This does make the erroneous assumption that I will be seeing a rebate check in the near future, perhaps we should consider why the U.S. economy is in trouble. People took on debts foolishly, and were given credit they shouldn’t have received, then spent money without really having it. Now there is an economic stimulus package being dangled in front of us and we want to know how we are going to spend it? The bill has not passed through congress yet! There is no rebate check to spend. Furthermore lets look at what the package is really going to do for everyone, if you individually make at least 75,000 dollars a year you will receive 600 dollars. That is where the majority of the money is going to go. I have a lot of respect for the middle class and I think that the people receiving the checks will appreciate it, but consider this, these people make more than that every week. This check will not cover a paycheck, no mortgage payment and definitely will not cover tuition at a school. At best this check could be used for some recreational activity, or used to pay the ominous pile of bills. For many middle class Americans a 600 dollar check is not even going to cover that.
Now let us consider the lower classes, people who spend every penny of their paycheck, they will be receiving less than 600 dollars. I fall into this category so I am left in this land of ambiguity, not knowing what this rebate check is really going to be. I will most likely be forced to use the check to pay a medical bill, or a credit card. I consider myself not financially well off, but stable. What concerns me is people making less than me, the people that scrape to buy groceries and feed families. These are the people that will be guaranteed to spend every penny of this rebate check. The question then becomes as a Capitalist economy can we afford to continually give hand outs that won’t lead to these people starting out businesses? We are just fixing the problem for a few months, or a few weeks. This bandage for these people will excite everyone into a positive feeling but won’t elevate anyone’s class, won’t escape someone from their debts. Those who are in need will just feel a sense of relief for a brief time.
Everyone else will just be paying off the financial service companies that led us into this mess…but then again that may be the point.