Jack,
we’ll need 2 more rebate checks just to cover the cost of the rise in price of gasoline. so once I get 2 more checks, then I’ll be able to buy something to help the economy.

Absolutely not. The smart move is to add this money to cash reserves. The rising price of fuel is changing everything and endangering even those with a comfortable life

Hi Jack,

The American economy is controlled by China, India, and now, considering the increase in gas prices, by the Middle East. The government rebate checks will stimulate the economy of all the countries that own us. Our economy is beyond help. I do, however, really appreciate the $300 check. It will help me survive another month or so.

Here is my advice on how to spend the rebate cheques

If you are lucky and the IRS sends you a rebate cheque be careful how you spend it……

If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.

If you spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs.

If you purchase a new computer it will go to India.

If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.

If you purchase a good car it will go to Japan.

If you purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the U.S. economy.

You need to keep that money in the U.S.

The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it at garage sales, since those are the only businesses still operating successfully in North America.

No, it makes me more convinced our leaders are idiots. Most of our problems stem from our debt, both personal and national. So what does our government do? It borrows more money from China or Dubai to send us a check that we will use to buy more Chinese products from Wal-Mart and more oil from OPEC. It’s insane!

Ed Reed
Port Aransas, TX

No, in fact, this rebate nonsense makes me uncomfortable. I see this as an act of desperation by an administration who destroyed the U.S. economy, and squandered a huge surplus. To watch our government print more checks and borrow more money from other countries should not make anyone more confident about our economic future.

I haven’t gotten my rebate check yet, but when I do, it will go toward food and gas, and that’s about it.

In the quest of trying to avoid a recession, inflation has become the bigger problem.

I’d better stop typing and get back to work. I can’t afford to get fired.

Absolutely not. This is money borrowed from our grandchildren that will be used pay credit card bills. Had that money been spent on the infrastructure of the country many needed jobs would have been created and there would have been a start on much needed road and bridge repair. This is just politics as usual. A pox on both their houses.

Jack,
Us American’s are not as dumb as George Bush thinks we are. How can borrowing more money from China possibly make us feel better about our economy? Sure I can make my car payment this month, even if I can’t drive it, but the only economy this so called stimulus package benifits is the Chinese economy. We borrow money from China to buy things from China, how in the hell does that make sence?

No they don’t. Mine went to pay IRS taxes so didn’t help economy much. At least though it is better than nothing! Thank you Congress for voting yes on this.

HA! HA! HA! HA!

Heck no, it was only $600.

Peter–Dallas, TX

Actually, it gives me the signal that something is wrong. It’s magnified when they initially say “$600 per person” and that is then changed to “up to” $600 per person.

Jack,
The government rebate checks do not make me more confident in our economy. Where is the rebate money coming from………….. its just a loan on what you will owe on your next years taxes…………… just the same kind of thinking that got us in this mess in the first place. Spending money that we don’t have yet and hoping it will magically appear. Maybe I should go out and buy a yacht just in case I get some money next year to pay for it and if I don’t get the money maybe the government can give me a rebate for the next 50 years in a lump sum then I might be able to pay for it. Just more of robbing Peter to pay Paul and I don’t believe it will work in the long run. It’s just dangling a carrot to keep the restless natives quiet until the next president gets into office.

Judie
St. Augustine, Fl

rebate checks? why not just give the money to the oil companies and eliminate the middle man?

Where is my rebate check? I should have gotten mine weeks ago, Also, how come the people I know who have received them are getting $728.00? These are couples with children. What happened to $600 per person plus $300 each child?

Jack:

That check did nothing for the US economy. If the Bush camp wanted to make an impression on people and actually help the economy. He should put a cap on the price of gas and jet fuel.

This president is standing idley by while the rest of the country is turning into a financial train wreck.

Ron San Diego

Heck no Jack. With the price of gas & what I have to pay at the supermarket, it sure will not go far. I just don’t bother to drive much anymore, most of all I don’t both to drive to the supermarket much anymore. I grow my own veggies and may soon have to eat my cats. (Only kidding)

hey jack
in a word, NO!

