A scuffle between House Democrats has brought legislation to help debt-strapped homeowners to a halt. The bill would let bankruptcy judges reduce the principal and interest rate on mortgages.

The main point of contention centers on this question: Is it fair to help only those who are facing bankruptcy and not others struggling to make mortgage payments on homes that are now devalued?

Democrat vs. Democrat

Debaters seem to fall into two camps: traditional Democrats and moderate Democrats, including members of the business-minded New Democrat Coalition.

Coalition head Rep. Ellen Tauscher points out that the measure only helps homeowners facing bankruptcy and other extreme circumstances. The coalition says there are people out there who can make their payments, but still deserve help.

“There’s an equity question here,” said Rep. Ed Perlmutter, another member of the coalition. “The discussion has got to be, what’s the benefit to the guy next door who is struggling to pay the bills, is paying the bills and isn’t filing for bankruptcy?”

Third party problems

While the New Democrat Coalition is seeking more help for struggling homeowners, banks are lobbying for less. Last year, a banking industry lobbying effort managed to kill a similar bill.

They are still advocating that protection and aid only be extended to homeowners with subprime or other “exotic” loans.

Compromise

The mortgage industry argues that the costs the could incur from reducing existing mortgages will only cause them to have to raise interest rates for future borrowers.

Bank lobbyist have gotten House Democrats to agree to limit the measure to loans that have already been made. Also, borrowers must show they tried other ways of modifying their loans.

What now?

The House vote on the bill, which was originally scheduled for today, has been pushed to Tuesday. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure in about two weeks.

United States Senate

Your source for a no-hassle faxless payday loan fills you in on the Senate’s version of the economic stimulus plan.

Ranting Republicans have said the House of Representatives’ version of the economic stimulus plan was “embarrassingly” expensive. Still, the Senate has released its version of the plan, and it comes with an even high price tag: $885 billion.

To read up on the House’s $819 billion version of the plan, check out this article from your faxless payday loan source.

Cutting taxes, not cutting back

Ironically, the higher price of the Senate package is mostly due to the very thing the Republicans were clamoring for: more tax cuts. The Senate’s plan puts the Alternative Minimum Tax on hold so it won’t start to hit taxpayers for a year.

As expected, Republicans are asking for less spending. They are also saying that more attention should be focused on stimulating the housing market. Democrats have said they’d be willing to create more incentives for home buyers.

Counterargument

Generally, Republicans say that for the stimulus bill to work the funds need to be released immediately. However, some Democrats are saying that spreading the spending out will be more helpful for the economy.

“While most of the funding will be spent before 2011, many economists believe that the economy still will be weak at that point. Those investments that will continue to spend out after 2010 can be helpful in smoothing the course of the recovery, while providing longer-term benefits to the economy,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

Compare and contrast

One of the big differences between the House bill and the Senate’s version is how quickly the money will be spent. The Senate’s package will spend 78 percent of the funds by the end of 2010. The House’s plan spends about 64 percent of the money during that time period.

About 29 percent of the Senate’s plan will go to tax cuts. In the House package, about 22 percent is dedicated to tax cuts. Both plans include proposals dedicated to tax relief and extensions in unemployment benefits. Both also invest a large sum in infrastructure.

The plan is to have a version of the bill ready for president Barack Obama in the next two weeks. Keep up on the progress of the economic stimulus package through your faxless payday loan source.

Republican Senator Susan Collins

Your payday loan lender offers you updates on the economic stimulus package.

Yesterday Obama met with the entire Republican Conference to hear their ideas regarding the economic stimulus package. It was a rare move for any president, let alone a Democratic one. It signaled a change in tone between the White House and Congress as Obama vowed to hear and consider the input of the opposition.

Nevertheless, Republicans are heavily criticizing the plan, saying it was drafted with little input from them. They also are saying that a majority of the House Republicans will vote against the bill today.

“I am not sure if we have yet achieved the right balance,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins, from Maine.

Where’s the beef?

Of course, at the top of the list of Republican grievances is that the plan needs to contain more tax cuts. On top of that, three amendments that Energy and Commerce leaders accepted didn’t get added to the bill. One of those amendments prohibited people who make more than $1 million a year from qualifying for COBRA.

Makes sense to me. COBRA is for people who can’t afford to pay for medical coverage, just as a payday loan is only meant for times when borrowers don’t have savings.

Laundry list of changes

The Rules Committee met today to review more than 100 proposed amendments. Both Republicans and Democrats offered up their suggested changes, pushing the Rules Committee to work at a feverish pace to rule on each. Proposed amendments include requiring transportation spending to be completed in 90 days, increasing capital transit funding and cutting funding for Amtrak.

Check back with your payday loan lender for more updates on the economic stimulus package.

Congress is working on legislation that will shape Obama's $825 billion stimulus plan.

Payday loan restrictions aren’t on the agenda for Congress yet; they have urgent work to do in order to fix the country’s failing economy. Today House Democrats began to push through legislation that will shape Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

The plan, estimated to cost $825 billion, is scheduled to be ready for approval and implementation in mid-February. On day two of Obama’s stay in the Oval Office, Congress got to work on finalizing his economic stimulus plan. The House Ways and Means Committee approved $275 billion in tax cuts with a vote of 24-13. All Democrats voted yes, and Republicans voted no.

