Stimulus payments starting early

Treasury Department says it will deposit the first 800,000 payments four days earlier than expected in effort to boost economy.

NEW YORK(CNNMoney.com) — The federal government, eager to boost the flagging economy, will start distributing special stimulus payments Monday - four days earlier than expected.”Beginning Monday, the effects of the stimulus will begin to reach households,” President Bush said Friday. “This money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we’re seeing at the gas pump and at the grocery store.” The department announced the early arrival of the payments Thursday after saying last month that it would begin sending out the money on May 2.As of next week, 800,000 tax filers daily will begin to have their checks directly deposited Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. No checks will be distributed Thursday, and 5 million payments will be made Friday.The payments will go out ahead of schedule because of a new computer program that updates records daily - faster than an older program that updates weekly, according to Andrew DeSouza, a Treasury spokesman. Overall, the Treasury will distribute more than $110 billion to 130 million taxpayers by July and hopes to get the first $50 billion out by the end of May, DeSouza said.The checks are the centerpiece of an economic stimulus program signed into law by President Bush in February. The aim is to boost consumer spending and help mitigate problems caused by the slowing economy.Checks are being distributed to people who file 2007 tax returns. Those who opt for direct deposit with the Internal Revenue Service will start getting payments before those who use the mail.The program calls for rebates of up to $600 for single filers making less than $75,000. Couples making less than $150,000 would receive rebates of up to $1,200. In addition, parents would receive $300 rebates per child. Filers who do not owe income taxes but have at least $3,000 in income would get a $300 payment. Payments to taxpayers slated to get paper checks will start to go out May 9 - one week earlier than originally planned.

The order in which tax filers will receive their payments will be based on the last two digits of their Social Security numbers.

 Question is..what will you be doing with your check? Post your comment….

 

Yes folks, the brainwashing has started! I’m just kidding! Jeez…..But do enter at your own risk:

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Over 5 million people have taken the Quiz online — with about 35% scoring Libertarian. For many, it’s their first introduction to libertarian ideas. The Quiz is also being used in classrooms across the country — and is used as supplemental material for major textbooks.

Where do you fit in on the political map?  Click on the link and find out..

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html.

Now that my blog password works, I guess I can get down to business…Greetings! and thanks for listening to The Brian Wilson Show…my name is Stacey or Beth as Mr. Wilson chooses to call me (don’t ask..I don’t know.)  I am Brian’s producer..I used to be a producer on the infamous Ed Norris Show but a few weeks back, I was told by the higher ups here at CBS Radio that I would be producing The Brian Wilson Show… I was excited for the opportunity, even though I do miss working with my Baldy (my nickname for the former top cop.)  My first thought was “Who is Brian Wilson?”  I grew up in Baltimore so I vaguely remember “Brian and O’Brien” the wacky morning show on B104.  But in order to successfully produce this show, I started and am currently in the process of getting to the depth of Brian Wilson as the person and talk show host that he is today.  The first thing I did was google him.  I know, too many people google their friends, coworkers and relatives; kind of stalkerish, but this was research!  I had to see where the magnificent yellow brick radio road had taken him since his days at B104.  Lucky for me, Brian Wilson had a website.  You can visit it at http://www.brianwilson.net/.  There, I read some of Brian’s columns and favorite books.  Brian’s an author as well.  He wrote two books, “A Media Guide For Market-Liberal Organizations”, and “The Little Black Book on Whitewater”.  Ask for them at your favorite book store.  I also learned that Brian’s travels have taken him across the country as a talk-radio host in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston and Washington, DC.  He’s appeared on Fox News, CNN and other numerous cable talk shows and he hosted Talk At Night, his own TV talk show.  The next step was to meet with Brian.  We met for about 4 or 5 hours over a course of a couple of days.  I asked him what kinds of topics and guests he wanted for the show and I learned that Brian is a libertarian.  What does that mean?  I have always known a little bit on libertarianism, but in order to see where Brian is coming from in order to successfully produce this show, I have to learn a little or a lot more.  Among Brian’s recommended readings on his webpage, I found a book called “Libertarianism in One Lesson” which I am currently reading.  The author is D avid Bergland and you can find it at www.amazon.com.  To sum up my first few hours meeting with Brian is to also sum up the show.  Thought provoking.  We picked a series of topics from issues such as politics to race to religion to crime and constitutional rights and liberties, etc.  I listened as Brian approached each and every topic as he would on the show.  Actually, to say that I listened is wrong; I had to put a lot of thought into it as I listened.  I had to learn to open up and step outside the box.  I seriously had migraine headaches because I don’t believe I have used those parts of my brain for years.  Now we are three weeks into the show or journey as I like to call it.  We’ve had some great guests such as Ann Coulter, Bob Barr and Walter Williams to mention a few with lots more to come!  Tomorrow, Brian will catch up with the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore and I will be back here to fill you in with some helpful links, info and more things Brian!  Feel free to drop us a comment..

-SB (Stacey Brown or Stacey Beth, whichever) 

   

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