So my mother called to let me know that my Economic Stimulus® check came.  I was expecting $300, but they sent me $600.  Huzzah.  I guess.

I searched the other day for the cheapest gas in town and finally found a station. I waited my turn and refrained from yelling at the old lady that stole my spot in line. "Hey that's okay. Go right ahead!", I mouthed and waved a friendly bobble wave.

How many times have you railed against the Federal spending priorities? How many times have you wished that you held more control over how the government spent the taxes they collected from you?

We currently have an unprecedented chance to control a portion of those taxes. The government has decided to return a chunk of the taxes they have collected from you in the form of a check. I am urging all Kossacks to consider what cause or issue you feel strongly that the government doesn't put enough money into and work to fund those things using the chunk of the Federal Budget you have been handed.

I know times are tough out there - the government wouldn't have started handing out money if it wasn't really bad - but I urge those of you who can afford it to think of the "stimulus check" you receive in this way. As a rare opportunity to have hands-on control as to how your tax dollars are spent.

The economy has been in the news a lot lately. The debates over whether or not we're in a recession (we are) and whether or not inflation is rising (it is) belie the reality of the situation for most Americans: Americans' incomes are not keeping up with costs, even while the wealthiest do great. The economic stimulus package passed by Congress is sending checks out to just about everyone, but there is a real question as to how much good that will actually do. Any additional stimulus needs to do better.

I wonder which Neocon came up with the rather insidious idea of these "rebate" checks from the government to us that will be arriving in the next week or two. I wouldn't give credit to Helicopter Ben Bernanke, since he wasn't around when the bush administration did this for the first time in 2001.

But what a brilliant way this is to steal a few thousand dollars from every American without them even realizing it.

I flicked on my local Air America affiliate this afternoon in time to catch the AP radio news. The lead item was about the IRS starting to send out "stimulus" checks.

The announcer sagely intoned "Of course, there are as many ideas about what to do with the money as there are recipients of it" (highly doubtful, it seems to me). She then cut to a "woman on the street" who thought the money could have better been used to pay down the government deficit.

OMFG. What can you even say?

After careful speculation, I have come to the conclusion that one of the surest ways to make sure my stimulus check really works for the US economy is to donate part of it to the Obama campaign. I can be sure the money is spent within the US economy employing US workers. The stories of the Clinton campaign not paying some of their bills really turned a light on in my head. There are many small US businesses that do work for political campaigns. This economy has hit small businesses particularly hard.

Bush discusses economy

It's clear our economy has slowed, but the good news is, we anticipated this and took decisive action to bolster the economy, by passing a growth package that will put money into the hands of American workers and businesses.

"We expect they will use it to boost consumer spending and that will spur job creation as well"

I am impressed. With Katrina he said "no one could have imagined...". With Iraq he said "no one could have imagined..." And now he's saying that they "anticipated" a slowdown but... hey "no one can imagine this thing turning into a recession". I mean he has to be right once...right?

There are times when government truly embarrases me. Many times it's the way that they deal with our senior citizens, especially our low income seniors.

This hits home for me because of have a mom and dad that fall into this category and I constantly have to be on the lookout for them.

The latest boondoggle - the economic stimulus package passed in it's full wisdom by our beloved congress and signed into law by our chimp in chief.

***UPDATE*** Link to the IRS bulletin that spells out what social security recipients must do is here.

I'd like to propose a pledge that we can all make here at Daily Kos to make a difference this year.

If each of us pledges to contribute $100 from our stimulus check to whomever democrat wins the primary, we could potentially guarntee to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to help us win in November.

John McCain, 2002:

Political courage in practice is the resolve to do what’s right whatever the personal consequences one must suffer.
--Worth the Fighting For

John McCain, yesterday:

WASHINGTON—Republican presidential candidate John McCain skipped a difficult Senate vote Wednesday on whether to make 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans eligible for rebate checks as part of a proposed economic stimulus package.

The Arizona senator's decision to miss the vote appeared to come at the last minute, after his plane had landed at Dulles International Airport outside Washington just before the proceedings opened on the Senate floor.

Asked Wednesday morning to comment on the pending vote, McCain talked about the need to pass a stimulus measure quickly. Later, on his plane, he said he was not sure he would make the vote.

"I haven't had a chance to talk about it at all, have not had the opportunity to, even," McCain said. "We've just been too busy, focused on other stuff. I don't know if I'm doing that. We've got a couple of meetings scheduled."

Whichever way McCain may have voted, it would have been a difficult choice given his status as the Republican presidential front-runner.

[Update: And Americablog points out the Senate stimulus bill was exactly ... one vote short.]

So the breaking news banner on CNN (online and on TV) is touting the fact that the House has passed a stimulus package which includes tax rebates for individuals and families.

While I haven’t seen the final numbers that are in the bill, nor do I know if the Senate will pass a similar bill, NOR do I know who will be eligible for these rebates, I can tell you that the whole idea of tax rebates are no different than putting a band aid on a gaping chest wound.

In this breathless political season, Congress is responding to the apparent looming recession by promiscuously mailing checks to millions of people, including many who don't especially need it....

There is so much that recommends a "green" stimulus over a simple, one-time payout to taxpayers  (the political solution) that only  adds to the deficit... A few simple notions after reading the excellent ideas by Michael Shellenberger, Dean Bakerand others...

Could someone please tell me how the Republicans can get away with repeatedly screwing the senior citizens of this country and still win elections?  They attack Medicaid, veterans care, Social Security and every other program that helps the aged and still they get votes from that population.

And then tell me how the hell the fucking Democrats think they can do the same?  The latest is the stimulus bill (no stimulus and billed to our kids) which is sending millions to corporations and people with no cash flow issues and keeping it out of the hands of the poor who will spend right away.  And keeping it out of seniors hands, too.

A study by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution has found that 18.1 million of the 31.2 million households headed by someone 65 years or older will not receive a tax rebate under the stimulus plan negotiated by President Bush and Congressional leaders.

The current recession, plus decades of lost jobs, plus decades of neglected levees, bridges, roads, schools, and hospitals, calls for a new WPA. That's the Works Progress Administration, established by the New Deal to build all those vital structures, employ people, and grow the economy.

The Republican stimulus package will enrich the rich, but soak the poor. Even those checks will have to be paid back at tax time.

The WPA achieved all its goals, and provided strong, beautiful buildings and bridges that still stand. We need the WPA again, right now.

In the week that we celebrated the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, it's ironic that our nation's leaders settled upon a stimulus package that puts money directly in the hands of everyday Americans.

Forty years ago, MLK was calling for just that--but not a one-time influx of cash to jumpstart an economy on the brink of recession. He championed regular, monthly payments to help the non-wealthy make ends meet and address the savage economic inequality in America.

These days it has fallen out of fashion to suggest taxing the rich and giving to the rest of us. But as the gap between the rich and poor grows dramatically and the middle class continues to shrink, it may be time to give King's idea another look.

Whenever Washington starts patting itself on the back - whenever politicians of both parties start praising each other on an economic issue - hold onto your wallet, because you are about to get fleeced. That's precisely what happened during the debate over the economic "stimulus" package, as I show in my new nationally syndicated column out today.