An E-Mail From Vice President Biden

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/03/an-e-mail-from-vice-president-biden

Vice President Biden just sent me an e-mail with the attention-grabbing subject line "Literally Putting Money Back in Your Pocket." The email goes on:

Good morning,

I'm writing you today to talk about literally putting money back in your pocket....Did you know, for example, that 95% of working families have been getting money in their paychecks in 2009 from the Recovery Act's $400 to $800 a year Making Work Pay tax credit –- and will continue to in 2010?

If you didn't know that, you may not know about all of the other tax cuts that may be available to you as a result of the Recovery Act -- refunds relating to everything from college tuition to new cars to new houses to using more renewable energy. The reason the President fought for all of these tax cuts as part of the Recovery Act was to give middle class families a little extra break in what continues to be a tough economic time -- and also to help give the economy itself a boost.

For families across the country, maybe including yours, these tax cuts have provided the incentive they need to make energy-saving improvements to their homes, finally get a new car, or buy a home for the first time. All of that is helping to jumpstart the economy and provide more clean energy, manufacturing and construction jobs for working families, contributing to the 2 million jobs the Recovery Act has created or saved since it passed.

Never mind the phony "created or saved" 2 million jobs language -- President Obama signed the Recovery Act into law in February 2009, and since then the Labor Department's payroll survey shows the economy has lost at least 3 million jobs. It's great to see the Obama-Biden administration boasting of its record as tax cutters, but what's amazing is the lack of any reference to where this "money" being inserted into the pockets of middle class taxpayers is coming from. No reference to the fact that it's been printed by fiat (diluting the value of the rest of the money), borrowed from the Chinese (so future generations of Americans will be stuck paying it back), or taken by government force from other Americans who don't fit the administration's definition of middle class or don't undertake the government-approved behaviors of car-buying, home-buying, or making energy-saving home improvements. Where President Kennedy once famously said "ask not what your country can do for you," Vice President Biden is now offering, on behalf of the country, to pay for your house, your car, your new energy efficient windows, and your tuition.

by Ira Stoll  |  Mar 29, 2010 at 12:20 pm Related Topics:  Auto Industry, China, Housing, Politics, President Obama, Stimulus, Taxes receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list