Your Next "Stimulus Check" Could Have Big Strings Attached

https://www.fool.com/taxes/2020/05/23/your-next-stimulus-check-could-have-big-strings-at.aspx

Don't worry, the Senate will save us!!!!!

NOT

Hey Corinthian Colleges, ITT and the rest. Close out those bankruptcies and hang out the shingles. The Senate is coming to your rescue.

Supposedly a "retraining" program aimed at those who've lost jobs in the crisis.

"The proposal, to be called the Skills Renewal Act, would create a tax credit that would cover the costs of training programs necessary to build skills that will be in higher demand among employers in the near future. Workers who lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic in 2020 would have access to the credit, and they'd have until the end of 2021 to get the training eligible to receive it. The $4,000 credit amount would be fully refundable, allowing taxpayers to get it even if they'd otherwise owe no tax."

Bolding is mine.

Does this sound familiar? The people have no money so they attend on credit. The "refundable" credit goes to the college upon completion. Those who don't finish? They get a high interest debt to pay off.

If we want to do this then do not allow "for profit" colleges to participate. There's enough state colleges to fill the bill. Have the government pay the college directly for tuition, fees, books. Insist on cost basis for fees and books (no charging $130 for an access code).

Let's not allow the use of this proposal as a piggy bank for educational scams.

 

Can't wait for mine. Colt has come back out with the Python and it is almost $1500. So EVERY bit of your money helps.

 

I'm opposed to any and all further giveaways. No more stimulus or bailouts.

 

I'm thinking a Henry big boy 357 myself. A friend was showing his off the other day and i got the itch again.

With that said I'm in the no more stimulus payouts group, I think were going to start steamrolling forward, except for the doom & gloomers, a group that is hopefully shrinking every day. I'd rather they tear up the 3T package.

Anyway. I wont tear up the check.

 

I'm itching for the gasram, .30 cal break barrel pellet gun, the largest made. Need a pellet mold. Pellets are 10$ a hundred IF you can find them.

 

Sounds like you wouldn't be handed $4000 but rather receive a credit (tells me it would come later) if you could prove you paid for training out of pocket and that you were unemployed as a result of COVID. This bill is dumb as are the people who wrote it.

 

Just look at this beautifully crafted work of art. Stimulus check would be going to a good cause.

 

True enough. Need to find out with lobbyist firm wrote this as you know your Congresscritter didn't.

 

Anyone who fails to finish SHOULD get a high interest debt to pay off. If you slack off and drop out, you pay the price. They would know this going in, so anyone who does drop out will have done so in full knowledge and apparent comfort with that debt.

But at least if they drop out, we know they're not poor! The poor can't afford blunders like that. They wouldn't risk acquiring a debt with nothing to show for it.

Meantime, yes - education scammers will be onto it instantly if it's not carefully policed.

 

Pretty sure this doomed for failure. Think about who is going to be retrained. The majority of those applying will be people who are working in low income jobs now because they don't have a good educational background. Now we want to train them high paying technical jobs. Even worse is the thought that we will promote people in the fields of medicine and health care. A prescription for disaster.

 

It won't be exactly the bill as written currently.....

It was dumb to give Americans stimulus when the only businesses open were the largest and the ones who used Chinese manufacturing the worst like walmart and Amazon. If Republicans had in mind they were only going to do 1 round then they messed up the timing because NOW would've been the proper time to give stimulus when businesses were opening up again.

 

That is one of the inherent problems in a market system. How to allocate capital.
People need capital to increase their productivity. But, if you just hand it out for free, a lot of that capital will be wasted.
The private company model creates a strong incentive not to waste capital, and basically awards the successful decision-makers with more capital. Leading to both inequality but also higher economic efficiency.


The student loan program, for whatever good it may have done, has also created an economic disaster, that the mainstream media is not talking about.
There are certainly at least a few threads about this in this forum.

Older Americans who struggle with student loan debt
Student Loan Program ruining people's lives

 

American manufacturing... That's a really good thing to keep in mind if we all do get another round of stimulus, use it on American businesses who use American manufacturing when possible

 

So a person starts this training gets sick and cannot complete and you want them punished? People are desperate and desperate people fall for these scams. Rather than punish them step up and prevent these scam artists from starting the scam.

 

Blaming the victim? Not a good look.

Not all training is for high tech. How about medical services? Auto repair? Budology? Not high tech, in demand, ...

 

Is some of this aimed at keeping colleges going since they too have probably lost a decent chunk of revenue?

 

You're way off topic. Not about student loans. It's about preventing those "successful decision makers" from scamming yet another several billion dollars and leaving their victims with the tab.

 

Interesting speculation.

There is a thread about this somewhere.

College Closings Signal Start of a Crisis in Higher Education

 

Wasted? What are you talking about? Are you trying to tell me that me and my wife, who have not spent are free money, that we will be wasting that money when the Casinos open up, and we go there and eat at one of those fancy seafood buffet's, go to one of those expensive shows and stay in a highly overpriced room. Man, I usually have to use my own money for that type of luxury. Thanks America.

 

I think there is a misunderstanding what I was saying.
I was referring to handing out free money hoping people can use that money to better themselves and create more wealth.

In this case, we might be talking about education. Obviously there will be many people who will take that money and never finish, or get the wrong sort of education, which may not be so helpful to them, or - another topic - may not be so helpful to the society as a whole.

 

Despite that being a waste of taxpayer money in my opinion, I can say that at least that piece was made in America, and you'd be keeping the money in the national economy.

 

Think if you re-read that I mention health care. In our city our schools teach Auto repair, cosmetology and many other trades. If the students didn't take advantage of those course's in high school or wasn't inclined to do that work why should we repay to educate? The majority are not victims, they are volunteers for disaster. Even my mama got tired of me freeloading and eventually broke the plate. That's the way I feel about many in our society who are willing to let the rest of us carry them on our back. No pain; no gain.

 

It was all tongue in cheek humor kat. I was just pointing at the absurdity of it all.

 

We would need bailouts you if people didn't act like idiots over the coronavirus. I say States who's Mayer's insist they need to stay closed you can bail themselves out.

 

it will help some but not enough to justify the cost
universities are already living on the teat of the government they dont need another slush fund to line thier pockets
most that will need help are going to be no skill low wage workers what they are going to need are marketable skills not degrees especially not some liberal arts degrees
now if this program was only to be used at Technical colleges yes those learning institutions that actually teaches you a marketable skill tailored for specific fields and jobs
and then in jobs there is a present and future demand for for example Nursing, Mechanics, Construction, Welding, Food preparation, Management, Electronics and so forth

if this program was restricted to only learning institutes that teach you a marketable skill and then only can me used for classes in those skills
not some liberal arts class that teaches you nothing but how to be woke
i would say it would be worth the cost