now that the stimulus package has passed?

 
At February 19, 2009 at 5:48 PM , Blogger Michael said...

Al of this sounds great. Guess we just have to wait and see what happens. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst as my grandfather always said. Either way, you are ready. Anyone have any idea how we know where the money is going and how it is being spent? After all, it is our money. Jim, can you tell us if there is any program in place to track this?

 
At February 19, 2009 at 8:18 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

It's very COMPLEX.... way more than this old tree hugger can absorb today... but as I see it, lots of help for the neighbors with upside-down, or the varied other reasons why we are having trouble with our mortgages and there are many restrictions and requirements and will not help everyone. The exact details are not know at this point, but it's 275 BILLION dollars... and is supposed to help.. and again, if you believe that keeping people in their homes and not foreclosed on, then this is what they have chosen to do.. Don't shoot the messenger

We all get a little crum in tax relief, extended EU payments, etc, etc from the State bail out monies... list is on the blog

They are now reviewing the shovel ready list and will start choosing what stuff to start now... and when the ground warms up.

And there is SO much more to this... and many details are not spelled out yet and it MAY be not the right way to do this... but IT'S ALL WE GOT.. to work with for now.

 
At February 20, 2009 at 10:22 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

I heard today that the governor is going to put the gas tax into effect, and that the Turnpike Authority is going to approve the Toll hikes. How can this be allowed to happen when so many have spoken out against it? Is there anything we can do to stop the toll hikes?

 
At February 20, 2009 at 12:16 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

Eric,

There is little to nothing we can do... in the coming days we will learn the specifics about the plan and then on Tuesday, the Pike Board will vote for an increase in tolls. So.. .by April, we all will be paying a higher gas tax, (except those who live in the boarder States) and those who travel the Pike will be paying more in tolls, (except for those who live in boarder States) Sooo, the guys and dolls at the bottom, who make up most of the population, will take another hit, thanks mostly, to those who have voted for the same old thing. Unless there is a massive reduction in State expenditures, like salaries for Reps, these increases in taxes will only hurt us in the purse, except for the few State workers who prop up the elected elite each and every year.

I'm not sure what to do... in protest, but it will be very noteworthy to see how our Reps vote on all of Devals proposals

 
At February 23, 2009 at 12:39 PM , Blogger Defeated in Fram. said...

Curious about your take on nationalizing banks. To me, that sounds like a very bad thing, but then, I really don’t understand all this stuff. How much money can we give these guys before we just say they are too messed up to save them? Seems like the foreclosure plan says some people are too messed up to be bailed out, so if that is the case for the people paying for the bailout, then why isn’t it the same thing for the banks who played a big part in everything collapsing? I don’t get this at all, but maybe I am missing some part of the equation here. Your thoughts much apprecieted on this Mr. Pillsbury.

 
At February 23, 2009 at 2:25 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Sounds to me like we, that being all of you reading this and me, are about to own part of Citibank. Hey, since I am going to be part owner of that giant, and since it is my money that is going to be given to them to shore them up, then I figure that means I don’t have to pay them what I owe on my credit card, right? If I am going to cover their debt, then they must be covering mine right? This is absolute malarkey. Who the hell can possibly think they have the right to use my money to bail out a company that has ruined my credit because they would not negotiate with me on paying off my debt?

 
At February 23, 2009 at 2:45 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

Defeated,

I'm with you on the nationalizing issue.... it boogles my mind. I've heard dozens and read many pro and con pieces and still not convinced either way..

There's so many things we don't know about all of this, but my take is: By taking control of a few banks, Citi, Bank of America, the Government has the power to do many things within these banks, fire CEO's, compensation packages, etc. What I don't know is what the "market" will think about this and it could cause further industry damage and more government funding.

Or, it may give rise to the idea of more confidence in our banking institutions.

This week will be very telling.

 
At February 23, 2009 at 3:12 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

Harry,

A now deceased singer/song writer did a very long song years ago... and the punch line was, "Harry keep the change"

And perhaps that's all we will get at the end if the bailout doesn't work for them.

 
At February 23, 2009 at 4:31 PM , Blogger Just wondering said...

I think you understand this as much as anyone does Jim. Never have nationalized the banks before, so can’t be sure what that will do. I think one thing is becoming increasingly evident, and that is that things are getting worse in spite of all we are doing, and that if we don’t stop the downward spiral soon, the consequences will be catastrophic. It may be too late to prevent that even now. No, we will not have people shooting in the streets, and no, we will not be blowing up buildings as we do in war, but this could be just as catastrophic in other ways. Even now, how are our children and grandchildren going to survive carrying the burden of this bailout? We leave them with a debt we can not even begin to comprehend. They will have no options open to them should they ever need a bailout as they will be paying for bailing us out for the next two generations. I don’t have any answers, so I try to support the decisions of the people in power, but I must say, with the market down another 250 pts today, supporting these actions is becoming a little bit tougher to do every day.

 
At February 23, 2009 at 4:59 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

JW... good points on the next generation and beyond...

And just now I hear that two car companies will perhaps file for bankruptcy protection... not a bad idea from where I sit, at least they would be able to deal with the unions, finally.

A doctored power point slide concerning AIG and the risks involved with bailing them out has been floated in the media... someone from the Treasury or the Feds themselves may know how this happened... can you imagine.. if there's footise going on there..

And the best.. is that Landen guy, a Madoff want to be... has caused countries and banking system failure... how did we let this happen? ... and he's not charged with ANY crime... good thing not everyone is required to carry a side arm.

 
At February 24, 2009 at 9:43 AM , Blogger new to blogging said...

I say we just all watch the President tonight and see what he has to say now before we jump to any more conclusions. THere must be a reason he is speaking to the nation tonight, so let's see what he has to say. Then tomorrow we can look to this blog and Mr. Pillsbury for some insite into where we go and what we should, or should not do, next. We don't have to solve every issue immediately! Some of them we need to process and think about before we move on them. Thinks look bleak, but none of us knows the entire picture like the President does, so let's give him a chance to fix things before we all get up in arms and start protesting anything. As for the state reps, I say they are not worth our time or effort. Let's just get rid of all of them in the next elections!

 
At February 25, 2009 at 10:30 AM , Blogger JJ said...

Nice speech last night and if he does all he says he is going to do, then I think we elected the right man for the job. The market seems to think so too today which is more important economically than what I think I guess. I still don’t understand all of this, but if it works, I guess I don’t really have to understand it. He is right about one thing, we are all being effected by this. Even if we still have a job and still have our houses, we are losing credit when our credit card companies just close down our accounts, and I am sure we are all being more frugal in our spending, and trying to save more. But the saving is tougher when my wife is out of work and it is just my income, but at least we can get by, and she I think is enjoying being home after all those years of working. House is sure much cleaner, and the dinners are much better, and there are always goodies from the oven for dessert. So it does have its advantages!

 
At February 25, 2009 at 11:01 AM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

JJ,

Very good points... as I to was inspired by the way the man handled himself. We gotta believe... that we can make it out of this mess.

JJ... I'm doing the cooking and cleaning now at my home, since I've been laid off ... and my fiancee ... is liking that to. She still makes the goodies.... and I'm liking that.

 
At February 26, 2009 at 2:13 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

Seems things are quiet here lately, not much new information, which I suppose is because we have to wait to see what happens. But I sort of look here for some sense of what is coming down the line. Hope you keep this up Pillsbury. It really is useful.

 

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