What's the proposed stimulus plan mean to you?
While President-elect Barack Obama awaits approval of his massive, proposed stimulus plan, suburban residents wondered about its impact on the home front.
More stimulus checks? Less withholding from paychecks? More new jobs created? Sounds promising, but how will these and other aspects of the plan help to boost this dire economy?
"A major focus of this plan is people, the best way to create jobs and get people back to work," said Larry Mazzeffi, owner of the accounting firm, Mazzeffi & Co. in Schaumburg. "We need to get people working again if there's going to be any improvement. When my neighbor's employed, then I'll be helped, too."
After all, the unemployed can't get loans or buy products and services, which all help to keep the economy moving, he said.
So what's this mean to you? Here are some insights from a random group of suburbanites.
Who he is: John Schwan, 59, of unincorporated Kane County near Elgin
Family: Married with four children, wife Susan also a teacher
Profession: Teacher at Maine East High School, Park Ridge
Bottom line: The middle-class tax cut seems to be the most important to me. I think it could be very effective for my family. If you get that cash into people's hands, it will allow us to do a variety of things. In my case, if I get a stimulus check, I could do various things around our house to replace or upgrade things, such as buy new carpeting or new furniture.
Who he is: David Reed, 43, of Aurora
Family: Single, no children
Profession: unemployed, former buyer for communications company
Bottom line: The stimulus plan looks like it could extend unemployment benefits and also puts public works projects on the front burner. I would certainly benefit more from the unemployment benefits extension, but not from those projects to build bridges. I don't think a stimulus plan like this would do much for economic activity. You just can't spend your way out of a recession. I believe you have to give more incentives for businesses to grow.
Who he is: Dave Sommer, 56, of Wheaton
Family: Married with five grown children, wife is a teacher
Profession: chief financial officer, Computing Technology Industry Association, Oakbrook Terrace
Bottom line: My wife and I have stable jobs, so the economy has not affected us from a jobs perspective. But the stimulus plan could help us with tax savings. That would be important to us. The overall stimulus for the economy, on the whole, especially the stock market and our retirement savings, would have an impact. We lost hundreds of thousands of dollars last fall. It would take us too many years to recuperate that.
Who he is: John R. Herman Sr., 74, of Arlington Heights
Family: Married with one adult son
Profession: Retired, former tax negotiator for an oil company
Bottom line: Generally, we are doing well. But our investments are dropping a lot. We have no pensions from our jobs, just our own IRAs, Social Security and some investments to live on. So I see two things on this stimulus plan. One is the tax credits for businesses and benefits to working people, single or married. But I don't see anything there for seniors. Maybe in the long haul, my life is tied to my investments. So the better the economy becomes, the better I'll be. If GM sells more cars to these people, then that will help me.
Who he is: Dave Ven Horst, 47, of St. Charles
Family: Married with three children
Profession: Owner, Tenant Advisors, Schaumburg
Bottom line: As a small-business owner, the tax component has appeal. I'd like to see some tax relief, instead of spending all the time. Taxes are always an issue. What flows through this business, flows through me as an individual and helps to feed and clothe my family. So tax relief would be my preference. I'm also looking to make some new hires this year, like add two or three more people. That would double my work force. I'll need that since my business helps the commercial real estate industry negotiate leases for their office space. But these days, we're helping a lot of businesses to downsize.
Who they are: Jeff Miller, 48, and wife Michele, 46, of Schaumburg
Family: Married with four children, including two at home
Profession: Owners, Divine Signs, Schaumburg
Bottom line: Michele: I've always believed there should be less government involvement in our lives, but with the stimulus plan is and how the economy has been going, it's needed. The only issue I have with the government is that it should give us the opportunities to grow our business, so we can basically provide for our family. When I get the stimulus check, I'll likely use it to pay off some bills. I know that's not exactly what the government had in mind, but that's what we need to do.
Jeff: I'm always excited about tomorrow, regardless of any legislative package. When you hear about these packages and tax credits, I believe if it helps, terrific. If not, I'm still in business and will remain in business. If they raise taxes, I have to stay with this. It's my business, not just a job. Government shouldn't just use us, the small and mid-sized businesses, for potential plans to capture funds. We shouldn't be the target to recoup money. We're already giving quite a bit now. If they're going to create a lot of government-related jobs, very few of us can take advantage of that. Like if they're building a bridge. Well, maybe there is some trickle down with some federal contracts, but not much.