No taxes vs. Stimulus (in Debates)

A representative from Texas has a (dashed clever, in my opinion) idea: Instead of having another "stimulus"; have a 2-month tax holiday where no taxes are paid on anything, by anyone. His reasons for this are:
1). It gets the money to the end recipient quickly.
2). No bureaucratic intervention (read: waste).

So, this debate/discussion is the previously stated plan versus the (possible) White House plan for another (3rd) round of stimulus.

I'd like for the posts to be formatted like this (at first):

[Which plan you'd like to see (I.e. Tax Holiday OR Stimulus)]
[Why you would like to see it]

After that, feel free to comment/debate on each others posts. Just keep it civil, please.

Go!

Stimulus

1. A 'holiday' would invariably favor those who spend more. Redistributing the wealth at least to a minor point is necessary.
2. Via economics, you'll find that taxing and spending increases GDP more than a tax cut. This has to do with how the money goes through an extra round of spending without being saved in a bank.

1. If I had to pick one I'd say stimulus...

2. What if I don't have the money to buy things to make the holiday worth while, I could buy some electronics and what not and end up saving a few hundred, but what about someone who buys a house or car... They would surely be getting the better deal...

It is an interesting idea, I just see some problems implementing it, most cash registers and the like add tax automatically and I am not sure how one would go about 'fixing' them for the 2 weeks...

definitely stimilus...I don't know about the US but in Canada it would be a logistical nightmare to inform EVERY employer that taxes won't be deducted for a certain period of time. Also It does not help those that are not earning an income.

Another problem is that I would assume that government budgets are formatted in such a way that they require a constant source of income to operate. I don't think that a hiatus from income would do any favours for the government.

I don't live in the US ;)

I do not desire another stimulus.

Increasing our debt more than the 1T already in the hole.

When we get out of this recession, the US will be ill prepared for the boom that is likely to occur. With so much debt, it will be very hard to recover as fast as needed.

A tax holiday will stimulate things much more. With more money to spend, people will spend, stimiulating the economy far more than having the government in the mix.

It is quite easy to enact either one. Cash registers can be easily programmed not to included tax. Here in Florida we have tax holidays before every school year on certain items. Without any difficulty enacting.

Not taking out payroll taxes can easily be done as well.

the tax holiday is good..but how am i supposed to enjoy it without a source of income to take advantage of it? :-/ :P...in my current state stimulus though if i get a job prior to the holiday ill go with that.

Most studies show that a temporary tax cut (holiday in this case) does not spur growth, instead all of that money goes to things like bills and debt. Not a bad thing, but it certainly wouldn't create the boom that he hopes it would.

Ranger I really like your idea, but if you are a person like myself and Sox where we already barely pay the bills and can't afford much extra I doubt having a holiday from taxes would help at all. We wouldn't spend more. We would save what money we get extra by not having taxes taken out of our check to prepare for when the holiday is over so we won't be barely making it by and we can have some extra in the bank for a few more months. Until something else breaks down like the car or washer and dryer and we barely afford to get it fixed or buy another one.

I also don't think a stimulus would help us much either. I just am not sure what would really help out.

Rock

There was a time I was in your shoes.

In medical school I could barely pay my bills with maximum loans already taken out.

My first year of residency I made 25k. Barely enough to cover expenses working 90+ hours a week.

I believe a tax holiday will let you see more money in your pocket faster.

A stimulus takes a lot of time to prepare, enact and get going. And there is no guarantee a stimulus will even effect you personally. I know of many people who are still out of work, or barely getting by with the current spendulus package that was rammed down our throats.