Child tax credit checks welcome, but some parents question wisdom of the payouts

DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer Saturday, July 26, 2003

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(07-26) 12:43 PDT (AP) --

For millions of middle-class families, the check is in the mail -- $400, $800, perhaps more -- courtesy of Congress. Parents benefiting from the expanded child tax credit will welcome the cash, but some question the wisdom of such payouts at a time of deficits and cutbacks.

"I'd rather have the public services and the public schools have the money they need," said Jean Powers, 41, a mother of two from Beaverton, Ore. "I'm not happy with it."

Even more displeased are some of the low-income parents not receiving the checks -- notably those who earn less than roughly $26,000 and are excluded from the credit because they don't pay enough federal income tax.

"I'm very angry," said Linda Hayes, 40, an office manager in Grand Rapids, Mich. A single mother, she supports a 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter on a $23,000 salary.

"I'm tired of working hard and still not being able to provide properly for my children," she said. "I'm tired of having to choose canned vegetables instead of fresh ones. I feel I don't count, my kids don't count."

She said some better-off families might simply invest their payments; she would have used hers to get car repairs and corrective lens for her son, who lacks medical insurance.

The first round of rebate checks for the child tax credit were mailed out Friday, aimed primarily at families earning $26,000 to $110,000 with children under 17. Worth up to $400 per child, the checks are the result of a tax cut enacted in May.

"I'm happy to get money in the summer because money is tight," said Tom Franke, a high school teacher, swim coach and father of two from Maple Grove, Minn. But he questioned whether the credit made sense as the federal deficit grows.

"The government is cutting our funding to our schools, and that makes me a little bit nervous. We needed extra money to fund our war," he said. "There are better ways to spend this money."

Randi Born of Plymouth, Minn., said the checks will be welcome at a time when her two teenage sons are preparing to return to school

"It is just kind of like a little gift," said Born. "If I was good person I would donate it. But maybe what the government wants me to do is to spend it and stimulate the economy."

The rebate checks are to be mailed by Aug. 8 to more than 25 million taxpayers. Critics contend the program should be extended to 7 million more low-income households with about 12 million children.

Melinda Dutton, director of policy at the New York branch of the Children's Defense Fund, said the economic stimulus would be greater if the House of Representatives dropped its opposition to including those poor families.

"Nobody is more likely to put it right into the economy than low-income working families." she said. "They are struggling to pay for child care, rent, groceries."

That argument resonated with Anna Connor, a mother of two from Albany, N.Y.

"It's not going to make a big difference for me," she said of her expected check. "I feel bad for the people who need it and aren't going to get it."

"There are better ways to stimulate the economy," agreed Eileen Holand, a real estate agent and mother of three from New Richmond, Wis.

Joan Medlen of Portland, Ore., who has two children, was pleased to hear about the payment.

But with a teenager suffering from Down syndrome and autism, the money won't go far, Medlen said. Unlike some states, Oregon doesn't provide financial assistance to middle-class families that have children with disabilities.

"We put out significant money for skilled care for our child," she said. "Eight-hundred dollars, while helpful, doesn't even make a dent."

Curt Roseman, 32, of Cary, N.C., said the check for his two children would likely go into their college savings plan, not for a shopping spree.

"Not until I see the economy turn around a little more," said Roseman, a utility company employee. "Until people see unemployment rates go down, they're not going to spend discretionary cash."

Paul Lynch, 54, a parks worker in Cincinnati, said his check will go toward his 13-year-old son's tuition at a parochial school.

"It's useful," he said. "As far as stimulating the economy, I don't think so. They (Washington) have tried everything, and nothing seems to work."

But Toby Placencia, 45, of Vancouver, Wash., had no complaints and no quibbling. "Any time the government doesn't take more money, it's a good idea," he said.

The checks in the mail. Eight hundred smackers! Thank you GWB. You put my money where your mouth is. Got to be one of the greatest Presidents in history.

When we've reached a point in this country where people (some mentioned in this story) believe the government will spend their money more wisely than they can, we're in bad shape. Mr, Mrs. and Miss America, I trust that you will take your own hardearned money and to do with it the way that is best for you and/or our family. You always have. You shouldn't have had to pay all that you did in the first place. The less Uncle Sam gets, the better.

"You can't even give some people money without them complaining. Take these liberals for instance."

The fact is that the unelected fascist baby killing dictator is spending $3,9 billion a month in his war against the Iraqi people, a war of aggression and war crimes that each and every one of us American citizens have to pay for with our tax dollars.

The fascists' oil war will cost us $100 billion this year. That turns out to be well over $23,000 that each and every American citizen is now responsible for in our tax national debt.

Aong comes the fascist dictators to placate the ignorant, unwashed sheep with a "return" of some of the money that was swindled out of them by the fascist regime. Not one word is spoken by the baby killers about how insignificant the plattitude is in terms of the cost of the unwarranted invasion of Iraq.

While U. S. tax payers foot the bill to murder Iraqi children, the rich among us not only don't have to pay taxes if they don't want to, they -- thanks to the fact that they're all Republican corporations -- rake in the stolen money we the tax payers are forced to shell out.

