Obama to announce aid for middle class
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| Mon, 01-25-2010 - 9:35am |
I'm about as middle class as it gets, but none of these things help me whatsoever. How are these things helping the unemployed? What are they doing for inflation, underemployment, etc.?
The proposals to be unveiled by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the White House, and which the president will push in his Wednesday night speech, include a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; (what about the millions of people who don't have children but are still struggling?) an increase in federal funding for child care programs of $1.6 billion; (again, great for those with kids, but what about the rest of us?), capping student loan payments to 10 percent of income above "a basic living allowance;" (I see lots of help for the 18 to 40 year old group. What about everyone else?) expanding tax credits to match retirement savings; (what retirements? Either we lost them to Wall Street last year or the retirement plans are barely paying anything these days ell or we've lost a job and had to live on our retirement savings) and increasing aid for families taking care of elderly relatives (I'm curious if this is a request from the states. State Medicaid takes a huge hit on nursing home care. A lot of elderly people enter nursing homes indigent, and have nothing but their social security. State Medicaid picks up the rest. The states would love it if families would take on this expensive burden.
Come on, Obama. Give us something we can actually use, something that will actually help the country, not just a few select groups of people. Come up with a solid plan for unemployment; implement something to put people to work. Either that or take all this money you're throwing around and cut each and every one of us a hundred thousand dollar check and let US strike out on our own with it.

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I agree. My neighbor, who has been out of work for about 18 months now, will lose the last of her unemployment next month. Unfortunately, she's not used the time off very wisely. She convinced herself that if she waited long enough the job market would impove and she'd simply walk into a new job. Don't see that happening.
I don't think I would be brave enough to use up what little money I had for schooling if I wasn't working, but most state labor departments offer free training in lots of areas. I've heard that it's even a good idea to do volunteer work during a period of unemployment. At least it keeps you out of the house and networking and you can use it on a resume to show you weren't just sitting around watching soaps all day and collecting unemployment. I think it's important to use the time out of work to build towards a new job/career any way you can.
What would John McCain have done differently if HE'D been elected?
((What would John McCain have done differently if HE'D been elected? ))
I have no idea. He probably would not have signed bills that were laden with pork and earmarks.
((We look to our government leaders to make things happen, but it doesn't seem to matter who is in office - things don't happen - at least for the taxpayer.))
ITA! Except thing DO happen for the taxpayer.....their taxes go up!
**What would John McCain have done differently if HE'D been elected?**
He would have said "Let them eat cake."
People of this ilk need to remember what happened to the French elite, during the Revolution, and why it happened. The "peasants" got fed up.
"...children who are covering their parents "donut hole" costs, in home supportive services, medical deductibles, medical devices that aren't covered by
You're right. He would have said "let them eat cake."
And I do think the American people are fed up, however, there is probably no revolution in our future for a couple of reasons. The first is that we're allowed just enough to keep us going. As long as our needs are met (home, car, food, etc.)
Edited 1/26/2010 12:54 pm ET by sweetpea1946
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