Bailout Round-up IV: The Cost
Last “round-up” was September 30 if you wish more background information.
Warning! It may help to be seated while reading the amount of the bailouts of 2008. The “possible total cost" could be greater than $1.8 trillion, according to this CNET news report. However, they also note that it may be just the beginning, e.g., “California Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger said Thursday that the state may need a $7 billion loan from the U.S. Treasury.” CNET has a helpful table listing the various bailouts and their cost, starting with the $700 billion bailout package, which is what most news reports identify. H/T Taxing Tennessean.
It’s more than the $700 billion cost of the original bailout package that increased to over $800 billion because of the so-called “tax sweeteners” added by the Senate. Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) has a great deal more information here, including links to the legislation, the 263-171 vote in the House last Friday, various statements and analyses by TCS, and links to several news sources.
TCS also provides these “top 10 tax sweeteners” that were “in the bailout bill.” Here is just the most outragous:
“1. Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children
“Current law places an excise tax of 39 cents on the first sale by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of any shaft of a type used to produce certain types of arrows. This proposal would exempt from the excise tax any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine of the shaft used in the manufacture of an arrow that measures 5/16 of an inch or less and is unsuited for use with a bow with a peak draw weight of 30 pounds or more. The proposal is effective for shafts first sold after the date of enactment. The estimated cost of the proposal is $2 million over ten years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.
“The Oregon senators were the initial sponsors of the provisions. According to Bloomberg News, the provision would be worth $200,000 to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon.”
CNET also provides the “possible cost per household.” Divide that $1.8+ trillion cost of this year’s bailouts by the almost 105.5 million households, and the cost per household could be over $17,064. That is nothing but breathtaking.
p.s. Here are two Congressional Budget Office letters with further details on cost -- September 28 letter and October 1 letter.