What Will I Get for the $10,000 in Debt that the Stimulus Will Cost Me?: +$15 Per Paycheck

Well now that I read that this stupid thing is going to cost me $10k in debt.

"This legislation falls woefully short," said House GOP Leader John Boehner of Ohio. "With a price tag of more than $1 trillion when you factor in interest, it costs every family almost $10,000 in added debt. This is an act of generational theft that our children and grandchildren will be paying for far into the future."

So I looked over how this bill will directly affect my wallet and here are highlights.

For most working individuals, the credit will be paid over time at roughly $15 per period, assuming 26 pay periods in a year. Estimated cost: $116 billion.

I won't be doing the following things that the bill covers:

1. I'm not a retiree so I won't get $250.
2. I won't be paying the AMT so that doesn't affect me.
3. I won't be buying a car so I don't get to deduct the sales tax.
4. I won't be buying a home so I miss out on the $8000 tax credit for 1st time home buyers.
5. I won't be going to college so I'm eligible for the American Opportunity Tax Credit
6. I can't get a Pell Grant since I won't be going to college.
7. I don't have kids so I don't get the child tax credit or the earned income tax credit
8. I have a job so I won't get COBRA benefits or Medicaid
9. I have a job so I won't get an additional 20 weeks in unemployment benefits
10. I don't qualify for food stamps so I won't see the increase the 13.6% increase in payments.
11. I'm not a needy family so I won't qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families part of the bill.

So in other words I only qualify for 14% of total spending of the stimulus bill. Basically, I took out a loan from the government for $10,000 and am getting a $30 cash payment per month on that loan. That has to be one of the worst uses of debt I have ever seen in my life. If the government just gave everyone a $10,000 tax credit payable in installments it would have been a better stimulus then this bill. Oh well, that 12% approval rating for Congress will just drop to single digits as this recession gets worse.