Cinti, Ohio

I don’t know, Jack. I never got one, and I won’t get one, but I don’t have any problems with the costs of living because I know how to budget my money.

Are you kidding; that was stupiest thing in the world the Bush & Chenny and the two Houses done. It does make me laugh out loud that is good face exercise!.

Jack,

Those pathetic checks didn’t stimulate the economy. Most people, like myself, used it to catch up on bills that were behind. Bush cut a gaping wound in this economy down to the bone and has offered a rebate band-aid. Who was happy? The banks, because mortgages and credit cards were being paid.

The rebate checks won’t boost the economy at all. People are going to use them to pay bills and fill up their gas tanks. To say nothing of putting a bit of extra food on the table! Right now I don’t buy anything I can do without and don’t go anywhere I don’t need to go. Grocery store and church are about it.

Of course not! It’s just political pandering. Like giving a kid a lolipop to shut up and be quiet. I make $11.50 an hour and will put my check in my depleted savingsaccount (from higher fuel, food, electric and rent costs) to help out in even worse times that are to come. Feed the Pig!

yes ,because i’m donating mine to obama.

The so-called rebate checks are just a bribe aimed at confusing the American people. This is the same scam that corporations pull all the time,Offering something for nothing! What is not said is what’s behind the curtain ala the Wizard Of Oz.

It might temporarily slow down the recession, but it will not give the economy a boost. After all the money spent and gone, the prices of food and gas will continue to rise and put further strain on the backbone of the majority of Americans. To top it off, it’s just another future debt for children on Washington’s credit card deficit.

After you pay for the ever increasing gas prices, those rebate checks would be vanished. It will not do any good for the economy. We will see that in economic reports in coming months.

- Nuwan from Houston,TX

I sent my thank you letter to China for the rebate check, they sent me an American default notice…

Jack: NO! It just makes me more eirey of the leadership that has been running this country for the last eight years and the economical mess that this Administration has gotten the US in. In fact, I viewed the rebate check as an insult……they gave me $1200, less $487 reduction adjustment…….totalling..$713. If they are going to offer a buy-out to every American as I have demonstrated, they need to up the ante…….considering I paid almost 35K in federal taxes last year. In essence………they are giving me back my own money……with a political spin……with such great friends like that……who needs money!

No, it actually made me lose faith in the Democratic Congress. There are sooo many people living in poverty and that money could have been better spent targeting them, not giving it to people like me who didn’t need it.

The only confidence that I will receive from my rebate check is, I will be able to fill my car with gas and buy enough food for a week without having to worry how I will pay my other bills. A rebate check for a couple hundred of dollars doesn’t buy much confidence these days.

Of course it does, don’t you believe everything that our wonderful leaders tell us and especially the Bush administration. If they tell you that things are fine then you and all of us should just believe it and get on with our lives paying $4 or $5 for gas, food up in some cases 25%, and on and on. Just ignore these minor details and listen to the president.

I intend to put mine in the bank to save for a rainy day - which may be next month’s gas fill ups. It’s like trying to fill up the Grand Canyon with a Tonka dump truck.

Yeah.. it makes me REAL confident. I’m so giddy that I think I’ll buy a tank of premium instead of regular. Maybe I’ll go out and buy WHOLE WHEAT bread instead of white. I just hope it doesn’t affect my adjustable-rate credit card, mortgage, and or capital gains write-offs. Just more politics as usual….Makes me Bitter.

Check, what check? It was over before it was over. Give me a job. Give me a brake!!

No, no, no. With the price of gasoline and heating oil still rising!!! What would you say if asked that question. Of course people who make big money don’t have to worry, at least not yet. It’s just a bandaid and a small one at that. Our economy is not getting better and it won’t for quite awhile.

NO!

Carol in Oregon

No!

Jack,

Once I get the check I am going to spend it on paying off the last of some medical bills I have been struggling to pay for the past several months. By my calculations, I will have $5.57 left over and with that I will head to the local liquor store and buy a six-pack of beer. And to help keep those dollars here in the U. S, of A., I will choose a cheap domestic brand. That will be my contribution to stimulating the economy. Confidence in the economy? No.

