What is the most important thing for Congress to include in a stimulus plan?

Helping taxpayers is part of it, but remember, if you do not have any income, you do not need help with your taxes, but rather help with finding employment. So job-creation (with a possible short/long term use, not job creation for job's sake) is what is most important.

Give the middle and lower classes back their purchasing power.  DO NOT support programs that further move wealth upward.  That's what started this mess. It's a falacy that government should aid to engorge the accounts of "investors."   Factories produce when the buyers have purchasing power, not because the owner suddenly has come across "investment capital."   Put people to work so that they have a paycheck, stop the institutions that have sapped the buying power of homeowners who are deep in debt because of the mortgage crisis.

The economy is in the tank because recent government actions have moved an inordinant amount of capital to the top of the pyramid, with the ruse that they will "invest it," only to find that when main street has no purchasing power, wall street has no one to sell to.    We saw short term bonanza profits, sure, but long-term disaster to the over-all economy.   

Tax cuts for the middle class, job creation for the working class--anything but piling more money at the top of the pyramid, as much as they have the clout to "buy" favors from government.  DO NOT extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. 

It's not production that drives and economy, but consumption.   When people have no money they stop consuming and the production goes for naught.

Forcing institutions to loan money is what got us into this mess to begin with.  Starting with Carter, who initiated making financial institutions give home loans to people who couldn't afford them, and ending with Clinton, who pushed even harder.  The average taxpayer is now paying for people who had no business owning homes because they didn't qualify.  Now, our government wants us to pay their mortgages.  NO THANK YOU.

AJ... you are quite incorrect, forcing lenders to lend money is EXACTLY how we got here. Look at Fannie and Freddie, they were forced and encouraged to make loans to people that would not qualify in normal economic times.  They may be hard-working, but they were allowed to borrow more then they could afford to pay back.  Bailing out people who made bad choices is not my idea of a solution, many will continue to made poor choices in the future.  Your "conspiracy theories" don't hold water

What "conspiracy theory"? 

You both get your information from Rush and Hannity, that is the first problem.  Secondly, I am not asking that the institutions be forced to loan money to people who cannot afford it - I am talking about people with excellent credit and good incomes who currently cannot get loans.  If you do not believe me shop it yourself.  It is not a theory - it is a fact.

Call a few of your local car dealerships, find out how many car sales that they could have made in the last few months if people could have gotten the loans.  There are dealerships ready to go out of business because the banks will not give the loans.  The dealerships who act as their own lenders, such as GMAC are a little better off, but they cannot give the loans unless the treasury recognizes them as "financial institutions" and makes them eligible for TARP.  Were you paying attention over the last couple of months?

Try refinancing your own home.  The banks will not even look at anyone that does not have a FICA above 720.  That is pretty high, is it not?

The banks are holding onto their money and they are invested in the markets.  The banks are basing thier interest rates on the stock market not on prime.  It used to be that the banks set their rates at prime plus one...this is not so right now.  The rates are all over hell and are based on the stock market.  Federal prime rate is almost at zero.  The rates for 30 year mortgages are fluctuating between 5 - 7 based on the stock market.  This is not right, not how it should be.  It is supposed to be based on prime.

Not conspiracy.  Fact.  Look it up and do not depend on Rush for your information.  Rush makes crap up to fit his preconcieved ideology.  If you want to have a discussion you need to bring actual information to the table.

As for blaming it on Clinton and Carter and Freddie and Fannie use some common friggin' sense, will you?!  Think for yourselves for a minute.  Let's presume that someone got a mortgage during the Clinton or Carter years because the lenders were "forced" to give a mortgage to someone who could not afford it.  Why are they just now going into foreclosure?  9 - 35 years after they were given the mortgage?  How does that work?  They could not afford a loan that the banks were forced to give them 9 years ago, when Clinton was President, then they managed to pay on it for 9 years - even though they could not afford it - and they just now defaulted.  How does this work?  Jeebus you are stupid.

People can get car loans.  I just got one and it was very easy.  Problem is that lax lending standards over last 20 years allowed people who have no business getting a loan to get one.  Now homebuilders, dealerships and anyone else who relies on credit to make a sale is whining becuase unworthy borrowers can't get loans.  Get used to it baby, as we as a country are finally getting back to historical norms when it comes to borrowing standards.