Tax cut support, opposition counter intuitive

Despite the fact that Republicans voiced support for the tax cuts in the days following Obama’s announcement, they opposed the measure that cemented those tax cuts. The reason for their opposition? The tax cuts were not big enough.

It is also odd that Democrats, many of whom said they thought the recovery plan should contain fewer tax cuts, voted in favor of the bill. However, the urgency of the situation has been greatly emphasized, and Democrats are focused on getting a bill passed quickly. Or perhaps they wanted to push the cuts through before the Republicans had a chance to augment them.

Who’s the boss?

Democrats hold a majority of the positions on legislative committees, including tax-writing committees, a result of the election.  So it’s no surprise that the Democrats’ effort to preserve a tax break for this year and 2010 was successful. The tax break will amount to $500 for individual workers and $1,000 for couples per year. This might help a few people avoid needing a payday loan.

Democrats also voted down a Republican proposal that would help laid-off workers with health insurance. Because the measure would only help those who previously held employer-covered health insurance, Democrats argued that it would mostly help upper-income individuals.

Energy and technology

The House Energy and Commerce Committee met separately Wednesday to approve more legislation that will expedite Obama’s long-term plans. The committee approved $2.8 billion to expand broadband access. It also approved several billion more dollars to promote energy efficiency.

Other proposals the committee worked on were geared toward health care. Specifically, legislators are preparing for increased enrollment in Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment insurance, which traditionally rise during a recession.

Point taken

In a symbolic vote, the House voted to block access to the remaining $350 billion in TARP funds. Because the Senate already approved use of the funds last week, the vote has no actual effect on usage of the funds. The vote was merely a chance for House lawmakers to make their opposition known.

Many lawmakers did take the opportunity to indicate their dissent, including 90 Democrats. In total, the vote ended up being 270-155. Despite the landslide vote to block access, the action has no actual effect. Obama already has access to the funds, and he and his advisers are already drawing up plans for how to use it.

Check back with your payday loan source for more news on where the nation’s money is being spent.

$825 billion economic stimulus package

House Democrats today summarized the much-awaited economic recovery plan, and the total bill now is set at $825 billion. The plan includes $550 billion for spending and state aid. The other $275 billion will come from tax cuts.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the bill will  be complete by mid-February. House committees will now review the bill and then it will go to the Senate.

Energy and infrastructure

The package, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, says $54 billion will be spent on producing alternative energy. Obama wants production of alternative energy in the U.S. to double. Tomorrow Obama will talk about the details at a wind turbine factory in Ohio.

As promised, the bill includes provisions for infrastructure and education. In this plan, $90 billion would go to repairing, modernizing and building roads, bridges, mass transit and waterways. More than $140 billion is allocated for state aid, and most of it would go to education.

Getting the job done

The plan also calls for saving or creating 3 to 4 million jobs. Some estimates say this will be done by 2010, but economists and other members of Obama’s team say it will take two years.

The recovery package also gives aid to those without jobs. $9 billion will go to increasing the amount of unemployment checks. $27 billion would go to extending unemployment benefits. $30.3 billion would subsidize health care for a year for workers who had health coverage through their employers and lost their jobs.

Tax time

Obama’s original plan called for a $3,000-per-hire tax credit for businesses, but the summary released today does not include that provision. It does, however, include what Obama calls the “Make Work Pay” credit, which will provide Americans an extra $500 through decreased paycheck withholding.

Businesses are still up for a tax cut, called the “net operating loss carryback,” but that might not make it onto the final bill. The amount dedicated to this tax cut is unclear. The bill also expands the earned income tax credit.

Republicans respond

The Republican Study committee put forth an alternative bill. Their bill allocates more for business tax cuts. House Minority Leader John Boehner has said that the Democrats’ bill contains questionable spending and doesn’t contain enough tax cuts.

Obama has said that he will look at any and all ideas for stimulus from both parties. With the small amount that would make its way back into individuals’ paychecks, though, many Americans will still be left needing a payday loan in the case of unexpected expenses.

The great debate

There is much talk in Congress as well as households across America as to whether tax cuts or government spending is the best way to stimulate the economy. Economists and politicians agree that there is an urgent need for government intervention to ease the economic  crisis, but Democrats and Republicans are sticking to their respective ideals when in comes to what form that intervention should take.

Democrats are pushing to fund government programs that will create jobs. Republicans believe that the money should go to individuals through decreased taxes.

My two cents

There are problems with both theories. Even if the full amount proposed goes to job creation, it will not bring unemployment back down to normal levels, it will simply decrease it. And tax cuts are a risky bet because after all of the financial hardship American families have been through they are saving more, and will likely continue to do so with any extra money they have.

Share your thoughts on which approach you think will get America’s economy back on track.

This article was provided by your payday loan source.

