Home upgrade program targets jobs, energy conservation

[one...two...tree 2,762]

SAVANNAH, Georgia—President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled plans to give hefty reimbursements to U.S. homeowners who make home improvements to conserve energy.

The president urged Congress to approve the plans to give a shot in the arm to the lagging U.S. construction industry, one of the sectors hardest hit by the economic slump.

“If a homeowner decides to do work on his or her house—to put in new windows, to replace a heating unit, to insulate an attic, to redo a roof—the homeowner would be eligible for a rebate from the store or the contractor for 50 percent of the cost of each upgrade up to $1,500,” the president explained in remarks delivered at Savannah Technical College in Georgia. “If you decided to retrofit your whole house to greatly reduce your energy use, you’d be eligible for a rebate of up to $3,000.”

Obama said Americans would see big savings in their energy bills, as well as at the cash register. “These are big incentives,” he said. “You’d get these rebates instantly from the hardware store or the contractor ... right there when you paid.”

Obama said the lower renovation costs could lead to new hiring in the construction trades. “You’ve got a lot of skilled contractors ready to go. And that, in turn, means that the contractors start hiring some of these folks who may have been laid off,” he said, adding that the program also would stimulate U.S. manufacturing since “a lot of these materials are made right here in America.”

“These are companies ready to take on new customers—they’re workers eager to do new installations and renovations, factories ready to produce new building supplies,” the president said. “All we’ve got to do is create the incentives to make it happen.”

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[Obama 2012 1,714]

This is so stupid.

Government giving away money it can't afford to give away.

STOP SPENDING...

You want to help the economy, lower tax rates on those construction companies and the materials companies and then maybe they can lower their prices to make the jobs more affordable...

The more they work, the more money they'll make, and Oh yeah, the more taxes you'll get!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

This is so stupid.

Government giving away money it can't afford to give away.

STOP SPENDING...

You want to help the economy, lower tax rates on those construction companies and the materials companies and then maybe they can lower their prices to make the jobs more affordable...

The more they work, the more money they'll make, and Oh yeah, the more taxes you'll get!

This will save us money in the long run, as well as help spark job growth. Keynesian Economics works.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

This will save us money in the long run, as well as help spark job growth. Keynesian Economics works.

Gradual changes work over time without government intervention.

Government can't 'spend' its way out of a recession. Especially by giving rebates to the wrong people.

Even with the rebate, most people can't afford to get those changes done anyway, nor can many who can wait til the next tax season to get their rebate.

You can't just offer rebate to the individual when the product costs the same price.

You need to envigorate business by giving tax incentives to companies who's aim to give the best price available and give them a means to lower their prices to the consumer with tax breaks. Especially in the sense that many of these construction companies are small businesses who are stuck paying the corporate tax rate OR the owner is stuck paying the individual tax rate based on his revenue (either way is pretty crappy). Lower the tax rate for small businesses who incorporate and that will help greatly. The better deals they can offer, the more they can advertise, the more people can afford to buy it, and the more people they can hire... The cycle goes round and round...

Granted, all of this is pointless if all the manufactured materials are being made overseas.... Can't start up an economy when the manufacturing sector is still in the wrong place.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Gradual changes work over time without government intervention.

Government can't 'spend' its way out of a recession. Especially by giving rebates to the wrong people.

Even with the rebate, most people can't afford to get those changes done anyway, nor can many who can wait til the next tax season to get their rebate.

You can't just offer rebate to the individual when the product costs the same price.

You need to envigorate business by giving tax incentives to companies who's aim to give the best price available and give them a means to lower their prices to the consumer with tax breaks. Especially in the sense that many of these construction companies are small businesses who are stuck paying the corporate tax rate OR the owner is stuck paying the individual tax rate based on his revenue (either way is pretty crappy). Lower the tax rate for small businesses who incorporate and that will help greatly. The better deals they can offer, the more they can advertise, the more people can afford to buy it, and the more people they can hire... The cycle goes round and round...

Granted, all of this is pointless if all the manufactured materials are being made overseas.... Can't start up an economy when the manufacturing sector is still in the wrong place.

Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree. Keynesian Economic policies can and do work. They've proven to work. When the economy is rolling again, such programs can and should be scaled back or ended and then we can work on reducing the Deficit.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

My AC unit went bust last year. Would have cost me $950.00 to have it fixed. Alternatively, I had the option of putting in an entirely new energy efficient unit which was projected to save me roughly $350.00/year on my electric bill (a year in, I actually see larger savings than that). Cost of the new unit fully installed was $3,800.00. My local electric utility provides a rebate of $125.00. So, we're at 3,675.00. Then there is the tax credit of 30% which comes to 1,103.00. Net cost of the unit to me is 2,572.00 - some $1,622.00 more than the repair of my old unit. Given the annual savings on the elctric bill, this investment will have paid for itself in less than 4 years.

The tax credit really made it a no-brainer to go for the new, energy efficient unit which is made in the US (jobs there) and was installed by American technicians (jobs here, too). There was a story on a window manufacturer in PA lately who had to hire people to keep up with production demand due to the tax credits. There are stories like that all over the country.

[Dan J 277]

Gradual changes work over time without government intervention.

Government can't 'spend' its way out of a recession. Especially by giving rebates to the wrong people.

Even with the rebate, most people can't afford to get those changes done anyway, nor can many who can wait til the next tax season to get their rebate.

You can't just offer rebate to the individual when the product costs the same price.

You need to envigorate business by giving tax incentives to companies who's aim to give the best price available and give them a means to lower their prices to the consumer with tax breaks. Especially in the sense that many of these construction companies are small businesses who are stuck paying the corporate tax rate OR the owner is stuck paying the individual tax rate based on his revenue (either way is pretty crappy). Lower the tax rate for small businesses who incorporate and that will help greatly. The better deals they can offer, the more they can advertise, the more people can afford to buy it, and the more people they can hire... The cycle goes round and round...

Granted, all of this is pointless if all the manufactured materials are being made overseas.... Can't start up an economy when the manufacturing sector is still in the wrong place.

The only way the economy is going to recover is to get people who have money to spend to actually spend it. Of course there are people who right now could not afford this, but its not for them.

Tax incentives to businesses don't work, there is little incentive to put the money saved back to work in the economy. What the company saves from the tax incentive will more likely stay in a company's cash reserve.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

My AC unit went bust last year. Would have cost me $950.00 to have it fixed. Alternatively, I had the option of putting in an entirely new energy efficient unit which was projected to save me roughly $350.00/year on my electric bill (a year in, I actually see larger savings than that). Cost of the new unit fully installed was $3,800.00. My local electric utility provides a rebate of $125.00. So, we're at 3,675.00. Then there is the tax credit of 30% which comes to 1,103.00. Net cost of the unit to me is 2,572.00 - some $1,622.00 more than the repair of my old unit. Given the annual savings on the elctric bill, this investment will have paid for itself in less than 4 years.

The tax credit really made it a no-brainer to go for the new, energy efficient unit which is made in the US (jobs there) and was installed by American technicians (jobs here, too). There was a story on a window manufacturer in PA lately who had to hire people to keep up with production demand due to the tax credits. There are stories like that all over the country.

Very cool.