Real life everyday people like Dick Cheney and an unemployed man in rural Nebraska illustrate what is still wrong, but what is also very right in America today.
What's wrong (short article):
The Dark Lord Rises Again
What's right (a picture says a thousand words):
Economic Recovery Graph
I back up the above graph with a personal story. Yesterday at our tax office a man came in very worried that he would owe this year. He had been laid off 8 months ago and hence did not have the ability to pay. He asked me anxiously "Is Obama going to do something for us this year like Bush did?"
I answered that he already had via the Stimulus Package passed a year ago. I explained that the stimulus provided for the first $2400 of his unemployment benefits to be tax-free, AND a refundable $400 Making Work Pay credit.
When I completed his tax return it turned out that my client was getting a $54 federal refund. He was so relieved. During the paperwork review I pointed out to him that without those two benefits provided by the stimulus, he would indeed have owed this year, over $500.
Those of you who are don't get unemployment or are not eligible for the MWP credit because your income is over $75k should not brush this story off. It is support for people like my client that makes your stock holdings go up, and gives your company a chance to have consumers who can afford their products.