We received our economic stimulus check today. Two days late. How do I know that? Because they sent us a letter about a week ago saying that we could expect it by July 5. Now maybe I’m not seeing the big picture, but I seriously need a little explanation here.
Question #1 Since my country’s economic status has sunk to the level of being the world’s greatest debtor, why did they borrow more money so that they could send out cash bonuses to all of us who are so privileged as to be taxpayers?
Question #2 If I now go and “stimulate the economy” by spending this money, how will that help my country to lessen their incredible debt?
Question #3 Why did the IRS send a notice ahead of time telling me exactly when to expect the check and how much it would be? Why not just send the check, rather than to double the amount they are spending on postage for this whole thing by giving us advance notice that they will be sending it? (probably a dumb question, but humor me…)
Not to mention that it was late anyway. Though on that pre-check letter it did have a disclaimer: If you do not receive it within six week of this notice, please contact us at the number shown above. Well, okay, it should be there on July 5, but if it’s still not there a month and a half later, THEN we’ll check up on it.
Boy, that gives me great faith in the system.
I’ve actually been doing a little reading on economics lately, and finding it surprisingly fascinating. Maybe I should recommend the book to some of those government dudes. I think they could use a refresher course.
I’m trying to enjoy the feeling of receiving a check in the mail, but it’s hard. This whole situation is sort of like the people who vote for “change”– they aren’t really looking ahead, just living for the moment. We have become a nation of hedonists. God help us.
~Trying to decide whether to buy a new computer or invest it all in beans, rice, and bottled water…
dayuntoday 
I am thinking I should have used mine to buy a one way ticket to Greenland. The way I figure it, the weather and life are so harsh there that no one has time to put up with the liberal idiots like we do here.
It doesn’t make sense but that’s about par for the course it seems…..where has common sense gone?
I’m so not into economics. I dont’ get one bit of it. That’s why I just used my stimulus check to pay back my dad. Haha!!
Coming from someone who has a degree in economics/finance…I think I can understand the idea behind it. The idea, in a way, is similar to a tax cut in the sense that you are trying to put more money in the hands of consumers. The idea is that if they have more money, they can use it to buy goods and services, put more money into businesses, ultimately creating more jobs and spurring economic growth. The idea is not to pay on the national debt, but to stimulate the economy, trying to solve the more immediate problem. The debt has been and will be there awhile, so let’s just put it on the back burner for now.That being said, I don’t really agree with the economics behind it. I tend to be more of a supply-side economist (e.g., Ronald Reagan), and while tax cuts have a two-fold approach of causing economic growth AND utilizing the Laffer Curve to generate maximum tax revenue, this is a completely demand-side approach. Supply-side economics is more of a long-term approach, as it is all about investing, increasing equity, which DIRECTLY impacts business growth and creates more jobs. Demand-side is much more indirect, as it focuses on increasing profits, which does influence equity in a roundabout way; it can just take awhile to see it, and the effects can be very minimal. It is a very short-term approach. I also don’t like it because the attitude is, “Let’s run up a huge debt to try to fix things. Yeah we may have problems with inflation and debt crunches later on, yeah we may end up being indebted up to our eyeballs to other countries, but the next generation can fix all that. We need to concentrate on the here and now.”While I tend to be more liberal in most cases, specifically on moral and social issues, economics is one area where I still have to lean toward the conservative. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed this $600 check I received; I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I just don’t know if it was the best idea…
How about a computer AND bottled water??
I am taking my little check and adding it to my savings and then heading for the Ocean!!
And, Obama promises another one, if he wins. Stop the insanity!
@gsmith03 – Thanks for the explanation. It confirms exactly what I thought–the whole thing is just incredibly shortsighted. I really can’t imagine that any economist truly thinks it will help anything. I think it’s just like giving a child a pretty toy so that he won’t notice that you are actually taking his food away from him. It’s a distraction, intended to satisfy us temporarily, but it won’t actually do any good in the long run.
@homefire – There are economists who do think it will help. Since it is all mostly theoretical, it is difficult to tell exactly what the effects will be of any economic alteration. Some economists, those who ascribe to demand-side (Keynesian) economics, say this stimulus will help, and some say it won’t. My understanding of economics says that it is a bad idea, but of course my economics teachers in college all believed in supply-side or Austrian (even more conservative) economics. However, the general trend in the economic community does seem to be toward supply-side economics and monetarism (very similar).