Sure Jack!!

The same way I feel when a car salesman say’s :
Oh Boy do I have a DEAL FOR YOU!!

NO!!! Isn’t this the second time in about 6 years that Bush has tried to revive his flatlined economy?? He hands out checks rather than do any real work to keep the economy afloat. Everyone loves money in hand, but really is it going to get our minds off the real issue?? A failing economy and a failing administration!! What a shame that he has to hand out checks!! It is just a smoke screen to get out minds off of his failings as a president. I can’t wait to read the history books about his presidency, I hope they are accurate!!

How many taxpayers have actually received these funds? We were supposed to get our rebate on the 16th but didn’t. We called the IRS and were told they had a problem getting the money out but it would be here on the 23rd.

The last report we heard was $15 million had received rebates, but what percentage of that figure represents the total number of taxpayers who are supposed to receive rebates via direct deposit? As usual, the IRS has mucked things up.

IF we ever get a rebate, it’s going into our savings to pay back the money we withdrew from that account to pay for gas and food this past month. Next month we may have to choose between feeding us or feeding the car.

Nothing makes me confident in this Bushwacked Government. The only thing the $1200 provided us was gas money to our 4 jobs for a couple of weeks. And doesn’t that go right back to George Bush and Big Oil? Just like Iraq…pathetic!!!

Wildwood Crest, NJ

No!

Bob
Illinois

No, Because most of the people that got the rebate checks will be paying off bills and other expenses. The way I see it Jack, we have to at some point repay the money that we borrowed from other nations. Because all it would take to further screw up the economy is if China and the other nations we borrowed money from start demanding that we pay off our debt. I wonder if we would have to raise taxes just to either take care of our foreign debt or the huge national debt that we have under Bush.

The rebate checks make me more confident in knowing that the Bush administration has no idea how to manage ANYTHING, and that will real leadership will come a reason to feel confident that we can make our way out of this mess.

I was going to say that the rebate checks were just a way for the politicians to buy off there conscience. But I forgot they don’t have a conscience.

The rebate checks might as well be called gas cards and food stamps because thats are they are going to be used for. The price of gas is nearing $4.00 a gallon and the price of bread is ridiculous. I don’t see how these checks are going to make that much of a difference.

The rebate checks don’t do anything substantial for the economy. They will slightly improve some economic indicators just before the November elections but they will have no long standing effect. If you really want to improve the economy more well paying stable jobs need to be created, that would have a long term impact by putting more money consistently in consumers hands and increasing taxable income and revenue to better support needed spending on infrastructure improvement nationwide. Which by the way would produce more well paying and stable jobs.

No. Mine is gone already.

This is the type of thing that government bodies do when they’re worried about getting re-elected and they think handing out money is going to make a difference in how people vote. It typically doesn’t work because people are smart enough to see through it.

Rebate check….what rebate check? We were supposed to receive ours on May 16th…well….still waiting….but I refuse to hold my breath…especially when dealing with our government…

hi jack
with gas prices going up I bought( 2 )5 gallon gas cans filled my car up and both gas cans,the check just wasnt worth the paper it was printed on. wonder what Bush did with his check.
clearwater fl

once again the republican standby of trickle down economics has failed magnificently. (just as it did when Reagan and Bush I tried it). now the current bozo in chief and the useless clowns in congress think borrowing money from china to send out a few paltry checks will fix everything. we the people should show them the elected to the door. people that stupid should not be allowed to run for public office.

The front page of today’s Sunjournal has the headline, “Not So Stimulating.”

The couple pictured received $40.00 instead of the expected $1,200.00 they would have spent on heating oil.

They said the “stimulus” was a big joke. Probably a joke on Bush if everyone is mad enough to invest their forty dollars in change by contributing to Obama in some hope of future government.

The first thing I’m going to do when I get my stimulus check is buy your
book. Jack,. . how much does it cost?

The only thing I am confident about, is that credit cards bills are going to be paid more than the usual minium payment for one month.

My $300 (I’m a senior citizen trying to live on Social Security) went to the grocery store. Oh, I did buy 15 gallons of gas.