Begging your pardon-we did not get here because of tax cuts. We got here from an explosion in the growth of government and government spending. The function of the Federal government is not to act as a jobs service for the countries poor and we as a country need to get back to some basics with respect to what government is and should be. We have plenty of regulation already on the books. We need to have the laws we already have in place enforced. The housing mess was directly caused by government-in particular Fanny and Freddy, and the community redevelopment act. It took along time to catch up with us-but finally all that social engineering started paying dividends in the form of property devaluation, foreclosures, job losses, and the collapse of our financial institutions.

The tax cuts did not create the financial meltdown. (1) 9/11 cost US economy trillion+; (2) wildfires, earthquakes, tornedos, hurricanes, and floods cost US economy trillion+;  (3) Anthrax scare, War on Terror, War in Afghanistan, War in Iraq cost US economy hundreds of billions; (4) Govt made banks lend mortgages to people who would not normally qualify for mortgages; 5) with housing boom, money flooded into housing to get better returns and people who never could afford a house before, got one - >10% of them by getting interest-only loans with resets (which were made possible by rules the democrats passed to help disadvantaged become homeowners); (6) Govt allowed securitization of mortgages which resulted in banks passing the risk to 3rd parties who believed they sufficiently spread the risk by bundling it into CDOs & CDSs - only the hedges/algorythms they used assumed housing and interest rates continued to go up; and the 3rd parties didn't care about foreclosures because they insured with AIG against the loss (7) Oil Producers raised the price of oil to attack our economy and make money; (8) Iraq War ratched up oil prices to Europeans impacting global markets; (9) Chinese bought up Oil in 25 year contracts to fuel its economy at above market rates; (10) Nigeria oil fields damaged caused spikes; (11) Venezuela's Chavez decides to attack US through oil prices & nationalizes oil fields; (12) Katrina damages US refinery capability; (13) Speculators jump in to make money off the radical jump/increased volatility in oil; high price of oil results in costs at the gas pump using up consumers' discretionary money; (14) Market uptick and other rules removed in Bush's second term; (15) market makers can no longer stop downturns, rapid volatility occurs with shorters and hedge funds hunting good companies like a pack of wolves to take them out making billions; (16) Fed, SEC, NASD, and others do not enforce rules and let the Wild West occur on Wall Street where at one point there was over $1000 in the market for every $1 in an actual company stock; (17) As the $100+ TRILLION in leverage grew, it resembled a deck of cards and any bad news caused panic and rapid deleveraging of our financial system - causing selloffs in good companies because they were the only assets which would sell. Trust evaporated as shorters/speculators took advantage of the forced deleveraging, (18) as banks/lenders tried to regain proper leverage ratios, they stopped lending to increase their capital reserves and tightened lending standards; (19) The reduced home values prevented using one's home like a piggy bank reducing people's discretionary spending; (20) Lenders tightening resulted in people not being able to get loans to transact normal business, so normal business activity got reduced resulting in layoffs; (21) Govt mandates Ethanol for gas based on corn which raises the price of food; (22) Govt mandates Low Sulfur Diesel which costs 2ce as much as regular diesel and which pollutes more than biodiesel made from corn/soy raising the cost to ship anything. (23) Meanwhile, Sovereign Funds controlled by petro-Sheiks continue to play our markets destroying US companies - while making loads of money. (24) Govt passes regulations which make it not only okay, but actually advantageous for US companies to offshore all labor intensive jobs. After manufacturing gets trashed, then Govt passes regulations to foster technology transfer from the US to the developing world - helping to rapidly migrate our technology, software, toy, shoes, clothing, and other industries to Asia. Govt then passes rules which encourage bio-tech to move overseas too. (25) As economy crashes, unemployment and foreclosures skyrocket. (26) Citibank fiqures out how to put over 1.3 trillion of its liabilities off its general ledger; (27) AIG figures out how to lobby Washington to get us to pay $150 BILLION to bail it out; (28) Bush picks the very men who were pivotal in causing these problems to senior positions in his administration; (29) Obama picks the very men who were pivotal in causing these problems to senior positions in his administration. (30) Everyone forgets all the hits to the economy that happened in 8 years. Everyone forgets that AS USUAL as soon as we have oil above $70/barrel for 6 months, we have a recession and that we had it above $150/barrel for months. (31) Through some mad re-write of what really happened, the blame for the economic crash goes to tax cuts....

