Did Any Other Member in the USA...

[The Deacon]

Receive a strange letter in the last few days from the IRS, with a "Notice Date" of Feb 18th, saying that "Your Second Economic Impact Payment" in the amount of $600 should be direct deposited in your account in the next few days? I say "strange" because those $600 checks went out in late December. :confused:

[The Meat man]

Yes, I got one, maybe a month ago. I also haven't received any checks or debit cards in the mail, nor any direct deposit to my bank account.

[Ankerson]

Yeah, I got one also.

[Naperville]

My mom received the same form letter.

I never received a cent from the govt's EIP programs, and have made my 2nd appointment to speak with an IRS Agent April 6th. Apparently if you are working and filing every year you get the EIP with no problem. I was let go from my last gig after my heart attack(followed by open heart surgery), and so have not filed in the last 2yrs....NO PAYMENT.

[Evil D]

Yeah I got one waaay after I actually got the deposit.

[z4vdBt]

Got one. Saw a snap shot of it in my usps informed deliver email - letter from the irs? what's to worry lol.

[TomAiello]

Not me. Nothing at all.

[Wartstein]

Just out of interest (I am European): Is this about the stimulus money /checks US citizens received? (And will receive another pretty substantial one in the future to the stimulus package that just got passed?!)

[Naperville]

Just out of interest (I am European): Is this about the stimulus money /checks US citizens received? (And will receive another pretty substantial one in the future to the stimulus package that just got passed?!)

Less than 15% of the nearly $2 Trillion dollar boondoggle will go to stimulus payments. 80% or more of it is for foreign countries, a DNC slush fund for billions helping every state with regard to Union retirement benefits, and pork for democrats like Pelosi(getting $1.5 billion for her hometown's rail system).

Each family will be on the hook for more than $75,000 each for the additional debt.

[soc_monki]

Just out of interest (I am European): Is this about the stimulus money /checks US citizens received? (And will receive another pretty substantial one in the future to the stimulus package that just got passed?!)

Less than 15% of the nearly $2 Trillion dollar boondoggle will go to stimulus payments. 80% or more of it is for foreign countries, a DNC slush fund for billions helping every state with regard to Union retirement benefits, and pork for democrats like Pelosi(getting $1.5 billion for her hometown's rail system).

Each family will be on the hook for more than $75,000 each for the additional debt.

A good part of what is in the bill is money for things the Republicans asked for in the previous administration. The train funding you claim is Pelosi's pet project isn't even in her district. Skimming the bill, available to read for everyone, I see nothing about foreign countries.

Here's a synopsis and fact check https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reu ... SL1N2LA2NF

And a link to the actual bill https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-con ... /1319/text

[Wartstein]

Just out of interest (I am European): Is this about the stimulus money /checks US citizens received? (And will receive another pretty substantial one in the future to the stimulus package that just got passed?!)

Less than 15% of the nearly $2 Trillion dollar boondoggle will go to stimulus payments. 80% or more of it is for foreign countries, a DNC slush fund for billions helping every state with regard to Union retirement benefits, and pork for democrats like Pelosi(getting $1.5 billion for her hometown's rail system).

Each family will be on the hook for more than $75,000 each for the additional debt.

A good part of what is in the bill is money for things the Republicans asked for in the previous administration. The train funding you claim is Pelosi's pet project isn't even in her district. Skimming the bill, available to read for everyone, I see nothing about foreign countries.
....

Thanks for your replies! :)

Just to be clear: I just wanted to know if the "Economic Impact Payment" is technically the money people in your country get in the context of the "stimulus checks" or if those are two different things.
I gave no opinion about what I think about the package, and I can´t really tell how well put together it is, how much money out of it really arrives on the bank accounts of citizens, how much goes into other projects and if those are good or bad ones - again, I am European anyway!

I will not discuss politics content-related on this forum, but as said in other threads: Tbh, it is a bit stunning and also a bit concerning to many here in Europe how strongly people feel about many things eíther in the one or the other direction, very little real "middle ground" ) How divided many things generally seem to be in the US (again, just from what get to read and see here, does not have to be true at all!).
Sometimes it seems to me in the US it is much more about not grantiing the party one does not happen to support any success at all by any means rather than looking at things in detail, see and admit that at least parts of their proposals might be good indeed (true for both "liberals" AND "conservatives" of course). Just my impression, and I totally stand on the sidelines of course.

