Relief checks for families.......

[Buck Randall]

We made a town run today. Stops included a farm and garden store, dollar store, two hardware stores, and a grocery store. All 5 had help wanted signs. Several advertised full benefit package, flexible hours, both full and part time, and most said competitive wages. Also saw a help wanted sign at McDonald's offering $14 an hour starting on all positions. And a sign for help wanted at the Behlin Industries plant that offers a full benefit package. In fact the only place I didn't see a help wanted was the gas station.
Baker City (pop 10,000 +/-) is the county seat and the only town in the county with a population over 450. It sits in the middle of a county bigger than the state of Delaware. From there it is 73 miles to Ontario or 44 miles to La Grande so unless you want a good size commute, if you live there you work there. Back before the pandemic there was the occasional help wanted sign. But now they are everywhere. Are people too lazy to work or are they getting paid more to stay at home than to go to work.
I wrote about a fishing trip I took last week. It was on a Thursday morning. An absolutely middle of no where reservoir. At least 40 miles from the nearest small town. There was about 24 other people fishing. I thought that this is a lot of old retired guys fishing. When we drove out none of the people we were close enough to get a look at them were retirement types. Are we paying those people to go fishing?

I have a couple of siblings in the tech sector, and they're now on permanent work from home. No set hours outside of some scheduled meetings. As long as they're available by phone during the day and the work is getting done, nobody cares if they're on the golf course or out fishing.

 

[bbirder]

Heard one fellow say today this is basically giving everyone their annual earned income credit monthly instead of waiting until tax season to get it with the tax return. Of course it also seems every child qualifies.

TB,
My family has a tax preparation business and I will explain it to you correctly. It involves the child tax credit and not the earned income credit, Everyone has traditionally gotten a CTC which was 2000 dollars per child under 17. This is basic, as some people qualify for additional child tax credit if their tax liability is not high enough. This coming year the administration is increasing the CTC to 3000 per child 6-17 and 3600 for under 6. They plan to start issuing this money in monthly advance amount of 250-300 month. The problem with this is they are not telling these people that it will have to be reported on their tax return next year and it reduces the refund that they are accustomed to. Do you see the picture yet?
You can opt out of this program by going to the IRS website but they are not advertising that. We are advising all of our clients to do so.
Remember when we woke up and finally figured out that they were not educating our kids but instead dumbing them down. This is all part of the master plan to get everyone or the great majority of the public right up to the trough making noise for more slop. Once they have accomplished that, the game is over because they control the slop.
OH!, and back to to EIC which they have been dishing out like halloween candy. It stands for Earned Income Credit, and unemployment does not count as it is unearned income. Now they have removed that bonus from them that they were counting on, but fear not. We have plenty of SLOP because the swamp still hasn't been drained.

 

[farmerjan]

Thanks @bbirder for the info. I no where near have to worry about it, but it is good to know that someone has the low down on it and that people should try to find out why they are getting money ahead of time, and what the right course of action should be.

 

[TexasBred]

TB,
My family has a tax preparation business and I will explain it to you correctly. It involves the child tax credit and not the earned income credit, Everyone has traditionally gotten a CTC which was 2000 dollars per child under 17. This is basic, as some people qualify for additional child tax credit if their tax liability is not high enough. This coming year the administration is increasing the CTC to 3000 per child 6-17 and 3600 for under 6. They plan to start issuing this money in monthly advance amount of 250-300 month. The problem with this is they are not telling these people that it will have to be reported on their tax return next year and it reduces the refund that they are accustomed to. Do you see the picture yet?
You can opt out of this program by going to the IRS website but they are not advertising that. We are advising all of our clients to do so.
Remember when we woke up and finally figured out that they were not educating our kids but instead dumbing them down. This is all part of the master plan to get everyone or the great majority of the public right up to the trough making noise for more slop. Once they have accomplished that, the game is over because they control the slop.
OH!, and back to to EIC which they have been dishing out like halloween candy. It stands for Earned Income Credit, and unemployment does not count as it is unearned income. Now they have removed that bonus from them that they were counting on, but fear not. We have plenty of SLOP because the swamp still hasn't been drained.

Thank you.

 

[Chevy]

Heard one fellow say today this is basically giving everyone their annual earned income credit monthly instead of waiting until tax season to get it with the tax return. Of course it also seems every child qualifies.

Yes that's what I heard. In a strange way makes sense than giving some people one big sum and they blow it all in a day flat.

So the government is the baby daddy now. Just playing! That's a joke folks.