Let’s hope there is a fair COLA this year, like 11%.

Confidence in the economy? In which economy? The Chinese economy? Or the Middle-Eastern economy? How can a $600 rebate check - our own money - give us confidence in the US economy? Particularly when the Putzs’ in the Congress are overspending OUR money like its theirs?

Throw the freakin’ bums out!

It is stupid. We are sticking future generations for our over spending.
Haven’t we saddled them with enough debt already.
This Administration have created a debt beyond comprehention, after starting with a surplus. The future is in jepardy, Thanks King George

No Jack, I make too much to get a rebate check. But don’t worry, with President Obama I’m sure many more of us will be taxed to the point where we qualify for rebates. However, snice I can’t wait for that, I’ll just go down to the street corner and start handing out $100 bills to perfect strangers.

Jack Jack Jack
What are you smoking ? I have - 0 - confidence in our economy and I have - 0 - confidence in anyone improving it in the near future. $ 132.00 for a barrel of oil. Do you think this will ever come down below $ 100.00 ever again ?

Jack, say what you want but in my lifetime George Bush is the only President or politition for that matter that ever gave anything back to the people. Whether it was a good idea or not I am not qualified to decide but I do appreciate the gesture.

Jack,

The rebate checks might just afirm people’s doubts about the economy…think of it this way, if the government had any faith in the strength of the economy, would they be giving money away to convince people of it?

Jack,

I’m not willing to throw my lot in with a bunch of Bush Economist!

What economy? its all down hill with Bush and the oil barons.

No. It has to be a trick.. This government has tricked us since 2000 and the introduction of the hanging chad. Don’t tell Hillary, she will somehow use the stimulus checks as yet another reason for her losing.

Six hundred dollars to me is six hundred dollars added to the debt, which at the moment is at 9.4 trillion. Broken down, that means every man woman and child in America owe $30,844.00 each. Strikes me it’s pretty much a bargain with the devil. However my larger worry is inflation which is not being faced truthfully by our fiscal fiduciaries.

Yep, It’s the same warm and safe feeling I used to get when the blue light started flashing and I heard the clarion call of “attention K-Mart shoppers.” What ever happened to that blue light?

We received the $1200 check yesterday. Thanks George, for not wasting MY money. If I had confidence in the ecomony I might spend it, but I’m not.

I hardly know where to spend the whopping $600 the government is sending me. A yacht? Diamond tiara? Heated indoor swimming pool? I mean, really, what did they think $600 would buy us - especially in the middle of a Recession with soaring gas prices? If this proves anything, it’s how out of touch with reality our wealthy Congressional Members are.

I do not know a single American who has confidence in our economy at the moment. Sure, some are better off than others, but the value of our dollar buys us squat in Europe and the UK, many home owners are getting the shaft from the mortgage meltdown, and the price of almost everything around us is going up.

George’s parting gift, as I prefer to call it, amounts to nothing. He would like us to run to the local mall and blow it, but that would only help the Chinese economy. What we need is an end to the outsourcing of our jobs. It’s not rocket science. No jobs, no money, no buying power, no economy.

Jack - I have not received my rebate check yet - so who knows?
One sure thing about the government, they can keep you guessing.
If this rebate check is supposed to bump up the economy, is it really going to make a difference?

Anyone who think the gas tax holiday is a good idea, would also think rebate checks are good for the economy.

Everyone knows these rebate checks are small little bandaids trying to cover up a severely injured economy.

I would like to know how the oil company executives plan to spend our rebate checks, I know most Americans will be spending them at the pump just to get back and forth to work for the next couple of months

Jack,
No it does not. The majority of people who get the rebate checks are just going to waste it on things they do ot need. This is another failed attempt by Bush to make the country believe that he is sincere. The money should have been put to better use, maybe into R & D on how we can become more fuel efficient. But with all the personal profit that Bush has made form the skyrocketing oil prices, why would he want to do that?

Steve C,
Laguna Niguel, CA

By the time I get it, I might be able to buy two barrels of crude oil. Then I’m going to put it in storage until it goes to $300.00 a barrels then sell it, and buy one more, and repeat my move. This kind of economics work for the U.S. government, so why not me…Isn’t this just stupid.

