The real bailout prescription

It seems like I am in a statistical state-of-mind lately.
If you were to go to the IRS website you will find the total number of Individual Income Tax Returns for the year 2008 is: 156,297,000 (Source: http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/ –>Filing Season Statistics –>Filing Season Weekly Reports –> Report for filing year 2008 –> End of Year End Report.)

Let’s take the top 25% of tax payers out and we are left with 117 million individuals.
Next, let’s take the $3.8 Trillion (anticipated government spending across current and pending stimulus and bailouts including Bush bailout) and distribute it evenly to the 117M individuals that filed taxes.

You will arrive at the astounding number of $32,478!

That’s what we all could have gotten (except for the top 25% of earners who shouldn’t need it) instead of the current morass of bailouts and stimulus.

Let’s play this hypothetical scenario out a little further:
Imagine how fast our economy would have recovered if we were given this money, income tax free in a special account, to spend within two years within United States including purchase of airline tickets to fly out of United States (money spent abroad will not count). For any one with credit card loan or mortgage default, there would be additional stipulation that they pay off the loans/mortgage first. I am sure IRS can think of many other stipulations (and that would be fine). At the end of each of the two years we all would have to submit receipts to ensure we complied with the stipulations.