 

[Dave]

I have a couple of siblings in the tech sector, and they're now on permanent work from home. No set hours outside of some scheduled meetings. As long as they're available by phone during the day and the work is getting done, nobody cares if they're on the golf course or out fishing.

I do realize this is going on. Before I retired there was several people at the office who did this work from home. But I also realize where I was in relationship to where those companies are located and their employees are likely to live. There is a fair size Tech industry over in Boise but that is over 100 miles away and across the state line. Better or as good fishing closer and wouldn't require an out of state fishing license.

 

[Dave]

Yes, @Dave , we are paying them to go fishing.

I know that there are many just too d#@ned lazy to work, and won't go back until they have to. There are alot that are also of the "gimme generation", that have never had to deprive themselves of the "I want it now" mentality.... and the parents have made it way to easy for the kids to not to ever strive to better themselves. There are way too many that "work the system" to get all they can with no thought to the fact that others are having to struggle to provide for their "lazy a$$es" because of the "I am entitled to what I want" or " the gov't says I can get this and that so I want it"....
As was stated by another poster, there is also very little company loyalty anymore, for a devoted employee who comes to work and does a good job and wants a little recognition in the form of a better wage or other "bonuses"... either.... That might change with this mess, but I think alot more will go to automation, and then one of these days it is going to catch up with all these "lazy" people when there suddenly isn't any gov't checks because the gov't is broke and there aren't any of us "working people" to keep paying for their lazy a**es to sit at home.... or we are dead and there is no one to even teach them how to grow their own food so they don't starve.

I don't know the answer, but I do think that the states that are taking this "extra" money and trying to turn it into incentives and positives to come back to work, is at least a positive step forward.

The other thing is, is the lack of sense of self, and responsibility, and the inability to be proud of something for what and how you do it, not just for the monetary return. I am not sure of how that can be fixed or turned around when everything is so often equated with money and not self esteem just for a job well done.

I do understand unemployment. I fell timber for over 20 years. We were very often shut down. Fire season, too much snow, company not wanting logs, finish one job the next not ready, etc etc. But there was a requirement to look for work unless you were on standby from your original job. If I remember correctly it was that you had to apply at three places a week. And you couldn't turn down a job offer. It would be tough to do that in a town where every business has a help wanted sign out. The other thing is that most of these jobs I saw yesterday advertised benefits. Unemployment may be paying a little more but it sure isn't paying for health insurance. What is the benefit package worth?

 

[Son of Butch]

So the government is the baby daddy now. Just playing! That's a joke folks.

Unfortunately it is not a joke, it was an unintended consequence of LBJ's great society program of war on childhood poverty. LBJ meant well (bless his heart) but the rules to collect the welfare payments resulted in the historic decline of marriage of African Americans which continues to this day.
I believe it affected the decline in marriages of all in the economic lower class, but statistically it is easiest to track in the marriage records of black Americans.

The government playing Big Daddy devalues traditional family values.
There are many well meaning folks in government today (bless their hearts)
but they are leading the Nation down the wrong path.

 

[Son of Butch]

As Mike Tyson often said... This is going to Hurt. lol

 

[SmokinM]

I do understand unemployment. I fell timber for over 20 years. We were very often shut down. Fire season, too much snow, company not wanting logs, finish one job the next not ready, etc etc. But there was a requirement to look for work unless you were on standby from your original job. If I remember correctly it was that you had to apply at three places a week. And you couldn't turn down a job offer. It would be tough to do that in a town where every business has a help wanted sign out. The other thing is that most of these jobs I saw yesterday advertised benefits. Unemployment may be paying a little more but it sure isn't paying for health insurance. What is the benefit package worth?

The govt is providing the benefit package as well! Obama Care made somebodies insurance affordable and it wasn't the working man. Most of these people are on full benefits and that includes healthcare. Glad the cost of mine has quadrupled since that BS passed.

 

[Bigfoot]

TB,
My family has a tax preparation business and I will explain it to you correctly. It involves the child tax credit and not the earned income credit, Everyone has traditionally gotten a CTC which was 2000 dollars per child under 17. This is basic, as some people qualify for additional child tax credit if their tax liability is not high enough. This coming year the administration is increasing the CTC to 3000 per child 6-17 and 3600 for under 6. They plan to start issuing this money in monthly advance amount of 250-300 month. The problem with this is they are not telling these people that it will have to be reported on their tax return next year and it reduces the refund that they are accustomed to. Do you see the picture yet?
You can opt out of this program by going to the IRS website but they are not advertising that. We are advising all of our clients to do so.
Remember when we woke up and finally figured out that they were not educating our kids but instead dumbing them down. This is all part of the master plan to get everyone or the great majority of the public right up to the trough making noise for more slop. Once they have accomplished that, the game is over because they control the slop.
OH!, and back to to EIC which they have been dishing out like halloween candy. It stands for Earned Income Credit, and unemployment does not count as it is unearned income. Now they have removed that bonus from them that they were counting on, but fear not. We have plenty of SLOP because the swamp still hasn't been drained.