If that weren't bad enough, the fascists are given our tax money to "rebuild" Iraq -- after the very same fdascists indiscriminately bombed it. Bush's fascist corporate friends -- Halliburton, Exxon/Mibile et al. -- get the money we tax payers have to shell out.

The fascist swindle doesn't end there: it continues at the gasoline pump.

So when the baby killing fascists come along and mail out plattitudes to the ignorant, unwashed rabble, most are going to stupidly think they're getting something for nothing; that the fascists aren't war criminals with blood on their hands.

As for me, anything that comes in will go into anti-war and anti-fascism web sites -- including Bush Watch, Fascist Watch, and several others.

You've won!

Damotclese, you've won the coveted "Hysterical and utterly foolish asshole of the week award" for your misuse of the word fascism and it's derivatives no less then 12 TIMES in your childish and inane post.

And believe you me, there was ALOT of competition.

By the way, I suspect that Bush will be fairly elected again, just as he was the first time. That is, as long as the Democrats are again unsuccessful in another bid to rig and steal the election.

First of all, pinhead, you complained:

"we tax payers have to shell out."

96% of all income taxes are paid by the upper fifty percent of income earners. I doubt very much that you are included in that group, or that very many of your fellow whiners pay much in taxes either.

We proud Republicans are the ones pulling the wagon and paying most all of the taxes. And, we're certainly not complaining about our decision to root out Saddam, Uday, and Qusay.

And please cut the crap re the 'oil war' and 'corporate patronage.' That's 100% bullshit and you know it. Makes you look even dumber than you are (as if that were possible).

"that each and every one of us American citizens have to pay for with our tax dollars."

Defense Dept. Money well spent. So is any money spent in COINTELPRO efforts. Any dollars in either if those 2 directions should get increased funding.

"96% of all income taxes are paid by the upper fifty percent of income earners. I doubt very much that you are included in that group, or that very many of your fellow whiners pay much in taxes either."


The reality is even more lopsided than that:

The most recent Internal Revenue Service data available indicate that the top one percent of taxpayers paid about 25 percent of federal income taxes in 1989 but paid 36 percent of income taxes in 1999.

I have to pay a "luxury tax" just because I bought a Mercedes? What kinda shit is that? The more we make, the more we pay. None of these sign-wearing, marching, drug-using lefties have any sense of what its like to see legislation and laws passed which give that money away to the undeserving. I resent every single penny given away to help support ILLEGAL immigrants wqhich are invading our borders with Mexico. They have NO rights in this country.

I have to pay a "payroll tax" just because I work ? What kinda shit is that? The more we make, the more we pay. None of these sign-wearing, marching, drug-using fascists have any sense of what its like to see legislation and laws passed which give that money away to the undeserving defense contractors. I resent every single penny given away to help support ILLEGAL wars in which we are invading their borders.. They have NO rights in this country.

Mr. exec gets $600'000 a year. The IRS rakes $250'000. Mr. exec is left with $350'000.
Can he claim that his life will be affected by say, a 5-15% tax increase? Absolutely not.
Now consider the case of worker getting $35'000 a year and ask yourself the same question.

There is no time to lose in engaging the republicans on this issue.

What they want is reduce society to a world where the richest person is president, the second richest governor and so on. They treat wealth as if it is a virtue. The rest of us are just a commodity to be used and discarded for their profitability.
They stretch their contempt for democracy to the point of making us believe that this is a normal state for humanity.
They arrogate themselves the right to write and modify laws to quench any questioning of their practices while hiding their malfeasance in false patriotism.

Soon or later, the rich will be introduced to peasants with forks. They are dead wrong thinking they can live endlessly under the shelter of laws and police. They are forgeting the masses they attempt to control are many, many times larger than their rich minority living behind gated communities.

"Don't get fooled by the numbers."

That's hilarious.

In the US economy as in the world economy, there are some rich, some poor, and the overwhelming majority who are middle class. As long as there is a hugh middle-class, the rich have nothing to fear. They start acting like Louis XVI and Marie Antionette and the economy is where there is no middle of the road, only very wealth or very poor, then they got a problem. History has repeated itself enough that it's within the realm of possibility, but there are no signs of it happening anytime soon, not in the US anyway. Europe is closer to having that happen than we are, especially the more socialistic countries, i.e. France, Sweden.

I love to see when a "lefty" gets wealthy by accident, thereby becoming one of "us", then squanders it. Do they go back to marching in the streets? NO. They spend their time tring to be wealthy AGAIN. Must be something to it, huh? The system keeps the riff raff out of my manicured community, even the ones who get there accidentally. EXCELLENT

at your imbecility.

The day something major will disrupt this society like another terrorist attack or major civil unrest, law and order will collapse; it won't take too long before the disenfranchized take on your rich neighbourhoods, they already know where the goodies are.
The LA riots were just an apetizer.
What will you do? Call 911? Grab a gun? Lock yourselves in the SUV?

Enjoy your last days.

i think that is what he said just before the revolution.

England is still a monarchy. Were you thinking of France?

Chacun a son gout!

*Gallic shrug*

"Grab a gun?"

That sounds like the ticket. Might do that anyway.

Then after breaking it down, seal it in a container with
heated petroueum jelly to prevent water inclusion.
Then report it stolen, Our little secret.