EDITOR'S NOTE -- Contributing columnist, Steve Nicklas, expresses his views and insights on various topics of local interest in STEVE'S MARKETPLACE. __________
Most Americans will get a pay raise beginning this month, albeit a
brief, temporary one.
Tax-rebate checks from the federal government will be coming to a mailbox near you as part of the massive economic stimulus package to 130 million U.S. households. It’s essentially free money.
You must file a tax return to get the rebate. Families can receive anywhere from $300 to $1,200, and more depending on number of dependents (you receive an additional $300 per child). If you earn too much, you will not receive a check. The rebates are targeted to those who need them most -- middle- and lower-income families with children.
The checks will be issued by the Internal Revenue Service based upon digits of your Social Security number. They will not be paid out on a first-come, first-serve basis.
And government officials want you to spend the money, rather than save it. Take the newfound money and buy that big-screen television you've wanted.
The billions of dollars in rebates will ideally be circulated through the U.S. economy in an effort to sidestep a looming recession and resuscitate a wheezing job market. There is also a little in the massive package for businesses, in the form of tax incentives.
In Nassau County, Florida educators will receive the tax rebates, but they will probably not get much in the way of true pay increases. There are reports of the Nassau County School District trimming positions -- including teachers.
The move comes in the wake of declining tax revenues due to a soft property market, and forced reductions by state legislators. Educators will be required to do more with less.
Local school officials have been frugal with funds in the past. They built the new Yulee High School without incurring any long-term debt, using stockpiled monies as well as state funds. This is a credit to Superintendent John Ruis and the school board members.
To the contrary, former county commissioners incurred a $30 million debt in building the new courthouse annex and jail. They also gave lavish pay raises to the previous county administrator and attorney, while county workers received a paltry increase.
This is similar to when major corporations pay top executives millions of dollars and ignore lower-level employees. This eventually catches up with you in lessened production and weakened morale.
Other city and county departments must also be particularly efficient during these slower times. The abundant resource known as the property-tax fountain has been capped. In the past, it seemed to provide an endless flow of revenues.
Many of those revenues have been misused in the past, masked by a false confidence that there was always more money if needed. That has changed dramatically. So enjoy the one-time bonus from Uncle Sam. And please spend it -- for your enjoyment and the country’s benefit.
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Steve Nicklas is a financial adviser who lives on Amelia Island . He can be reached at 904-753-0236 or at thenicklasteam2@msn.com.