[The Deacon]

Thanks guys. Glad I'm not the only one who got the letter and also not the only one who got a bit anxious when he saw a letter from the IRS pop up in his daily Informed Delivery email from the USPS. :o

Just to be clear: I just wanted to know if the "Economic Impact Payment" is technically the money people in your country get in the context of the "stimulus checks" or if those are two different things.

To answer your question, "Stimulus Check" and "Economic Impact Payment" are just two different names for the same thing.

[JD Spydo]

Scam artists are getting very sophisticated and cunning in their intricate methods of accessing your personal data. I immediately delete any e-mail that looks to be from the Government or any of their agencies. I've got a well trusted friend who worked for the IRS for years and he told me that if you are to get anything of a serious matter from the IRS or any other government agency it will come via registered mail in most cases. Or in the very worst cases they might actually send an agent to your personal residence.

Now he did say that the latter was for extreme suspected criminal cases. Now that was about 5 years ago my friend told me that. But he did say to never respond to any e-mail that appears to come from a government agency.

The boiler-room scams are getting more tricky as time goes by. It's mainly the elderly and uneducated that usually fall prey to these scumbags. But anyone can be suckered under extreme circumstances. BEWARE!! is all I can say.

[TomAiello]

Each family will be on the hook for more than $75,000 each for the additional debt.

I am generally sympathetic to your point and agree that the government is overspending (by a huge amount) both on Cov-Sars2 and on things that have nothing to do with it. But, I think you are overstating the dollar amount. The best analysis I have seen puts the cost at $41,780 per taxpayer (https://fee.org/articles/federal-covid- ... n-benefit/), or $18,181 per person (because most US residents are non-taxpayers). That's substantially less than $75,000.

[JRinFL]

Each family will be on the hook for more than $75,000 each for the additional debt.

I am generally sympathetic to your point and agree that the government is overspending (by a huge amount) both on Cov-Sars2 and on things that have nothing to do with it. But, I think you are overstating the dollar amount. The best analysis I have seen puts the cost at $41,780 per taxpayer (https://fee.org/articles/federal-covid- ... n-benefit/), or $18,181 per person (because most US residents are non-taxpayers). That's substantially less than $75,000.

So that's $41,780 (or whatever the actual amount ends up being) per tax payer ON TOP of the already incredible debt load the US gov carries that tax payers are on the hook for. Like many people in the US, the government is addicted to spending.

[TomAiello]

So that's $41,780 (or whatever the actual amount ends up being) per tax payer ON TOP of the already incredible debt load the US gov carries that tax payers are on the hook for.

Before the pandemic spending, the US government debt was approximately $69,060 per person (https://www.statista.com/statistics/203 ... er-capita/). Divided per taxpayer--because most US residents are non-taxpayers--that comes to roughly $183,000 per taxpayer (https://fee.org/articles/18-facts-on-th ... o-believe/).

Adding the numbers together, we get a current debt load of approximately $87,060 per person, or $224,780 per taxpayer.

Most current taxpayers will not live to see the debt decline at all (only increase), but will instead push the problem on to their children and grandchildren. To be fair, because federal taxpayers are the minority in the country, even if every single taxpayer voted to cut spending and begin reducing the debt, such a policy change still could not pass. The non taxpaying majority is in the driver's seat, and because those (non taxpayers) are not technically 'on the hook' for the debt, there is no incentive for them to reduce it.

Like many people in the US, the government is addicted to spending.

Spending money that is not yours, and which you will never have to pay back, is eminently rational. If you knew you could just buy every new sprint and exclusive (or a new car, or a new house), and someone else would (eventually) pay for it, wouldn't you do that?

[TomAiello]

Tbh, it is a bit stunning and also a bit concerning to many here in Europe how strongly people feel about many things eíther in the one or the other direction, very little real "middle ground" ) How divided many things generally seem to be in the US (again, just from what get to read and see here, does not have to be true at all!).

