Boycott Watch
                 
May 11, 2008
 
CNN Poll Confirms Boycott Watch Analysis
 
By Fred Taub
President,
Boycott Watch
 
    In a recent report about the Beijing Olympics boycott calls, Boycott Watch stated excitement over they Olympics can spur economic activity when people buy wide screen HD TV's, surround sound equipment and other goods to enjoy the Olympics, and that such activity could potentially create a much stronger economic stimulus that the Federal tax rebate because it will be used to pay old debt.

    The CNN survey, released on-air Friday, stated that only 25% of the people plan to use the rebate check for new expenditures and the rest would be used to pay old debt. This is confirmation of what Boycott Watch predicted well before the checks were issued.

    The problem we see is that because the vast majority of the economic stimulus package is being used to pay for old economic activity, not new activity which is needed to spur the economy, it will effectively be more of a political stunt. Additionally, with the average family injecting $150 into the economy in the face of rising gasoline prices, this rising food and other costs, all the benefits are lost.

    For about 20 years, Congress and the President have hurt the U.S. economy by not opening new oil fields in the US, a topic Boycott Watch also wrote about, and the result has been the U.S. relying on foreign dictatorships, many of which are not friendly to the U.S., for a major segment of our economy.

    Regardless of which energy form you prefer, the U.S. has simply not taken action to satisfy current demands while conducting research into alternative forms. This is analogous to a farmer growing food to sell in six months but not doing anything to ensure he can eat in six weeks - the U.S. government not only did nothing to ensure short term energy supplies, but by blocking oil companies from opening new oil fields, the U.S. virtually guaranteed supply would dwindle in the face of increasing demand, thus created the current economic problems we face.

    That combined with the fall of the dollar on the world market, the cost of goods in the U.S. have gone up tremendously. When consumers and businesses find themselves in difficult economic times, they cut back on expenses. The government, on the other hand, raises taxes, thus putting an even greater burden on consumers, and then the government spends even more money.

    More than anything else, the tax rebate checks will build consumer confidence, which is important when it comes to building the economy. To have a real impact however, the government needs to tighten its belt like the rest of, and pay off their debt like the rest of us too. One reason gold is high and the dollar is low is because our growing national debt is causing a loss is confidence in the dollar world wide.

    The solution for our economic woes is for the U.S. to start showing confidence in itself - if we buy back our debt rather than creating new debt, the stock market equivalent of a company payoff off its bonds or buying back stock, the U.S. will inherently show the world we believe in ourselves. We can only do that if the government tightens its own belt thus getting our national finances in order. We, as a nation, can not expect other nations to have confidence in us if we do not have confidence in ourselves and our own economy.
 
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