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Huh, this does suck.. though the key word here is 'considering', it's still a bad idea and shouldn't even be considered.
It's possible the reasoning behind this is trying to cut costs and save the economy but really, aren't there better ways to do that?

Well...Normally the fed would just lower interest rates in order to get people to spend money and get the economy flowing again, but seeing as how they're (interest rates) already the lowest in who knows how many years...They're kind of stumped as to what to do exactly. That, and the fact that people are scared to take out loans for obvious reasons.

This is the first time the economy has had a real screw-up since Paulson fixed us up good about eighteen years ago. Now, I don't really agree with Obama's plan, but then again I didn't really agree with the Bush Administration starting a war in a country we had no right or reason to be in. This could very well only be a precedent of Obama's plan to get our troops home. Regardless, with the situation we're in right now... Let's face it. There's not going to be a quick easy solution that makes everybody happy, somewhere along the way someone is going to get screwed over. That's kind of what happens when people avoid a problem until the last possible second.

Now...there are better ways to save the economy yes, but once again along the way someone gets hurt.

We could have a national sales tax worth a cent of every dollar spent, but that would raise the Taxes 100% on the states who already pay a sales tax, and of course people are going to b***h.

Bonds are always a good idea, but those bonds have to be paid off by the government in the future, and seeing as how the government doesn't have money they would have to make up for it some other way...like taxes.

You could raise income taxes, but then the working class complains and demands salary raises to balance things out. Then the employers complain, and start cutting jobs in order to balance things out. Then, not only does the board have to worry about the falling economy, but also the rising unemployment rate.

Basically...We're screwed economically until people start spending on their own again.

The problem is that this isn't being considered anymore. It's happening. The cabinet has already publicly announced that the delay in this being passed is just a formality new/changes to policies must undergo. And yeah, this is totally for cutting costs. I'm sorry, but first the AIG bailout to save investments, and then the Ford/GMC/Chrystler bailout to save the brand (as "America's Auto Company") and save those jobs. Here's the problem with the Ford bailout. The money went straight to the heads, just like with AIG. And you know what the CEOs did? Vacation.....just like with AIG. The money wasn't given to the workers and jobs were still lost.

For the AIG bailout...the whole idea should have been scrapped. That was 85 billion flushed away. Those people SHOULD have lost their investments. It's a COMPANY! not a governmental branch. Investments are only a fancy game of craps. You will eventually lose. Since when has a casino given you all your money back AND handed to a few more chips? NEVER! It's just the way businesses are supposed to be run.

For the Ford bailout...The money should have been sent through the proper channels. Send people out to BUY Ford/GMC/Chrystler cars, and give them away to anyone who has a vehicle registered 11+ years old (avg car's life is 10 years) and to soldiers (because they mostly broke and can't afford it without adding on to mountains of existing debt).

Now, this all is relevant because, since Obama won't let lobbyists fill his pockets (a very good decision), cashflow is nill. He's fighting Big Oil in a HUGE way. Now this may come back to bite us in the butt, it may pay off and drive oil costs down. Time will tell. However, he wants to bring our boys home. That's cool too. But think of all those new veterans that leave the service afterwards. Their job is done, so yeah, most will leave the armed forces and be labeled "Veteran". BAM! No more healthcare for them. WTF? The only stuff that'll still be covered will be like, dismemberment and shattered ball joints.

A lot of people don't see a problem with this. BUT as future administrations see where more and more money can come from, military insurance will look like a really good place to start. The problem is that soldier's paychecks are less than those of a part-time fry cook at Jack In The Box and they would never be able to afford the proper health coverage for them, and their families. Next, the utilities would go public, and servicemen would have to pay for their utility bills. Again, many people see this as unfair. But most army wives and whatnot run daycares out of their homes. Several active children produce a lot of bodyheat. Wages wouldn't be raised to compensate.

That's the big thing. Most people would have a problem if certain things were taken away from our servicemen, but here's the problem. Their wages wouldn't be raised to accommodate the new costs. If I were out of boot camp right now, I'd be shipped off and only making a little over $1500 a month at an E-2 paygrade. Car payment's of $277, student loans of about half of that, 100 dollar phone bill, 30-50 dollars for internet, and about 100 dollars a week for food to feed 2 adults and 2 children. Then there's clothes. Uniforms aren't all free. You get an allowance, but if something happens (you spill motor oil down your front) that's out of your pocket, and they ain't cheap.

As I'm losing my train of thought, I'm gonna stop and pick this back up when my head unfuzzles....(picks up soap box and carries it over to a bowl of popcorn and glass of RedPop)*munch munch*

well it really don't want to make me want to go into the army any more now then it did the first time around wean they came to are school to recruit us back then its just even more reason not to join :/ and that's going to weaken are forces as well.

Well, honestly, at this point, there is nothing anyone could do that would ever be a perfect solution. But to mess with the veterans is one of the worst ideas ever.

This is seriously history repeating itself.

In 1932, a group of Veterans who called themselves the "Bonus Marchers" camped in front of Washington. The reason they were there was because they were promised a bonus for enlisting in the service. Did any of them receive that bonus? NO! So they protested by camping in front of the Capitol.

Taking away the benifits of our armed forces is probably the worst thing Obama could do. If enlistment is slow now, god knows it will only become worse now that they are cutting the incentives for joining.

Yes times are hard but this is not the route to use to restore our economy.