I've just been stimulated!

[Saint Jade IV]

Get your minds out of the gutter NSG, I'm talking about money. I'm so excited!!! I got my $900. And I put it straight into the bank. Just like we were told not to. I'm looking to use it for holidays and such like.

So Aussies of the NSG world! Have you received your distract...I mean stimulus money yet? What are your plans? Was it a good idea? Or a bad one? Why?

I tend to think that it was about as good an idea as the last one. Alcohol-related violence in Tennant Creek increased exponentially the weekend of the last stimulus payment, pokie use increased markedly, among other things. They would have been far better off spending the money on job creation, and support for business. But I'm no economist.

[Mor Rioghan]

I dunno about Aussies, but the same thing happened in the States - everyone got their money and paid off bills with it. Is the President bloody crazy? Hate to break it to him, but we do have, y'know, debts. I've heard bad things about this Rudd character, is that the PM right now? Anyway, if he saw how useless the stimulus was in America and then did it in Australia, he is a moron. I agree, people need to start doing something useful with this money rather than coming up with ridiculous schemes like these. I normally wouldn't protest handouts, but I'd rather stay where I am and see the economy get back to normal than get $900 and buy a week's worth of gas with it.

I hate politicians.

[Khadgar]

I dunno about Aussies, but the same thing happened in the States - everyone got their money and paid off bills with it. Is the President bloody crazy? Hate to break it to him, but we do have, y'know, debts. I've heard bad things about this Rudd character, is that the PM right now? Anyway, if he saw how useless the stimulus was in America and then did it in Australia, he is a moron. I agree, people need to start doing something useful with this money rather than coming up with ridiculous schemes like these. I normally wouldn't protest handouts, but I'd rather stay where I am and see the economy get back to normal than get $900 and buy a week's worth of gas with it. :?

I hate politicians.

Easy way to get votes: "I'll pay you!".

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Yeah? Well I didn't get anything. In fact, I was told instead of getting nearly $2k back ... we had to PAY the stinking government over $200.

Call me crazy, but punishing us this year for having been given cash to help 'stimulate' the economy last year due to whatever bracket we fell into is a bit lame. And dribbling out this supposed tax relief over the course of the year doesn't do jack shit for us other than pad some checks with a few extra dollars that do not make an immediate difference.

You bet I'm ticked.

[Tarlachia]

I dunno about Aussies, but the same thing happened in the States - everyone got their money and paid off bills with it. Is the President bloody crazy? Hate to break it to him, but we do have, y'know, debts. I've heard bad things about this Rudd character, is that the PM right now? Anyway, if he saw how useless the stimulus was in America and then did it in Australia, he is a moron. I agree, people need to start doing something useful with this money rather than coming up with ridiculous schemes like these. I normally wouldn't protest handouts, but I'd rather stay where I am and see the economy get back to normal than get $900 and buy a week's worth of gas with it.

I hate politicians.

Wow, your fuel economy SUCKS... My night job requires me to drive nearly 400 miles a week...I only put in $50-60 of gas the entire week.

Yes, I know you were exaggerating...I hope.

Oh, and to keep in line with the OP, I got a crappy $300 from my stimulus pay, which, like most other people was just a boost in getting a grip on debt. My tax refund recently? Dumped into car repairs/maintenance. I'd rather see the economy get better than get stimulus checks...

[Trve]

I dunno about Aussies, but the same thing happened in the States - everyone got their money and paid off bills with it. Is the President bloody crazy? Hate to break it to him, but we do have, y'know, debts. I've heard bad things about this Rudd character, is that the PM right now? Anyway, if he saw how useless the stimulus was in America and then did it in Australia, he is a moron. I agree, people need to start doing something useful with this money rather than coming up with ridiculous schemes like these. I normally wouldn't protest handouts, but I'd rather stay where I am and see the economy get back to normal than get $900 and buy a week's worth of gas with it.

I hate politicians.

I love how the stimulus just went into effect (more or less) and you already feel confident that you can call it 'useless'.

Clearly you are a sorcerer. My avatar does not approve.

[Muravyets]

I'm stimulated all right, but not in a good way. Not only have I seen no extra money, but I recently started a new job and payroll has been screwed up every single pay period so far. And somehow, in the course of "fixing" it, they managed to INCREASE my US federal withholding tax by $50!! A call to the IRS was [sarcasm] reassuringly vague[/sarcasm]. "That sounds about right, ball park, but they should be refiguring it soon..."

