Barry Ritholtz Explains Stimulus

Barry Ritholtz has the best explanation I've seen so far:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. No, they are borrowing it from China. Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn’t that stimulating the economy of China ?
A. Shut up.

After a long list of things you shouldn't buy, because they come form other countries, he concludes:

You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer (domestic only), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.

Of course, since the tax cuts are done over the course of the tax year, it will be somewhere between $13 and $18 a week. Don't spend it all in one place!


Strangely enough, even though I earn less that the $250,000 that Obama claimed, (during the campaign), as the top end of the middle-class, I won't be getting any of this. (Yes, in a way that's good news, but still.)

From debate on C-SPAN, I understand the stimpack will triple DOE's budget, so I really should use the American talent for re-invention and "re-invent" myself as an Energy Expert Consultant of some sort.