Strangely enough I'm starting to trust Bush more than Congress these days. I wonder if there's too much fluoride in the water or something.

@timmus: its the chemtrails

for once, i'm actually with bush on this one.

so, the main reason why he wants americans to have money in their pockets, is so they can spend it on useless stuff they dont need (hopefully some will remember to save it, or invest it in stuff they need) and that would "boost" the economy. lol... its always about spending.

The Senate, at this point, is pretty absolutely worthless. Coupled with one of the worst Presidents in US history (and I'm registered Republican), November cannot come soon enough.

Cash, sweet, sweet cash. Why won't you come home?

@snoop-blog: You're in favor of granting immunity to lawbreakers?

@jomil91: yeah dude that is how the economy works. no, I'm not mocking you, its just this is the world we have created ourselves - one of crass consumerism, materialism, and corporate slavery.

@Buran: yeah thats exactly what i said.........twisted around to your liking.

this package seems like something Democrats would endorse, and if Bush says ok, wtf is the hold up then

As much as I would love the $600 to help pay down CC debt, the longer the delay in the federal government borrow billions of dollars to give everyone an extra payment on their cards, the better.

I don't think I'd call this bashing, he's just pointing out that this needs to be approved ASAP

@jomil91: we work jobs we hate, to get money to buy shit we don't need.- fight club

I've never agreed with Bush, on anything. Until now. It burns.

"Useless stuff?" Well, I need to buy a lawn mower. I have an acre of land covered by grass. If I want to spend less than 3 hours mowing, I should buy a lawn tractor. That has a use: cutting lots of grass.

Which to buy? There's the whatever crappy rebranded MTD, which has a Briggs & Stratton engine. It's assembled all over the place, and many parts are foreign. I think they assemble that in Mexico. It's $900. It'll fall apart in about 5 years.

Then there's the John Deer x300. It's a 20 year tractor. It's built in Horicon, Wisconsin. It's $2900. I'll buy it at the local John Deer dealer. He'll make some money. He'll spend that. Meanwhile, some money goes to the people in Horicon who built it. They'll spend that. John Deer shareholders will make a little money. Maybe they'll spend that, too. For doing nothing, the State of Wisconsin will take 5% and spend that, too. Unfortunate, considering I trust the other people WAY more than the State of Wisconsin to spend that money on something useful.

Yeah, that won't boost the economy at all....

BTW, forget about posting useless comments here. Just go to senate.gov, look up your senator, call them and give their staffer an earful - either way for or against it.

Go Senate!

@loganmo: Well the worst part is most people probably won't even use it towards their debt. They'll spend it on "presents" and "toys" for themselves. Cuz hey, free money right? Not that I won't take $600 if it's handed to me, but people need to understand where that money is going to come from before they run out and buy a PS3 with it.

I really wouldn't go as far as trusting Bush. This is a classic ploy of presidents and other appointed officials trying desperately late in the game to bandage an always scarred legacy. For the exact same reason he all of a sudden wants push a spending bill which would throw the US government further into debt, he wouldn't increase health coverage for children of low income families. He's playing to the crowd to save his legacy, so in that instance I find his sudden vigor for the people of america rather selfish and uninspiring.

Although don't get me wrong. I want my check as soon as possible, but just don't act as if you're suddenly our best friend Bush.

@snoop-blog: Never respond to Buran - that Person just picks fights and never has any good points.

Anyway, I'm with bush on this and many other things. He of course isn't perfect, but he is trying to fix this economy. We broke it. Obviously the war didn't help, but the fact is a lot of this is due to the subprime cuts, which is due to everyone being foreclosed on because they bought too expensive houses, because the bank let them, because they thought the housing market was solid.

@loganmo:

The majority of people who see this money will be putting it back into the economy just as quickly. The ones who pay down their debts will likely rack up more debts, either by choice or by necessity.

This is one of the few good ideas from the current administration.

@Buran:

If you're talking immigration, for some unknown reason, keep in mind that large numbers of them are breaking the law out of necessity. I've known plenty of legal immigrants who became illegal immigrants for long stretches of time not because they particularly wanted to, but because the government has taken so long (and so much of their money) approving their applications that they have had no choice.

Any money they would have been able to spend to return home has been given to DHS and lawyers. They can't afford to go home, so they have to live and work illegally until the applications finally make it through the system - which can be three or more years and dozens of thousands of dollars in the future.

Give me my money back. That is all.

@veraikon:

Considering this money is in no way intended to pay down debts, I don't see how that's 'the worst part.'

Buying food, clothing, movie tickets, and, yes, even a PS3 is exactly what this money is for.

YEAAHHHHH!! Gimme my BUSH BUCK$!

All this is, is a transfer payment. It's taking from one pocket and putting it in another. That kind of policy doesn't stimulate growth. But it's a campaign year, so cash for everyone!

@jtlight: I entirely disagree, some of the worst presidents ever include Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, and the most absolute worst president ever and will never be surpassed short of Joseph Stalin himself reincarnated, FDR.