Obama faces opposition from Senate Democrats

President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his massive economic stimulus plan yesterday, and most of the resistance to the package seems to be coming from inside the Democratic party. In a closed-door meeting with Obama aides David Axelrod and Lawrence Summers, democratic leaders expressed reservations about proposed tax cuts for businesses and individuals.

Quite frankly, because of the economy, if someone gives you a tax break you’re probably saving that money. You are going to salt that away, you are not going to spend it,” said Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin

Harkin spoke to reporters after the meeting, and he said he thought the plan relied too much on the “trickle down” theory, reports the National Journal.

Party priorities

Democratic leaders are saying more emphasis needs to be placed on other parts of the plans, specifically investing in energy and infrastructure. Obama’s proposal includes plans to create jobs in developing alternative energy and repairing the nation’s roads and bridges.

Harkin said many people at the meeting expressed the sentiment that the most important step toward fixing the economy is creating jobs. Budget Chairman Kent Conrad said energy is “way underrepresented” in the plan.

Stimulus check vs. tax break

The plan would give individual Americans $500 over a period of months through decreased tax withholding. For some, this could make the difference in whether they need a payday loan. Tax cuts would also be given to businesses who hire new workers. After the Bush administration sent out stimulus checks last year, it had no noticeable effect on the economy. So many Democrats believe a tax break would be ineffective as well.

However, Majority Whip Richard Durbin disagreed. He believes that Americans save the  money from their stimulus checks “because it’s the only thing coming.” He argues that if a small but steady stream of extra cash were predictable, people would consider making purchases they otherwise would not.

More voices chime in

Economists are calling on Congress to act quickly to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, but they are split on support for the tax cuts. Some support the breaks and believe they will stimulate the economy, but others are skeptical that it will encourage more spending.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce responded positively to the plan. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue expressed a rare sentiment when he called the package a relatively “cheap investment.” The price tag for the plan is estimated at $800 billion.

Editing process

Summers, Obama’s economic council director, was noncommittal about what changes would be made to the plan. Leaders involved in passing the huge initiative expect to see a lot of back-and-forth before an agreement is reached.

Republicans yesterday expressed general agreement with the plan. Some are encouraging that the proposed grant to supplement state revenue should instead be loans.

Check back with your payday loan source for more updates on the progress of Obama’s proposed stimulus plan.

But they’ll cry if they want to

After his economic address this morning, Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats made it clear that they don’t agree with all of the President-elect’s ideas. Obama ran into opposition within his own party regarding the proposed tax cuts included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

Senator Kent Conrad from North Dakota said he thinks giving businesses tax breaks for hiring workers won’t be effective.

“If I’m a business person, it’s unlikely if you give me a several-thousand-dollar credit that I’m going to hire people if I can’t sell the products they’re producing,” Conrad said.

While Republicans touted their total agreement with the tax cuts Obama is proposing, more Democrats had arguments against those cuts.

Voice of elections past

John Kerry expressed his sentiment that tax cuts are an indirect way of creating jobs and that the money should be spent on “infrastructure, on direct investment, on energy conversion.”

About $300 billion of the ARRP would go toward tax cuts for individuals and businesses. The plan now is rumored to carry a price tag of about $800 billion. That is 5.3 million times the amount you can get for a payday loan from Personal Money Store, in case you were wondering.

Too little too late?

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, from Oregon, believes the tax cuts for middle class individuals will be too small to make a difference. The cuts reportedly add up to about $500 per worker, or $1,000 for couples.

“In tough times people don’t respond all that well to marginal changes, such as a small amount of money added per paycheck,” Wyden said.

Or too much too early?

Senator Max Baucus of Montana contends that it is too early to judge Obama’s plan. However, while most politicians are pushing for an agreement by mid-February, Baucus wants the plan to be put to a vote during the week of Obama’s inauguration, which is Jan. 20.

Sideshow

Obama appears to be having quite the red-letter day. On the same day he gave a major economic speech, Congress officially declared Obama the winner of the Nov. 4 election. Well, at least there is one thing we can count on.

Also today, Obama’s transition team petitioned Congress to delay the digital television switch, scheduled for Feb. 17. That is the day all television is supposed to be broadcasting digitally instead of using an analog signal. Obama says there simply isn’t enough funding to achieve the switch by the target date.

It’s not all fun and games, but some of it is!

Obama may be facing some tough times ahead, even when it comes to dealing with his own party, but at least he knows he has one fan: Marvel Comics (see http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/08/obama-stars-spider-man-comic-based-inauguration-day/). When the company found out that Obama collected “Spider-Man” comics as a kid, it decided to honor him by featuring him in an upcoming issue.

My favorite part: Spidey uses a basketball game to determine who is the real Obama and who is an impostor.

Back to the subject

Democrats are criticizing Obama’s tax cut proposals, and Republicans are unhappy about the overall cost of the economic stimulus plan. But there is one thing all parties agree on: action must be taken, and fast.

Obama believes that the stimulus package must be put into action before the nation’s financial situation gets any worse. He is concerned that unemployment will continue to skyrocket unless the government steps in.

This article was provided by your payday loan source.