Some of this is the result of our First Past the Post (FPP) voting system, which encourages 2 party divisions.

In most European countries (not sure about Austria), legislatures are selected via Proportional Representation (PR). In the US, this is not the case.

So, in most European countries, if a minor party gets 5% of the vote, then they get 5% of the seats in parliament (the threshold is different by country). In the USA, a party could theoretically get 49% of the vote in _every single district in the nation_ and still get zero seats in Congress.

A PR system that seats small parties tends to encourage cooperation, because compromises must be made with other parties to pass legislation. An FPP system that only rewards majority victory in each district tends to create more contention, because the two big parties that develop can mobilize their voters more effectively by making them fearful and/or angry.

Note that I am not saying PR is a better system. I am a citizen in both the USA and a PR country (Italy), and both systems have their shortcomings. On balance, I prefer FPP because of the potential for long term 'fiefdoms' created for minor party kingmakers in PR systems. The most striking historical example of this was a man named Hans Dietrich Genscher, who basically captured the entire foreign policy of a major nation (Germany) by leading a small party that acted as a Kingmaker, for which he demanded that whichever major party was in control continue to give him control of foreign policy (for literally decades). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Dietrich_Genscher)

[JRinFL]

So that's $41,780 (or whatever the actual amount ends up being) per tax payer ON TOP of the already incredible debt load the US gov carries that tax payers are on the hook for.

Before the pandemic spending, the US government debt was approximately $69,060 per person (https://www.statista.com/statistics/203 ... er-capita/). Divided per taxpayer--because most US residents are non-taxpayers--that comes to roughly $183,000 per taxpayer (https://fee.org/articles/18-facts-on-th ... o-believe/).

Adding the numbers together, we get a current debt load of approximately $87,060 per person, or $224,780 per taxpayer.

Most current taxpayers will not live to see the debt decline at all (only increase), but will instead push the problem on to their children and grandchildren. To be fair, because federal taxpayers are the minority in the country, even if every single taxpayer voted to cut spending and begin reducing the debt, such a policy change still could not pass. The non taxpaying majority is in the driver's seat, and because those (non taxpayers) are not technically 'on the hook' for the debt, there is no incentive for them to reduce it.

Like many people in the US, the government is addicted to spending.

Spending money that is not yours, and which you will never have to pay back, is eminently rational. If you knew you could just buy every new sprint and exclusive (or a new car, or a new house), and someone else would (eventually) pay for it, wouldn't you do that?

I feel bad when spending the money of others and avoid it when possible. That may not be "rational" but it is the responsible adult response. The last few generations of people have been raised to continue thinking and acting like children do.

[Wartstein]

Before the pandemic spending, the US government debt was approximately $69,060 per person (https://www.statista.com/statistics/203 ... er-capita/). Divided per taxpayer--because most US residents are non-taxpayers--that comes to roughly $183,000 per taxpayer (https://fee.org/articles/18-facts-on-th ... o-believe/).

Adding the numbers together, we get a current debt load of approximately $87,060 per person, or $224,780 per taxpayer.

Most current taxpayers will not live to see the debt decline at all (only increase), but will instead push the problem on to their children and grandchildren. To be fair, because federal taxpayers are the minority in the country, even if every single taxpayer voted to cut spending and begin reducing the debt, such a policy change still could not pass. The non taxpaying majority is in the driver's seat, and because those (non taxpayers) are not technically 'on the hook' for the debt, there is no incentive for them to reduce it.
...

Again , I am European, but actually every single US source I am aware of states that the US deficit skyrocketed generally already in the last 4 years anyway, so also BEFORE Corona hit - ?!? (If so, I am not saying that there might not be a good and sensible reason for it! Could be a good thing that the last administration spend a lot of taxpayer money (IF they actually did!), or could be not. Hard to say for me of course).

[TomAiello]

Graph of debt growth here: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN

The inflection points appear to occur in 1980 (Reagan discovered that he could borrow and spend and avoid the political unpopular raising of taxes), 2008 (Obama administration with control of both houses of congress enacted wide reaching and expensive new spending policies) and 2020 (current pandemic).