So, how did those stimulus checks work out for you?

[bmw]

Let's do some math here:

First stimulus check:
March 27, 2020
$1200 per person ($2400 for a married couple)

Second stimulus check:
Dec 27, 2020
$600/$1200

Third stimulus check:
March 31, 2021
$1400/$2800

============================

So let's take a married couple that makes $60,000 per year.

Current inflation (as of Dec 2021) stands at 7.0%.

That $60,000 from a year ago now has the equivalent buying power, after inflation, of $56,604, or a net loss of about $3400. That is just over half of the $6400 total stimulus that you got, and if inflation holds at this rate, the other $3000 will be gone by the end of the year. So stimulus money gone, and higher prices here to stay.

So, how did you spend YOUR stimulus loan?

[zzand]

All mine went into savings where it sits today.

[Deleted User 9015]

This thread is dumb because OP makes dumb assumptions.

[teetoppz28]

This thread is dumb because OP makes dumb assumptions.

Did you expect anything else from bmw?? lol!

[Matt]

This thread is dumb because OP makes dumb assumptions.

Did you expect anything else from bmw?? lol!

Post 3 and you're attacking a long time poster?

[Rate This]

This thread is dumb because OP makes dumb assumptions.

Did you expect anything else from bmw?? lol!

Post 3 and you're attacking a long time poster?

Long time listener first time caller no doubt…

[bmw]

So other than zzand, I'll make one more assumption - that nobody here is all that thrilled with their stimulus. Has it been fun paying it all back through the higher prices that it helped create?

[Rate This]

So other than zzand, I'll make one more assumption - that nobody here is all that thrilled with their stimulus. Has it been fun paying it all back through the higher prices that it helped create?

I haven’t noticed tremendously higher prices really… plus I’m making 33% more than I was pre-stimulus and the stimulus helped pay down debt that was harmful. It was a win.

[Matt]

So other than zzand, I'll make one more assumption - that nobody here is all that thrilled with their stimulus. Has it been fun paying it all back through the higher prices that it helped create?

I haven’t noticed tremendously higher prices really… plus I’m making 33% more than I was pre-stimulus and the stimulus helped pay down debt that was harmful. It was a win.

You would be making 45% more under a Republican administration though.

[Deleted User 9015]

So other than zzand, I'll make one more assumption - that nobody here is all that thrilled with their stimulus. Has it been fun paying it all back through the higher prices that it helped create?

You are using stats that aren't appropriate to support your position. You should probably grab some panel data and run a regression. Try to find research linking the stimulus to inflation. Frankly, you don't seem to know what you're talking about. I could be wrong, though!

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

Inflation was increasing ever since Trump made that bad trade deal with China. The market tanked in 2020 due to Dump's horrible ideas to drink bleach and other idiotic ideas.

[MWmetalhead]

The high inflation we are experiencing is largely (but not entirely) due to the U.S. economy's high reliance on imports, an increased demand for durable goods (part of which is explained by stimulus monies), and difficulty in bringing those goods to market.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ed-outlier

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/busi ... chain.html

COVID restrictions, a shift in consumer and commercial purchasing patterns, and plant shutdowns due to worker illness are where the trouble began. The NY Times article does a very good job explaining the pattern of issues.

I agree that in the U.S., stimulus monies were excessively sized and misallocated, but that is only one piece of the broader puzzle. We certainly cannot blame stimulus for skyrocketing energy prices, for example. I've previously explained what was responsible for that (and now tensions in Russia are only exacerbating that situation).

Do I think over-stimulus was part of the problem? Certainly I do. People bought big ticket items (home renovations, for instance) that they might've otherwise been unable to afford. Some of those purchases were bankrolled by stimulus dollars; others were bankrolled by savings from not taking expensive vacations. Unskilled workers in some instances decided to stay home or look for better paying jobs elsewhere since they now had a monetary buffer. This has hampered productivity and caused wage growth, which in turn is causing prices to increase.

[Rate This]

So other than zzand, I'll make one more assumption - that nobody here is all that thrilled with their stimulus. Has it been fun paying it all back through the higher prices that it helped create?

I haven’t noticed tremendously higher prices really… plus I’m making 33% more than I was pre-stimulus and the stimulus helped pay down debt that was harmful. It was a win.

You would be making 45% more under a Republican administration though.

Under a Republican administration pay increases were 3% to reflect the cost of living. Now they reflect employee retention. I’ll take the 33%.

[bmw]

The high inflation we are experiencing is largely (but not entirely) due to the U.S. economy's high reliance on imports...

So the million dollar question is, how do we get off our addiction to imports?

[MWmetalhead]

It would be uneconomical to produce everything we import domestically. The key is to ensure sufficient production capacity exists domestically to support goods critical for our economic survival and our national security.

Chip makers have begun construction of new plants both here in the U.S. and in eastern Asia, but those facilities probably won't be ready for production until 2024.

Your question is a great one and I have no good answer.

Components of a possible solution:
- Restrict access to domestic markets unless a certain percentage of product is manufactured here in the U.S.
- Create a national emergency stockpile of essential goods
- Dump the current federal corporate income tax in favor of a border adjustment tax
- Remove as much red tape as practicable to allow for re-use of dormant or abandoned manufacturing sites.