Do Rebate Checks Really Help?

The theory behind the stimulus checks is that every dollar that is spent in our economy is subject to a multiplier effect. Because when you purchase something at Walmart, to follow the previous example, Walmart spends that dollar to either buy more merchandise or pay salaries, and from there that dollar is spent again and again. So by receiving a stimulus check, as long as the money is consumed and not saved it will ripple into the economy. (The equation for math people is the dollar amount divided by a person's marginal propensity to save, so if you save 20% of the $600 you get, the total effect on the economy will be $3000, consider that times the amount of people who will be receiving checks). Because the stimulus is targeted towards lower income households, who have a greater need to spend the money, the effect will be much higher. The purpose of the stimulus is not to cover up the war, it is to give our economy the boost it needs to get back into a recovery period.

When I received my notice in the mail the other day that I would receive a stimulus rebate on top of my check from the IRS, I got angry. Sure, it's going to go toward the little debt I incurred from working on a two-year personal project without a paycheck, but I felt as if the President had paid me off. This country is in a recession and in more debt than we'll ever know what to do with due to an unnecessary war (among other things). Now he wants to pay me $300 that our country doesn't have to go do some shopping at Wal-Mart? I don't think so. I appreciate the extra money for selfish reasons (debt reduction), but it shouldn't be happening.