I personally believe in the history books in the future Bush will be given the due he deserves for standing his course on his words. While he might have been a bit extreme on spending it is not his economic policies that have put us where we are. If anything it is Clinton's lack of doing ANYTHING that derailed Reaganomics that gave our country abundance.

@RvLeshrac: didn't leave me any points to make. all of yours were dead on!

@smitty1123:

People are gung-ho on the anti-tax thing.

If you've ever driven anywhere, used a telephone, voted, taken a swig of city or county water, worked in manufacturing, called the police or fire departments, attended a public school, or any number of other things, you can't 'ask for your money back.' You've used a good bit of it. If you're ever out of work for an extended period of time, you'll use a good bit more.

@darkened: Nice, you had me going for a bit....

@snoop-blog:

Keep in mind that I'm not arguing that people who ENTERED the country illegally deserve amnesty, but the reality is that there's no way to differentiate between those who entered illegally, and those who were forced to become 'illegal.'

So here we are with the second of these "tax rebate" things. It sure looks to me like that whole "trickle down" economics thing doesn't work!

@LorneReams:

The people who are hardest on Clinton for doing nothing seem to always be the ones that say they wish government would do less.

I always think I'm missing something there, but there's nothing there to miss.

@RvLeshrac: You seem to miss out we pay for our telephone service, we pay for our water & sewage service, the biggest scam ever is the billions or trillions we gave the Telecoms to give us fiber connectivity for internet and then they pocket the money and years later they say it wasn't possible and never give back the money.

fool me once....shame on you...

i honestly dont see how this will help stimulate anything. its going to make one burst of spending, saving in my case, and the economy is somehow suppose to recover. i got a better idea. take money from the billionares and millionares that have useless things already and give more back to the people that can either use it to support thier families or but more expensive useless shit.

@tonywonder: Sorry this is America not soviet russia, we are not socialists and I pray we never become that.

@RvLeshrac: Point of fact, I was out of work for an extended period of time a couple of years ago. And you know what else? I lived off credit cards. It didn't cost anyone but me money and I still had some pride left.

rvleshrac - the only way this stimulus package has any meaningful effect on the economy is if people use it only on items that are made in the US. More than likely our government is going to end up borrowing this money from countries like China and Japan (perhaps not directly... but definitely indirectly) and then consumers are going to send this money *gasp* right back to China and Japan when they spend their money at Walmart/Best Buy. That gives the economy a little boost for a hot second when they see sales go up briefly, but in the long run it won't hardly make a difference. The problems with our economy extend much further than can be fixed by handing out $600.

@bukz68: the stimulus isn't goint to "fix" the economy, but help it, which it will do. how do we know this works? it's been done before, and it was succesful.

Wait, THIS is the stimulus package Ive been hearing about? Everyone gets a check?? Fucking ... just ... unbelievable. He tanks the economy by letting his CEO cronies do whatever they want, making laws to line their pockets and screw over anyone who works for a living, and he thinks he can fix it by giving people money?

Ad the fuck all thing is? That this will make people happy. His fucking plan, which he probably had in his back pocket for 8 years, will work.

Everyone realizes this is just an advance on your 2008 tax return, yes?

It's not free money.

Only Halliburton, oil companies and big pharma get free money.

@darkened:

No one compared to Carter. He makes Bush and Clinton look like geniuses.

@geekfather:

Is that so? The rebate, if it happens, will be added to your 2008 tax liability?

@tonywonder: Yeah, let's punish those dirty bastards that actually WORK for a living, you know, the ones who are smart with their money rather than pissing it away, the successful ones. Let's get 'em! F*ck them, how DARE they have money. The probably got it from stepping on the little guy anyway, to hell with 'em! They don't need it, they already have a nice house. Two cars!? WTF? They don't need TWO of 'em!! Let's take the cars too!! YEEAHHH!!

What better way to make up for 8 years of terrible leadership than to give out free money to the people of your country.

@junkmail: *THEY probably got it... dammit.

Hmmm... so we're going to borrow MORE money from our kids and grandkids. But this time instead of putting it in a hole in a desert halfway around the world and lighting it on fire, we're going to stick it in our wallets. Yeah, I'm with Bush on that! I'm sure that squandering the time of thousands of people and hundreds of billions of dollars a year out of the U.S. that COULD be invested in building up our country's economy and infrastructure - oh, that has nothing to do with the downturn. It's gotta be because those lazy consumers won't have FAITH and go out and SPEND!!!

@snoop-blog - perhaps "fix" was a poor choice of words, but so is "help." I'd liken it to bailing water out of a sinking boat with a spoon. sure it "helps" but it'd help more to plug the damn hole...

@geekfather: Um, no, its not. This is a payment out of the federal budget, not a tax refund. The last $300 check was, but this is supposed to be a massive influx of cash into the economy, which will hopefully return 10fold. See KPFIEF's lawnmower example, thats the ideal situation. Me, Im probably not getting anything, but I know that if its spent it goes into the economy and will benefit me eventually.

@junkmail:

You can't explain the most basics economic concepts to some people, so don't even try. Economics 101 should be a prerequisite to commenting on articles such as this.