I don’t know. I confess I know little about economics, I am only commenting on what I have observed, and I could very well be horribly wrong, which is ok, no one thinks I’m an expert. However, what you are saying appears to me to be a bit of doctrine that is being passed around like its gospel. This ‘borrowing from the future’ meme gets bandied about a lot by the left, and I’m not sure how significant it really is. In terms of pollution I can see it a bit more easily than I can in terms of the economy. Yes, you are correct that Bush has not managed the debt well, but that three hundred dollars is a saving grace for those who are choosing between a tank of gas and a gallon of milk. It will keep them going to work for a month, and that’s helpful for them. For most of us, for me, and it sounds like for you, it’s merely fodder for a luxury purchase. My wife and I are going to buy a new mattress with our returns. At the same time we are working on investing our wealth in family wealth for the future generation. I’m not so convinced that this $ 300 rebate is such a horrible thing.
Well that was kind of my point. There’s nothing wrong with the rebate in itself, it’s just the fact for the people who need it most, it will do little long-term good.
Borrowing from the future? Well it’s pretty simple. Where is this money coming from? If the Fed is printing more money then that means that we’re getting nothing. Think about it. If the government decides to print 41 billion dollars worth of free money and throws it in the streets, what will happen? Some spending, but in the end there will be inflation. Now if the government did borrow it, it will simply be just another part of our federal deficit. Who owns that debt? I’m not entirely sure, but someone does and we’ll have to pay it some day.
I kind of like the idea of handing out checks like this when the economy goes bad. It’s not a terrible idea, it’s just that absent any kind of guarantee that in the future things will be done to make sure it isn’t necessary for such a large portion of Americans to be in such shitty shape, then I can understand. But just hoping for the market forces to magically lift everyone out of poverty? I don’t think so.
Getting back to the “stimulus” checks, in order to help our faltering economy, I plan to spend my $600 on two hookers this week instead of the usual one. Thank you Congress and thank you Mr. President.
Going for the inexpensive ones eh?
K-Mart has hookers?
Red light special.
Would sure liven up that whole Wal-Mart greeter thing, wouldn’t it?
So instead of an 8 you’re buying two 4’s?
A four? You don’t pay to have sex with a four, a four pays you!
You’ve never been to Van Buren Blvd on the west side of town. There are .4’s down there charging for it.
The entire $600 of my economic stimulus refund was spent in Korea on Korean merchandise made in Korea. I dont think it that’s going to help the American economy… but thanks Mr Bush!
As I see it we have been liing on a false economy for many years and it is catching up with us. Too many people are too deeply in debt. we have always lived under our income, one year in (53) my husband was out of work for 6 weeks, we decided not to spend even a 3 cent stamp that we didn’t need. I made beef kidney stew over rice and we live as cheap as we could even after he returned to work. We saved enough to pay cash for our first house. It was a tiny cabin on 3 lots with a big condemmed house on one lot. We tore down the house, pounded the nails out of the useable wood, saved the brick and anything that was useable. We were cramped for awhile because we had 2 children and I was expecting our third. We ended up with the nicest house in the neighborhood. It was alot of work but it made it possible to advance our savings.
One cannot live over one’s income and get ahead and that is what the credit card companies have done to make it possible for people to live as a rich person when they really didn’t own anything. What is not paid for is not yet yours. Even if you make a million a year and you spend a million and a half you will just get deeper in debt. It is easier to go with out unnecessary things when you are young then to worry about how you are going to make it when you are old or unable to work.
Monavis
As I see it we have been living on a false economy for many years and it is catching up with us. Too many people are too deeply in debt. we have always lived under our income, one year in (53) my husband was out of work for 6 weeks, we decided not to spend even a 3 cent stamp that we didn’t need. I made beef kidney stew over rice and we live as cheap as we could even after he returned to work. We saved enough to pay cash for our first house. It was a tiny cabin on 3 lots with a big condemmed house on one lot. We tore down the house, pounded the nails out of the useable wood, saved the brick and anything that was useable. We were cramped for awhile because we had 2 children and I was expecting our third. We ended up with the nicest house in the neighborhood. It was alot of work but it made it possible to advance our savings.
One cannot live over one’s income and get ahead and that is what the credit card companies have done to make it possible for people to live as a rich person when they really didn’t own anything. What is not paid for is not yet yours. Even if you make a million a year and you spend a million and a half you will just get deeper in debt. It is easier to go with out unnecessary things when you are young then to worry about how you are going to make it when you are old or unable to work.
Monavis
monavis, you are right about everything except the beef kidney stew.
That is just wrong. 
Geez talk about extremes. This is inefficient on so many levels and factually wrong with regards to credit, that I do not care to spend the time to break it down. Even my dad, the cheapest person known to man knew the value of a mortgage. This post (which I truncated) ignores the very basic notion of comparative advantage. At the very least, free up some spare time to go looking for three cents to buy a stamp!
We live in a global economy, so even spending money in Korea will have an eventual benefit to the US, as long as we remain competitive and don’t close down trade and attempt to do everything (at least consumer-wise) ourselves completely…
Personally, I did not receive a refund check either, but I would rather not have the devalued dollar and the increasing risk of inflation.
Btw, when I took AP Econ in high school, my teacher told us that these Congress enacted economic policies took about a decade to really observe and collect data. My little sister in college said that it took about 2-5 years (this was a couple of years ago). And, I think I read in The Economist or Time that it was 5-7. So, yes, it does indeed take some time for these scenarios to play out.
Yeah, the real way the Women Hotness Scale ™ works is that if you pay 2 women half what you need to get an 8, then you get two 7s.
So basically, a 10 is a thousand times hotter than a 1, not just 10 times. It all makes sense, doesn’t it?
You’re welcome.
I must admit my escort options are not in the league of say an Eliot Spitzer, but one can obtain the services of quite an attractive and enthusiastic young lady in Chicago for $300.
If we spend that money at Walmart, the money will go to China. If we spend
it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs, if we purchase a computer it will go
to India, if we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico,
Honduras, and Guatemala, if we purchase a good car it will go to Japan, if
we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the
American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to buy
prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in
the US.
You could spend it on local small businesses, farm markets and crafters. You could donate part of it to a charity that you like. I used a large part of it at a two local small businesses to buy stuff for an environmental group in which I am active. I was going to turn in receipts for the purchases, but decided to let Bush pay for this Green effort. 
There’s an idea, take it and buy compact fluorescents bulbs or a highly efficient appliance to replace an old appliance. That way you get new stuff, help the economy and save money in the long run.
Beef kidney stew is really very tasty. I would make it now but where I live they don’t sell kidneys any more.
Monavis