So not amused...

[Sibirsky]

Get your minds out of the gutter NSG, I'm talking about money. I'm so excited!!! I got my $900. And I put it straight into the bank. Just like we were told not to. I'm looking to use it for holidays and such like.

So Aussies of the NSG world! Have you received your distract...I mean stimulus money yet? What are your plans? Was it a good idea? Or a bad one? Why?

I tend to think that it was about as good an idea as the last one. Alcohol-related violence in Tennant Creek increased exponentially the weekend of the last stimulus payment, pokie use increased markedly, among other things. They would have been far better off spending the money on job creation, and support for business. But I'm no economist.

Individually, paying off some of your debt is the best course of action. Nope, that won't help the economy in the short term. Guess what? The economy is not any individual's concern. The government should never be in the business of "job creation", the only jobs they can create are a drag on society.

[Trve]

The government should never be in the business of "job creation", the only jobs they can create are a drag on society.

*does his 'History Does Not Agree' dance*

[Muravyets]

Individually, paying off some of your debt is the best course of action. Nope, that won't help the economy in the short term. Guess what? The economy is not any individual's concern. The government should never be in the business of "job creation", the only jobs they can create are a drag on society.

So, you consider it a drag on society if the people who work for the government get paid? You know, the secretaries, data entry people, mail room guys, etc. How about if cops and fire fighters get paid? Is that a drag on society? Those are jobs created by government, after all.

How about government contracts? Should the government stay out of the job creation business by not hiring private companies to do public work under government control -- like build roads, supply the military, build schools, etc?

[Kele]

Get your minds out of the gutter NSG, I'm talking about money. I'm so excited!!! I got my $900. And I put it straight into the bank. Just like we were told not to. I'm looking to use it for holidays and such like.

So Aussies of the NSG world! Have you received your distract...I mean stimulus money yet? What are your plans? Was it a good idea? Or a bad one? Why?

I tend to think that it was about as good an idea as the last one. Alcohol-related violence in Tennant Creek increased exponentially the weekend of the last stimulus payment, pokie use increased markedly, among other things. They would have been far better off spending the money on job creation, and support for business. But I'm no economist.

I got mine!

...without expecting it, because I thought I was ineligible. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

Now, I just need to decide whether or not to save it as I am currently, or go out and spend at least part of it (well, the whole point was for it to be put back into the economy...)

[Saint Jade IV]

Individually, paying off some of your debt is the best course of action. Nope, that won't help the economy in the short term. Guess what? The economy is not any individual's concern. The government should never be in the business of "job creation", the only jobs they can create are a drag on society.

So, you consider it a drag on society if the people who work for the government get paid? You know, the secretaries, data entry people, mail room guys, etc. How about if cops and fire fighters get paid? Is that a drag on society? Those are jobs created by government, after all.

How about government contracts? Should the government stay out of the job creation business by not hiring private companies to do public work under government control -- like build roads, supply the military, build schools, etc?

Evidently. So many of our workers, particularly in industries like mining and construction have lost their jobs. Our mining sector, which was previously quite strong is now looking lethargic. Therefore, I think it would certainly aid the economy if this stimulus money had been put towards providing new jobs for these workers, such as roads (we still have many, many unsealed roads in the outback and far north - hence some towns in the last QLD floods being cut off for up to 3 months), government housing repairs (some of our teacher and court housing is absolutely shocking), building housing comission homes, working on the many other government projects. Furthermore, Wayne Swan just announced that we will be in deficit for the next 6 years. My opinion (and again, I am not an economist, merely an armchair commentator) is that it would be far better to see these people working and paying taxes and having a living wage that enables them to stimulate the economy than seeing them sitting on unemployment benefits that put them well below the poverty line, and giving them stimulus packages which they will then get used to and seek more of.

[Muravyets]

Evidently. So many of our workers, particularly in industries like mining and construction have lost their jobs. Our mining sector, which was previously quite strong is now looking lethargic. Therefore, I think it would certainly aid the economy if this stimulus money had been put towards providing new jobs for these workers, such as roads (we still have many, many unsealed roads in the outback and far north - hence some towns in the last QLD floods being cut off for up to 3 months), government housing repairs (some of our teacher and court housing is absolutely shocking), building housing comission homes, working on the many other government projects. Furthermore, Wayne Swan just announced that we will be in deficit for the next 6 years. My opinion (and again, I am not an economist, merely an armchair commentator) is that it would be far better to see these people working and paying taxes and having a living wage that enables them to stimulate the economy than seeing them sitting on unemployment benefits that put them well below the poverty line, and giving them stimulus packages which they will then get used to and seek more of.