You mean the rebate checks financed through loans from China?
Really, a continuatiion of “bad management” does not give me confidence.

I THINK OBAMA IS WONDERFUL…….

Jack, people aren’t little kids who change their mood just because you buy them ice cream. We’ve got a big problem on our hands, and we need some real leadership to resolve it rather than perpetuate it for eight more years.

NO, it gives more confidence to the Oil Companies, because they know we will be forced to spend it ALL on $5 dollar a gallon gasoline that’s coming!

Jack,
The rebate checks for me are really just a symbol of the gross mismanagement and incompetance of this current administration. Of course, I will cash mine, and fill up my gas tank. I should have just enough left over to buy an Obama T-shirt.
Michael Bower
Rocky Hill, CT

No, I don’t like the government taking out a loan in my name.

I’m going to walk to the grocery store and get the bag of groceries it will buy by the time the check gets here. Then I’ll watch Lou Dobbs and be very afraid.

This incompedent boobs in this government can not buy my confidence. Well, not for $600.00 dollars.

Let me answer today’s question with an analogy. You are in a company that is losing money, there are rumors of bankrupcy, and you think your boss is grossly incompetent. Your boss says that he is going to fix the company by giving all employees a $1,000 bonus. Would this make you more confident in the companies future?

not unless food and gasoline count

The government rebate program scares the heck out of me….

The price of gas and everything else has gone up so much since they announced the give-away program that I think things are much worse than they are lettting on and there is not much relief in sight with predicitons of much higher prices before the last checks are mailed in July….

The 600 bucks they are handing out appear to be a bribe to prevent a revolution at the ballot box in November against our leadership that enjoys an approval rating of less than 20%

Jack - My rebate check will be $79 according to the IRS calculator. That means I can buy a tank of gas or get groceries — but not both. Oh joy!

When the fire department pulls up to my house screaming, I’m just as confident that my house isn’t on fire. The checks are a pathetic attempt at damage control. The cost will be borne by the taxpayers YET again! It is a complex way for the Federal Reserve to “loan” tax revenue to boost capital reserves at financial institions! They know that no one in the current environment is going to spend it!

I wonder if President Bush used his rebate check to pay for his daughters wedding,, HA HA

I used my rebate check to offset the interest I lost in my money market account.

Whooo Hooooo

Jack, the economy will only start to get better once the Bush Administration leaves. These stimulus checks was spent in necessary items just as fast as a paycheck. We work for gas now, the Government just only paid us to give big oil more money to put towards them profits and cry more poverty!

I really appreciate the government being genrous enough to give me my money back! That said, it’s not enough to offset the rising cost of energy. How much more of this will we take before we demand that ANWAR and more of the coast lines be opened for exploration? And can I get a new refinery while you’re at it?? Things are bad now, but imagine what WILL happen this summer when a hurricane crimps supply from the gulf. I’m saving my rebate for that. It should get me a half tank or so…

The elites are so out of touch with reality, they actually think that a mere thousand bucks will make a difference. What we really need is jobs that pay at least a thousand dollars more than we currently make, and we need that thousand dollar raise each and every month. That and health insurance, a pension, and affordable education.

Jack, no! The insignificant checks only make me more ashamed at the simplistic Bush administration that thinks giving away crumbs from our deficit, while over-spending on the war and other nonesense is any form of economic solution

I decided to use the $600 refund to leverage a large loan from the local bank for $600,000, and take the $600K to buy a huge home for $2M and then get a homoe equity loan for $600K. Now I have a home and the $600K. I will then buy stock for $600K. Use the stock as collateral to get a loan from my neighbor for $100K and go on a vacation to Hawaii.
Oh, I forgot only Wall Street can do that. And, when Ifail to make the payments Uncle Ben will bail me out. I love the way we change the rules and defintion of capitalism. Beginning to look a lot like socailism for the rich and powerful
Rick

No the rebate checks don`t give me confidence in this economy. With
rising gas, food prices and more Americans in debt, there`s no way
a consumer like me can spend our way out of debt. My rebate check
is already gone all $1200.00 of it. But I did take $40.00 dollars to invest in two gas locking fuel caps for our vehicles and no I did`nt stay
at a holiday inn express.
Karen Ducote
Myrtle Beach SC

NO WAY NO HOW..my rebate went to the student loan company..Just simply ridiculus..This economy is in shambles as are most american’s pocketbooks! Please we need change!!! OBAMA ‘08!..he is our only hope!