You seem quite ignorant as to the cause of the foreclosure crisis.  This was not due to people purchasing more than they could afford.   People facing foreclosure and people who have been foreclosed upon are the same as you and me.  They are hardworking people who have worked for years and worked two and three and four jobs.  Most foreclosures are due to medical bills (prior to this subprime mess) and now many foreclosures are due to the lies and the scamming of predatory lenders who promised crap that was not true.  These foreclosures are not on people who just purchased their homes in the last few years, the majority of the foreclosures are on people who have lived in their homes for decades and refinanced because the lenders showed them how they would "save money" on their payments or they needed to take money out of the equity in their homes to compensate for rising costs and stagnant wages.  Then, when the rates reset, millions of people who had always paid their mortgages on time found themselves in dire straights where they could not afford their mortgages.  These are not stupid or greedy people - they are honest hardworking people who are just trying to survive.  You do not want to spend "your tax dollars" on the "stupidity" of "these people" (it is always the "other" with you wingnuts, isn't it?) but you do not have a problem spending "your tax dollars" on the stupidity of an Administration who illegally invades innocent countries and mames and murders millions with bombs and bullets built with "your tax dollars."  Interesting: saving fellow Americans who are hurting badly is a bad way to spend your tax dollars - murdering millions of innocent people is a good way to spend your tax dollars.  Nice values you got there, "fire in the belly."

The bottom line with foreclosures, regardless of who you decide to blame them on, is people buying stuff they couldn't afford.  Regardless of whether they worked hard or not, or what "predatory lenders" told them.  There was a time when people read contracts before signing them, understood what they were getting into, and saved more than they spent.  That time is long gone.  Blame it on society if you wish, but people need to be responsible for their decisions.  It is their name signed on the bottom of the contract -- no one held a gun to their head.  Typical liberal mentality there -- blame it all on Bush and the war.  God forbid anyone take responsibility for what they've done.  Someone needs to slap you one....

"Slapping me one" will solve everything.  Do you always instantly turn to violence when you are losing a discussion in your real life, or is that only online?  And your "typical liberal mentality" word bomb does not help you make your point it only proves that your ignorance knows no bounds.  Show me where I indicated that people should not take responsibility for themselves.  I have read, and re-read, and I do not see anywhere where you could even intimate that I do not believe that people should take responsibility for themselves. 

It is well within governmental purview to mandate that the mortgages that reset to insane interest rates be restored to an affordable rate.  You are correct that somewhere in the 300 page mortgage document that the homeowners signed it did stipulate that the rates would be reset, and it is unfortunate that not everyone understood all of the legaleze or that they trusted the loan officer who sold them the mortgage, this is all true - however, it is not unreasonable that the government could pass a law that mandates that the financial institutions who hold these crappy pieces of paper be forced to renegotiate these mortgages into fixed rate loans that the people can afford to pay. 

This is a lot more simple and reasonalbe than the "TARP" crap that the Congress put forward and it does not cost us taxpayers one red cent.  It actually saves us substantially because we are not stuck paying for the homeless people nor are we stuck dealing with state services that have been cut because the state governments no longer have the revenue coming in from property taxes (which is why almost every state in the country has huge budget deficits) and people can stay in their homes.  It also save the financial institutions who do not want to be stuck with a boatload of properties that lose value on a daily basis because entire neighborhoods are decimated with foreclosed homes.  This decreases the value of every other home in that neighborhood. 

This simple action does not cost any one of us any money and saves us all a tremendous amount of money AND it keeps people in their homes.   

Right on, AJ!  Beautifully said, beautifully written.  You get an "A."

Correct AJ. Also, many homeowners thought (or were "told") that home prices would rise forever, and refinancing was always a possibility down the line. Just like the genius Greenspan thought that the business cycle had been beaten for good by monetary policy. Plus, the possibility is that you might be bankrupted by medical bills, or some suit on Wall St. can always ship your job overseas, no matter how good you are.

AJ, you made a point that was exactly the first thought that ran through my head when I started hearing about all the rates getting ready to reset causeing people's mortgages to increase. I wondered why the banks wouldn't just take a small loss by restructuring the mortgage into fixed rates that people are more likely to afford. Sure the banks would lose money off what they could be making off the increased rate but they would sure be making more than forclosure. I know it wouldn't kepp all fromo being forclosed because even if a loan got refinanced at 5%-7% it is a big chunk of change more than a loan at 2%-3% like it was when they bought. Especially on $200,000+ house. You would think the banks would do whatever was possible to keep people in their homes as a reduced amount is better then no money when the house sits empty like some of the houses in my neighborhood have been for the past year.

