Economic Recovery Plan Comments

Posted 1/10/208 to http://change.gov/agenda/economy_agenda --"Submit Your Ideas" portion of the site.

Dear President-Elect Obama, Vice President-Elect Biden and Economic Policy Transition Team,

I am excited, hopeful and thankful that such a dedicated and intelligent group has been assembled to lead our nation in these very challenging times.

However, as President-Elect Obama stated within his election night speech, there will be times when we disagree and/or question each other viewpoints. Overall, I believe that the stimulus plan, as currently outlined, is a strong strategy. I strongly believe that infrastructure investment will create jobs and help to get the economy moving again. I love the proposed investments in building the renewable energy industry, education and modernizing healthcare information management.

If managed and structured properly, I believe that these investments will move our nation forward in terms of managing the crisis in the short-term and for long-term prosperity.

In terms of the proposed $3,000 tax credit to businesses for each employee hired, I do not know whether this plan component will work. The arguments on both sides of this issue make sense to me, but I believe that this plan component is worth a try. It may not work, but we cannot progress without some level of experimentation.

I do have strong reservations about the $500 individual, $1,000 family tax credit. This may be a necessary political concession to the Republicans, who as a generalization seem to embrace this type of approach. If this program component is necessary for Republican support to get the rest of the plan through, so be it. However, I strongly question the merit of this program component as it is currently being discussed. Don’t get me wrong, from a selfish standpoint; I will take the gift—what household would not like to have an extra $1,000? However, my household is currently lucky enough to earn a comfortable living, but is below the $200,000 household income level being proposed. I consider us blessed. Frankly, an extra $20.00 in my bi-monthly paycheck is not going to impact my spending habits. As a household, we are not going to rush out with our extra $80.00 per month to buy additional goods or services.

The following are my ideas for reallocating the proposed spending for this portion of the program:

1. Reduce the household income level qualified to receive the credit and increase the credit to those qualifying households. It is my suspicion that a struggling family of four with a household income of $60,000-$70,000 would benefit from an extra $80.00 - $150.00 per month in their pockets. Republicans are going to scream that this is socialistic income redistribution, so maybe this idea would not work in practicality.

2. Structure payment of the credit so that it has to spent on goods and services (I see no way for this to work in practicality).

3. Use the funds in a manner that would help families stay in their homes—restructuring mortgages, etc.

4. Use these funds to further fund infrastructure, education and renewable energy investments.

I certainly do not have “crystal ball” ideas for improving this crisis, but possibly there is some merit to my thoughts.

Sincerely,

Tonia Becker VerShaw

Grayslake, IL