Tax rebates: How big a boost?
The $107 billion stimulus is now flowing to taxpayers, to spend or save as they see fit.
from the April 30, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
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Reporter Peter Grier discusses what impact economic stimulus checks could have on the US economy.
Working in tandem
In general, the $107 billion by itself is not meant to blast the US economy back into orbit. Rather, it is intended to work jointly with the easier credit provided by the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, to provide a temporary boost.
Think of it as a bridge that might allow the US to avoid the depths of a recession and more easily cross into the good times to come.
From an economist's point of view, the more quickly the money gets spent, and the less of it that gets stashed away, the better.
And US retailers will certainly do their best to suck the money out of consumers' wallets, with everyone from Wal-Mart to the corner store offering rebate-check deals and putting up signs keyed to check arrival.
Both grocer Kroger and retail giant Sears are offering discounts to consumers who turn their checks into gift cards, for instance.
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