May 1, 2008

Stimulus Checks

Anyone out there get their stimulus check yet? I'm in the first group, those whose Social Security number ends in 00 through 20 and I haven't seen hide nor hair of the thing. It should have been deposited by now and I have crap to buy. Actually, in my never-to-be-humble opinion, this whole stimulus check business has disaster written all over it. It seems to me that spending is our problem and more spending isn't a solution. Ask yourself, does a one-time payment of $600 or $1200 bucks change my life any? The answer is likely not. What I suspect is that a bunch of people will use their swell rebate check to go deeper into debt by using it as a down payment on something like a new car or super duper giant screen TV. I think it's time we collectively took a dose of some bad medicine and try to fix what ails us. And, again in my opinion, what ails us is debt. We are swimming in debt as a nation and it's no good for anyone. There's all sorts of statistics out there about debt and bad news abounds about foreclosures, the high price of gas and groceries and the general rise in inflation. These checks don't do much for any of those problems, at least in the long term. In fact, if you recall, more dollars chasing goods and services equals inflation and according to the smart guys, inflation is bad. So here's a plan. Use the check to pay off some debt and if you don't have any debt, save it for a rainy day. It will be good for you. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong, sometimes just full of it, but always judgmental and cranky

9 comments:

Bobby D. said...

Aww... don't harsh my buzz, Merle, I'm planning on putting a down payment on a sweet snowblower. Sure we don't get much snow anymore since we messed with that ozone layer, but this snowmobile is top of the line, all the bells and whistles. And it's high gloss candy apple red!

Kurt said...

Well, you have to have earned more than $3,000 to get a rebate check, so that leaves me out. I would have just put it in the bank anyway.

Nan Patience said...

Good grief, Kurt.

I agree with Merle. These stimulus checks are dumb. Everything George Bush has done is dumb. He's dumb. When that fink Bill Clinton left office, there was a huge surplus. We could have secured social security, fixed health care, invested in education. But what did Georgie do? The dumb ass gave everyone a dumb check for a couple hundred, and politicians have been doing it ever since. Voters just LOVE it when the government sends THEM a check. People are SSSSOOOOOOOOO stupid.

dennis said...

Dennis thought the stimulus check was what the Vet did to him. Dennis probably won't even get any trickle down effect from any $ check.

Steve Reed said...

What Nan said.

Unknown said...

We have 2 minor children, so we are one of the lucky ones getting $1800. I'm planning to buy a couple homeschooling supplies, a few new pairs of shorts for me, and put the rest in savings.

Squirrel said...

When my mother gets her stimulus check she is going to bank most of it, because she is good with money. But I hope she buys new curtains for my room.

Anonymous said...

I guess I have no opinion.

Coffee Messiah said...

You mean a small check, and spending it one time , won't stimulate the economy or bring all those lost jobs over the years back? ; (

Who would thunk........