This answers my question from earlier.

 

[Dave]

Any of them who are really thinking about their finances will use these times to find the best job they can. Wait a couple months and the extra dollar unemployment will be gone. Along with that will be the best jobs too.

 

[Buck Randall]

Any of them who are really thinking about their finances will use these times to find the best job they can. Wait a couple months and the extra dollar unemployment will be gone. Along with that will be the best jobs too.

Hopefully the higher wages are here to stay even when the free money runs out. 14-15 dollars an hour would go a long way toward keeping those people off of public assistance long term.

 

[Dsth]

I think if wages stay high, the inflation will be high also keeping the lower income individuals still dependent on public assistance. the people most negatively affected by higher wages and inflation are older Americans that are retired and on fixed income.

 

[Son of Butch]

the people most negatively affected by higher wages and inflation are older Americans that are retired and on fixed income.

Those who own nothing are most negatively affected by inflation.

Retired older Americans have had their whole life to build wealth.
Most own their home which appreciates in value, inflation increases prices so owning stocks keeps pace with inflation.
It's families and the young who own nothing, rent a home, rent furniture, lease a car, who can't get traction to build wealth who get hammered.

 

[greybeard]

one problem I see with that Butch is that as property values of older fixed income increase, so do their tax obligations. In many cases, with much more tax relief than a homestead exemption and the only recourse they have is to sell out and move to a smaller house or into an apartment.

 

[Son of Butch]

the extra money will help offset the cost of inflation from all the money our government seems to be spending;

No, extra money fuels inflation. Government pumping in more on top of what they've already spent drives inflation. I heard the amount of dollars in circulation has increased 30% since the start of the pandemic. The more dollars in circulation the less each dollar is worth. To control inflation, dollars will need to be removed from circulation. To take dollars out of circulation, historically they are burned by the government without printing more and by raising interest rates to make dollars more expensive to obtain.

 

[Son of Butch]

one problem I see with that Butch is that as property values of older fixed income increase, so do their tax obligations. In many cases, with much more tax relief than a homestead exemption and the only recourse they have is to sell out and move to a smaller house or into an apartment.

Yes, Inflation hurts everyone.
But I read once that 51% of all assets [bonds, property, stocks] are controlled by women over the age 60. Everyone feels sorry for Grandma, but it's their grandchildren starting families that bear the burden and struggle to survive in cycles of high inflation.

 

[Dsth]

Those who own nothing are most negatively affected by inflation.

Retired older Americans have had their whole life to build wealth.
Most own their home which appreciates in value, inflation increases prices so owning stocks keeps pace with inflation.
It's families and the young who own nothing, rent a home, rent furniture, lease a car, who can't get traction to build wealth who get hammered.

the young today have the same ability to build wealth in their lifetime as what the older generation did when they were young. you are correct that their home appreciates in value but that is only a benefit if they plan to sell it. I am just guessing but I would think a fairly large percentage would like to keep and live in the house they currently own; therefor the higher value translates into higher taxes, higher insurance premiums, and higher cost of maintenance. My financial officer thinks that the closer you get to retirement, the lower your percentage of your saving should be tied to the stock market (at least to the high risk investments which generally have a higher return but also have a higher risk of decline in value.) A big drop in the stock market could be disastrous if you are depending on the stocks to carry you through retirement.

 

[Dave]

Those who own nothing are most negatively affected by inflation.

Retired older Americans have had their whole life to build wealth.
Most own their home which appreciates in value, inflation increases prices so owning stocks keeps pace with inflation.
It's families and the young who own nothing, rent a home, rent furniture, lease a car, who can't get traction to build wealth who get hammered.

What about the older people who rented their entire life and own nothing. I know a fair number of people like that. Those who just lived for today and spent everything they made. Or those who went through a divorce late in life and lost everything. There are all kinds of economic set backs that can occur causing older people to be broke. Younger people have more ability to work and certainly work long term.