But I suppose you can call it greed when they want it all or nothing. Or they are simply holding firm to the contract that was signed. But as a recent home buyer, you trust a lot in the "experienced" people sitting around that closing table to explain what things mean in that stack of papers you spend a couple hours signing. Even if you take the time to read them it doesnt mean you will understand what it means.

This situation wasnt caused by one person, or one group of people. It was caused by the government, the banks, and the people buying. They all had a piece in this. Te thing that sucks is the people who were responsible and are prepared for times like this get to watch others get bailed out. I had a bankruptcy and forclosure back in '03 and I had to pick myself back up from it with just the help of friends and family to get me through. It will just tears me up to see the government hand out to those who risked too much and lost. But I know that so much has gone downhill that it is dragging everything down with it and it has to be fixed.

I have a variable rate interest-mostly loan at 3.49% which I tried to lock. Instead of 5% or 6%, the bank told me it would charge an 10.45% rate for a 30 year fixed loan. Insane! I think the reason the banks have not been willing to renegotiate the loans to convert the stepped adjustable/variable rates to fixed is because (1) they no longer really have the loans - they securitized them and sold them as CDOs to others; (2) they were overleveraged so now they need to use any capital they get to ensure they meet their capitalization reserves requirements so they don't have their ratings lowered (which increases their cost of debt) or so they won't have to turn to the govt for a bailout. (3) they are stinging from bad loans so bad and see loan-quality deterioration, so they are not lending to anyone but the very best credit ratings until the dust settles (I heard over 730 needed for the 5% fixed rate).

Being a single female, I bought foreign.  Why?  Because they last a lot longer-less time at the mechanic shop getting screwed over.  Blame all the shady mechanics who take advantage of people.

If American cars were worth the buy I would've bought them. Besides, Toyota and other Un American factories employ Americans too.

I tried to buy American, but neither car lasted past 80K, Now I have two Toyotas both over 8 years old and 120K that are running strong with minimal expenses put out on them.  They even only require an oil change at 75K, so I save hundreds per year on that alone.  American car manufacturers need to change their business models, I for one buy a vehicle with the intent of it lasting ten years not 4.

buy an american car?? are you kidding me?? I wouldn't buy their junk before the bailout, and now you think I'm gonna buy their junk now after they raped my tax dollar in the bailout . ...please

You can look in my driveway and you won't see any foreign crap...You want to keep Americans working but won't by American...American made cars are as good as any foreign car..I don't buy into the argument that we build crap cars...The auto industry is the backbone of the American economy..I am willing to bet just about everyone who posts on here works for a company that has something to do with the auto industry directly or indirectly...

When you buy your next car think how that purchase affects the country...

To the person who said they only got 80,000 miles on a car...I buy American and routinely get well over 200,000 miles..I change the oil every 3000 miles and maintain the car...My last 97 Monte Carlo had over 247,000 miles on it..Everything on it was original except the starter and one headlight.....See if you get that on your foreign car..

BTW i gave the car to my stepson last May and it still is running like a champ....

In my opinion this is one of the biggest issues in America...flipping money our way...we're too used of getting freebies!  I would normally tell you to get a job, but since there are none I can't.  Therefore, it is vital that jobs are created!  Businesses are too scared to do anything right now so the government must step in and create jobs across the board and in all sectors of public works.  From transportation and energy to college grants for adults.  It took a long time for us to dig this hole and it will take some time for us to dig ourselves out.  We need to STOP BUYING ON CREDIT!!!  When everything you own has been purchased on credit you might have a problem.  Businesses love you because the government will bail you out and they still make their money.  So government also needs to hold businesses AND INDIVIDUALS accountable for their practices.  A business shouldn't go bankrupt and the CEO gets a bonus, the CEO should be made to pay for their misdeeds.  Also everyone down the chain should be fined.  The government should never allow a person to qualify for a loan if they don't have a solid history of working and that loan shouldn't go above what their traditional salary has been.  Tax cuts are a band aid, government accountablity on waste is a band aid, help for struggeling home owners is a band aid, these will stop the bleeding for a minute but the ONLY CURE IS TO CREATE LONG TERM JOBS, reign in credit practices by poor businesses, raise the level of education across America, and create opportunities in AMERICA.  Stop taking our money out of the country, raise tariffs on imports, and allow the businesses to fail. 

Let's be realistic...are people making big money because they make excellent decisions or are they making big money because they convinced someone they CAN make RIGHT decisions...but don't.  The economy is an example of this answer so let them fail and they'll figure out that we're not going to bail them out so they can fail again.

