The State's Economic Stimulus Checks Not Sent to Thousands in Muskegon County, MI

Leviathan has not remitted its "economic stimulus" checks to thousands of Muskegon County residents in the State of Michigan. The checks are supposed to be "up to $600 to more than 3,500" people in the county.

According to MLive.com, if the checks are not cut and remitted by October, the checks, which total over $1 million, will remain in the vile, diabolical governmental beast's coffers.

Here's the article in its entirety:

Thousands haven't claimed stimulus checks
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
By Brian McVicarstaff@muskegonchronicle.com

MUSKEGON COUNTY -- The federal government is waiting to dole out economic stimulus checks of up to $600 to more than 3,500 Muskegon County residents.

But unless the residents file for the checks by Oct. 15, the money -- over $1 million -- will stay in Uncle Sam's wallet.

So on Sept. 27, a group of Muskegon-area organizations will help residents fill out paperwork to get their stimulus checks. The help is being provided from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Goodwill Workforce Development Center, 950 W. Norton, Norton Shores.

The event is free and open to everyone.

'Sometimes people simply don't have the knowledge they can do it or still have the opportunity to do it,' said Martha Bottomley, executive director of Volunteer Muskegon. 'We're simply trying to get the word out that there's more money available to those out there in Muskegon County.'

The $168 billion nationwide relief effort was signed into law by President Bush in February with the goal of providing cash-strapped residents a boost in spite of high gas prices and a slumping economy.

The stimulus checks 'were designed to help people and our economy out,' Bottomley said. 'The more money people spend, the better it is for our economy.'

While some of the unclaimed checks may belong to workers who didn't file tax returns, many likely belong to residents who receive Social Security or veterans benefits but aren't required to file taxes because they don't earn enough, said Cathy Guenthardt, of Volunteer Muskegon.

'A lot of people are intimidated by income tax forms,' Guenthardt said. 'But the money can help a lot. It can pay for car insurance or a gas bill.'

Anyone with income of $3,000 or above qualifies for the checks. Parents who have children under age 17 also qualify for an additional $300 per child.

Aside from the fact that some of these bozos in the article have long since inculcated (by the government "public" schools, no less) with the belief that government can somehow "stimulate" the economy, as if the economy were a living and breathing entity. That is hardly the case at all. The state can only take money from those who produce to those who don't, even if it is allegedly meant for the "good" of society. The government can only tax and regulate jobs out of existence and overspend our money while wasting it at our expense. It cannot "create" jobs out of thin air, nor can it pump the economy with a "stimulus package" considering the money is already in the economy. It means that wealth in every area of the economy is already being moved around to send out the checks.

This brings to mind the "broken window fallacy" -- the view that one only sees what the money is being spent on but doesn't see what the money could have been spent on. As Sheldon Richman recently pointed out on the Independent Thinking show with John Caldara, "You cannot consume your way into prosperity." Higher spending, as Sheldon also pointed out, is the result of consumption, not the cause of it. The way that the economy can be truly stimulated is a slashing or repeal of taxes, regulations, and spending and laws dictating who will be paid and how much they will spend, along with many governmental edicts and barriers that have wreaked havoc on the marketplace and the economy. Consuming your way into prosperity is a Keynesian fallacy. True economic growth is from savings and investment, not an injection of cash into the economy by the Democrats and Republicans.

This is done merely for political stimulus, not economic stimulus. This means that the statists in power want it to look as if they are doing something to "help" the economy, not allow bipartisanship to stand in the way of responding to this grave emergency. Thus, economic stimuluses can never work.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is guilty of economic ignorance and self-delusion.