I don't know about "get used to and seek more of," but I agree that I would rather see a stimulus package that is plowed back into infrastructure repair and development, upgrading of government systems, public education, new industry R&D, and other "investments in the nation" that can generate real work over a longer period of time. A one-time stimulus check is not going to stimulate as much as a new steady paycheck. And $5 or $10 more in my take-home pay every month is not going to stimulate as much as the job security that comes with a burgeoning business.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

We are making less than when we moved out here for a supposedly 'better' job nearly 6 years ago. Husband was given a 10% pay cut, is forced to work overtime on a salaried job (yes, that means without compensation), and is currently denied time off due to 'things being tight' on account of having laid off most everyone else they could, doubling if not tripling up job responsibilities on those left. Add to that the ever-increasing cost of living.

Basically, it sucks.

Engineering technician jobs, especially of a specialized nature, aren't exactly jumping off the boards at the moment, all things considered, or yes, he would have been out of there by now.

We pay our taxes. We do what we can to make good use of our funds, recycle our waste, and stay out of debt. And we're finding ourselves fairly squeezed all things considered. You'll pardon me not feeling terribly optimistic at the moment, in our economy, our leadership who seems to be pleased to bail out the big guys whilst telling the little guys to continue to 'sacrifice' and 'hang tight', or even in our own ability to keep our little family comfortably afloat these days.

Yeah, I'm mad. It feels like we're bending over and taking it, and for what? Frankly, I'd be better off if the gov in general left us the hell alone. They can't even manage their own money - how dare they sit back and presume to tell me how to handle mine - then ask me for more?

Bleah. Pardon grumpiness, but its just been a real gem of a day. /rant

[The Fanboyists]

Oh, you all stop complaining about how little stimulus money you got. I heard all this crap about "Still a dependent" and "but you don't have a job" or "But you still live with your parents" or "You're a goddamn teenager," and I didn't get anything. *cries*

[Saint Jade IV]

Oh, you all stop complaining about how little stimulus money you got. I heard all this crap about "Still a dependent" and "but you don't have a job" or "But you still live with your parents" or "You're a goddamn teenager," and I didn't get anything. *cries*

You should come to Australia. Families just got a payout in November of 950 per child, and then another one this month of the same amount. You'd be rich I tells ya, RICH!!!

I got $900 smackers. Which will pay back the money I took out of my savings for my car rego.

[Skallvia]

[Saint Jade IV]

NSG seems to have an image for every thread.

[Sibirsky]

Individually, paying off some of your debt is the best course of action. Nope, that won't help the economy in the short term. Guess what? The economy is not any individual's concern. The government should never be in the business of "job creation", the only jobs they can create are a drag on society.

So, you consider it a drag on society if the people who work for the government get paid? You know, the secretaries, data entry people, mail room guys, etc. How about if cops and fire fighters get paid? Is that a drag on society? Those are jobs created by government, after all.

How about government contracts? Should the government stay out of the job creation business by not hiring private companies to do public work under government control -- like build roads, supply the military, build schools, etc?

I am reffering to the U.S. Federal government. Cops, firefighters, subcontractors building roads and schools etc. are all employed directly or indirectly by local governments. If by secretaries you mean the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Labor, etc, and by data entry you mean people entering data of your tax return and by supplying the military you are talking about the Pentagon spending $100,000 to ship a screw to Iraq, then yes, they are a drag on society. Non of those wastefull jobs are necessary. Kind of allong the lines of "pig odor research". Here, pigs smell. That didn't cost the taxpayers a dime. And I do not expect a dime for my efforts. The Pentagon spends close to a trillion dollars a year to support an empire of 700 bases in 130 countries and 2 wastefull wars. Don't tell me that is neccessary for our safety. I hate to quote a villain, but Osama bin Laden said the reason for 9/11 is our presence in the Middle East. If anything, our military makes us less safe. So yes, those "jobs" are a drag on society.

[Kele]

Incidentally, "economic stimulus=kickback to the electorate" or not, the retail sector just reported a record increase in sales, far above projections. So, it seems to have worked.

[Voltronica]

are you guys still feeling stimulated??

[Sarkhaan]

are you guys still feeling stimulated??

Seriously. Fucking stop.