COVID Relief Stimulus

My wife and I have received individually the following monies:  $1,200, $600, and $1,400 for a total of $3,200 each or as a couple $6,400...  and, while we are appreciative for these tax payer funds, we did not need the money in order to pay our monthly bills or to compensate for not working because both of us have been retired for a little over 5 years and were currently relying on Social Security Payments as well as our Savings as well as a Trust Fund that was set up for us by our parents.

Neither my wife nor I live HIGH ON THE HOG as they saying goes but we have enough money each month to pay our bills, save a little money, go on 6 weekly vacations each year, and go out to a restaurant once or twice a week...  we also have sufficient funds to pay for any unexpected expenses that we have already encountered or will encounter in the near future.

While COVID relief packages by both the Trump and Biden administrations have been received, all of these monies are in our savings account and there are no plans to spend these monies anytime soon.  Of course, one could easily say that we are spending these monies and saving our other monthly income, but the fact remains that we did not need these monies to survive and will not be spending these monies to somehow improve our lifestyle

OFF THE RECORD:  I am really concerned about our Government Spending and how our National Debt is increasing to the point that it will be financially dangerous for America.  This concern targets both parties and is seen as being financially irresponsible.  However, regardless of what happens to our Federal Government and our National Debt and potential consequences, it will not impact my wife or I to any great extent...  which is exactly why we continue to save money.

COVID Relief and Inflation

Opponents of the package, which included all Republican members of Congress, accused the bill of being a Trojan Horse used by Democrats to usher in partisan priorities under the guise of pandemic relief.

But Republican lawmakers haven't been the only ones to raise concerns. The sheer magnitude of the fund has prompted lively discussions within economic and political circles about whether it is too large for its own good, and whether inflation is now in the cards.

"I agree that too much is better than too little and we should aim for some overheating. The question is how much," economist and former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund Olivier Blanchard wrote on Twitter in February, responding to the proposed bill. "Much too much is both possible and harmful. I think this package is too much."

"This would not be overheating; it would be starting a fire," he wrote.

Over the last decade, the rate of inflation in the US has only occasionally gone above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%. For anyone born after 1960, it might be difficult to imagine what a US ravaged by exploding consumer prices might look like. But in the 1970s, overly loose monetary policy, the introduction of wage and price controls, and a series of energy crises pushed the inflation rate into the double digits and plunged the US into a painful recession.

"There's a real possibility that within the year, we're going to be dealing with the most serious incipient inflation problem that we have faced in the last 40 years," former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told Bloomberg News in February.  READ MORE

Unbridled inflation is bad enough on its own terms. But it's also self-perpetuating. The faster people try to spend their depreciating money, the quicker it will lose value. If this were to happen in the US, the Fed would have to step in and consciously inflict pain on the economy. This would take the form of higher interest rates meant to increase unemployment, forcing a stop to the spending frenzy on the most unpleasant terms.

What's New?

SOMEONE, who gets a kick out of hacking accounts or perhaps SOMEONE who is pissed off at me for some reason, has hacked my account on my Samsung Tablet and not only setup a new access password but also has set up a password so that the tablet cannot be shut down and therefor has prevented me from setting up factory defaults that would by definition eliminate all passwords.

How clever is that???

And, while my initial reaction was to get pissed...  I have easily decided that I will just shit can this old tablet especially since it is about 5 years old anyway, and use my NEWLY APPROVED BY THE HOUSE COVID Stimulus Package of $1,400 per person to buy another one....  which is good actually because it is my taxes that have already been paid in to the IRS which will be used...

IRONICALLY, I am retired and DON'T NEED any kind of stimulus money but our Democratic Congress says that I do need this money...  so...  I will not argue with them.

BUT... I am really concerned that ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILDREN are receiving face-to-face education when our own AMERICAN CHILDREN are being forced to stay at home and learn remotely in many States...

ALSO...   I am concerned that the Biden administration is TOO FOCUSED on Russia when it should be FOCUSED ON CHINA...  In my research, CHINA has a larger military as well as a larger Navy than the USA...  and, in the next few years will have a larger economy than the USA.  The fact that CHINA allowed the COVID virus to leave their borders does not bother me near as much as their economy and their military.

FINALLY...  I am extremely pleased that females are still allowed to have abortions, especially since most of the abortions performed are being performed on the financially lower class whose offspring if delivered would have entertained a life of crime 12-15 years down the road.

That is not to say that wealthy children do not get involved with crime BECAUSE THEY DO...  it is just that wealthy parents are able to use their financial influence to minimize the penalty or eliminate the penalty completely...  and, poor people cannot do this...  so they end up going to jail...

Increasing the minimum wage will not help that much either because as the wage increases so do prices and those people receiving a higher wage are really no better off than before....