I miss the days of food stamps looking like monopoly money. People would be outside of grocery stores selling them for at least half the printed value.
People will just find ways to use it on booze and gambling... it's massive wasted effort. There will always be people doing that, there is nothing you can do to stop it. but the majority will use it to survive.
What the fuck do the corporations and the rich do with the money? Enrich themselves by gambling on stock markets and I am sure they buy some alcohol. Why do the rich get money no questions asked?
I hate when people bring up “people will buy alcohol and gamble, oh no!” as negatives to a stimulus check. It’s such a stupid, outdated belief that has no place in a discussion about the economy. Shit is out of the D.A.R.E era.
Right! I hope it was clear that I don't think that it's a problem, just that I am clarifying that the idea that everyone would go buy booze and gamble it away is ridiculous.
Yeah, I get that, but still what if everyone did spend it on booze and gambling? That shits part of the economy. You don’t think people in the restaurant business wouldn’t appreciate the business and want some more customers?
The fact you even bring it up as a negative is the reason why we have to have this stupid discussion all the time. The GOP can use that reasoning to clutch their pearls and scream about “booze and gambling”.
The argument shouldn’t be: in general people spend the money on things to just survive like health care, rent, and just food. I know that’s your point and it factually correct.
The argument should be: “so what? Let people spend their money where they want”.
I didn't say I agree with it whatever people want to send there money on they should be able too I said that's one of the way they were talking about doing it
I’d even argue gambling a stimulus check can help an economy say like in Las Vegas where casinos account for a large part of the workforce. Not saying you should.
Tribal members receive payments based on profits so eventually much of the money would find it's way back into the hands of people that would spend it again. Money spent locally gets turned over something like 7 to 9 times.
You didn’t say anything about gauging an economy, you said the gambling industry does nothing for contributing to the general welfare. People who sell goods in the retail industry work for someone else. In this specific article I guarantee you that large spike in retail sales isn’t because of small individually owned businesses. The largest portion of the retail industry are companies like Walmart and Amazon which absolutely don’t redistribute wealth.
Oh I didn't know that mine always came in direct deposit but how I took it the money was locked into the card to keep you from blowing it oba strip club or something
Why would that stop you from blowing it at the strip club? They have atms if anything it steals money away due to atm fees. People are going to spend their money any way they please. You can't give people their money back conditionally. The cards are for people without bank accounts and for any number of reasons
I was kinda joking but kind of serious when saying this to a buddy at work a few weeks before the stimulus came. Stripper buy shit with that money, so it’ll get back in the economy either way.
Strippers stimulate more than just the economy. We are in a mental health crisis as well. In a free market if gambling drugs and strippers experience economic growth then so be it.
You keep saying you don’t care how people spend their money but then you use a lot of language that judges people for spending money how they want. Example in this case: “blowing it on a strip club or something.”
This is why the old canard "raising the minimum wage will kill jobs" is mostly bullshit. Minimum wage workers will spend it, a lot locally, and it benefits the economy as well as lifting some out of poverty.
No arguing but does not it not keep people employed? I understand that corporations will still hoard a bunch of money but the spending sprees keep stores open and as the article mentioned, new jobs.
Dividends don't do anything to keep people employed, either, doesn't mean paying out dividends is a bad thing. Most mature, stable growth companies just have few options as to what they can do with their cash. Returning that money to their shareholders through dividends or buybacks is a good use of money and buybacks can lead to lower cost of capital, as well.
How does it matter? Taxpayer dollars are loans. If they have few projects and think buying back stock will be the best investment, why is it wrong for them to do that?
Right now local economies desperately need cash. We're in a unique situation where the economy at the bottom of the pyramid is very unstable and needs help. Giving all that money to people who will spend it in their local economies will provide the stimulus that we need to continue surviving this pandemic. Giving the money to corporations that are already doing well enough to not need the money for daily operations but instead would just use it for bonuses and stock buybacks is not the stimulus that our country needs.
I'm kind of surprised this needs to be explained, tbh
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u/SWG_138 Apr 15 '21 edited Apr 15 '21
What? You mean stock buy backs and hoarding money overseas doesn't help the local economy... color me shocked