From Stimulus Bike (with edits): With Barack Obama now in office, we’re supposed to be getting a “Stimulus” package about to “help” us out of this hole. Last year, when George Bush asked us to spend more in poor economic times, Americans only became more in debt. Many learned the hard way that an economic stimulus check that went towards a new plasma TV was fun until the next credit card statement came. A new website called Stimulus Bike is encouraging Americans to use the money wisely this year, for one of the most sustainable uses possible – Bikes! Check out Stimulus Bike online.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is still in development but will include around $275 billion in tax breaks and $550 billion for ready-to-go projects to create new jobs as fast as possible. So what is your portion? With the “Making Work Pay” piece of the tax act, individuals will receive $500 in the form of reduced tax withholding over 4 months. For those that receive a paycheck every two weeks, expect around $60 more on each paycheck.
Stimulus Bike is encouraging American’s to make the pledge to use this money to buy a new or used bike, fix up your old bike, get one for your kids, or donate the money to bike advocacy groups. Many Americans just made New Year’s Resolutions to be green, to lose weight, or to budget their money better, and biking is a fantastic way to do all of those. The website also has several petitions from bike and sustainable transportation advocacy groups urging the House to include more funding for much needed projects to boost our bicycle infrastructure and not waste it on expanding our highways.
Make The Pledge today, so we can improve the health of our economy, ourselves, our environment, and our wallets!