I have been looking for work since Sept. 2008 in Michigan.   I am not spending period.  I lost my condo and am living with a relative on their couch.  I can barely afford to eat.  I had months of emerency funds which have been depleted (isn't that what the experts recommend).  No job, no spending PERIOD.  Put me back on a payroll and I will SPEND.  And SAVE, of course. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE AMERICAN DREAM?  Work hard, educate yourself and live the good life.  Not in America!  Give me a break.  What the hell happened? (I am still trying to figure it out).

"I honestly wish that all the congress could be replaced with new people", I couldn't agree more!!! 

We always place blame on the President, but when you have Congressmen in power for 40-50 years and creating laws that we all must follow, they lose touch with what they are suppossed to be doing...looking after our best interest.

It's sad when people develop a career around "lobbying" Congressmen for OUR vote.

Bluestone - you could not be more right!  Replace Congress!  The other thing is we MUST control lobbying.  Until we do that nothing will help in the long run. I don't think people really know how much influence they have.  There MUST be term limits set for all congressmen and senators.  At first I didn't think it was necessary but the more I look at the mess in congress - IT IS.  

It's called "nutrition", let the banks fail, let the houses go back on the market, the homeowners will be much happier in the long run instead of constantly worrying about their puffed up mortgage payment.  Eventually they'll buy the same house for half the price.

The problem is these people can't afford to stay in their homes no matter what we do.  You can't have a loan that equals 50% of your income.  If they could have qualified for a prime 30% fixed interest mortgage they would already be in one.  For those that gambled and took out 2nd and 3rd mortgages, there is nothing that the banks can do for them.  We can't endlessly bleed credit and loan money to people that have no way of ever paying it back

Also stop the suits on Wall St. to ship jobs overseas, so they can save a dollar an hour or whatever. Wall St. has done enough for this country !!

The outsourcing is what started this whole downward spiral. American businesses are creating jobs, just not in the US. They have created jobs and a middle class in Asia, but it's been at the expense of US workers, particularly the middle and working class. This once was a country where a person could have a decent life, even without a graduate degree, but now even a graduate degree is no longer a guarantee of employment and is, in any case not affordable.  The globalists have done more harm to the US than the taliban have.

Help me out here.  Why don't we give the taxpayers (the spenders, the job creators, the consumers of foreign goods) a BIG stimulus check.  Then, people are spending and creating jobs immediately.  Job creation is the number one priority.  By the time these funds earmarked for technology, green jobs and infrastructure trickle down to me, it could be too late.  I guess I should learn how to pour concrete, right?  My UofM degree will be of no use anyway.

It will be interesting to look back on January 8, 2010 to see how the history will be written for 2009.

I have confidence in Obama but I am a little nervous at this point.  Give tax breaks, via payroll, and you have a small amount of money that is going to be used to: STAY ALIVE (eat) or will be SAVED so that survival is guaranteed for another few months. 

I didn't purchase a home because I KNEW that I couldn't affort it (I'm sure that I would have qualifed to predatory lenders).  But, I knew my limits.  Create jobs.  The idiots in Washington better get this one right or it will be one for the history books.

I wholeheartly agree about your proposal for low fixed interest rates on mortgages and credit cards. It used to be a card holder was penalized with higher interest if a payment was late or credit limit exceeded. Now the rate goes up just because the lending institution can raise it as they answer to no one. If credit cards bills are high people aren't asking for the debt to be forgiven-just let more of the payment go to the debt and less to the bank. They'll still be making a profit on a lower interest rate. Seems to me a bill paid on time at a lower rate is much more acceptable to a lending institution than a bill not paid at all!

I am all for that, they are even screwing people that have made good on paying on their credit cards.

yotajosh-  I am a 62 year old female and I totally agree, legalize and tax pot.  The use of this drug wont go up or down,  the only thing that would happen is a whole lot of new revenue for this country.

Great, the United States of America is already laughable stock to the rest of the world.

Shout out to William Young . . . give me a BIG stimulus check and watch me spend, spend, spend and save too!  I'll create jobs like nobody's business.

I think the point should be give the million bucks to AMERICANS, over eighteen, living in America (our folks in the military count too, regardless of where they are)! Folks who moved here to take jobs from Americans and people who moved here to get welfare don't count. The economy would skyrocket as AMERICANS pay off their credit cards, buy a decent home, a decent car, home appliances and electronics. The clothing industry would benefit too. America would be able to rebuild (plumbers, electricians, carpenters would be back to work).