I’m using my rebate check to pay my taxes. I feel stimulated…

I have know of only 2 people who have received their rebate check. I will most likely use it to buy gas this summer since it is $4.00 per gallon and its not even summer yet. Under Bush used up our cash surplus and now we are in debt to the Chinese and are begging the Saudis for more oil.

Jack,

you do a great job. Always liked watching you even when you were on the local news in NYC.
The answer is no it does not make me more confident. I put the money in the bank to pay for gas, food, and bills. No plasma screen tv for me. Like someone else mentioned earlier, I need two more checks before I can think about buying any toys. With a family, a wife and two kids that need to eat I have to think about survival before pleasure.
Thanks for your questions. Keep up the good work.

PS. I got the bike out of the shed and just bought a helmet. I will be biking to work tomorrow so one car can stay at home since gas just went up another 10 cents overnight. Glad I filled up yesterday.
Matt
Norwalk, CT

Not really, everyone I know will just put it in the bank or pay off some debt. I also don’t know anyone who actually received the check yet.

Jack,

We thought about buying some furniture or something nice for our house, but now we use it to pay our prescription drug bill. Why didn’t Congress eliminate the middle man, US, and send it right to the oil and drug companies

No! With these rising gas prices it will be going with the rest of our money to the middle east.

The government checks do nothing to make me feel better about the US economy. I’m sure this holds true for a majority of Americans. It DOES make me feel slightly better from my own financial standpoint… atleast for the next few weeks.

The overall US economy is hurting, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. These checks are only going to have an impact on an individual basis, and the impact presented is on a case by case basis.

All the above comments are precious, but I’ll go you one better! A year ago I thought I was being smart by making a large contribution to my IRA for a rainy day in the future. The result was a large “savers tax credit” that wiped out my tax liability of about $1,000. Because I was being prudent, with no tax liability we got the minimum stimulus payment of $600 instead of $1,200. Go figure!

I’ll use my rebate check to pay my health insurance for two months, I forgot that I’ll need a small loan Jack to even do that. Do you have an extra $25 bucks?

Isn’t the fact they have to send checks out to jumpstart the economy enough to give people doubt? Here’s some free money, but buy something so we get it back because we desparately need it.

Jack-

How in the world could $600 make people feel more confident in the economy? As we found out, that would now barely allow you to pack an extra bag on American Airlines. Receiving this check made me feel like a little kid receiving candy to just sit still and be quiet. “Hey I started a war we can’t afford, have an economy it the tank and my oil buddies are raking it in, but here’s $600 so just sit still and be quiet until oh, maybe January 20, 2009.”

I spend a $100 a week on gas and $250 a week on food to feed a family of five.

What do you think?

Are you kidding me?
The rebate checks show you how bad the economy really is, that the government will give you some money for nothing and cross their fingers that you spend it!

Dear Mr. Cafferty, My parents just recently purchased me a new kitten…his name is Hunter. So far, Hunter’s vet bills have amounted to $300. He’s destroyed the couch, the drapes and the carpet, which all need to be replaced. Oh well, there goes the other $900. But look on the bright side, if everyone bought a kitten, just imagine how great the economy could be.

Love,
Pippie

Stop blaming otherf countries for Americans’ overspending problems. For most of us, we have only ourself to blame for, especially those voted for Bush.

What rebate? Myself and at least three others who were to receive their rebate on May 16, according to the irs.gov website, did not receive it. Jack, can you find out where our rebates are? At the rate gas prices are going up, by the time we get ours, it will take all of it to buy a tank of gas! Forget about groceries and medicine!

Jack, let me get this straight. The feds borrow money to give the wealthy tax cuts, which they spend on their european vacations and oil futures, raising the price of gas, groceries and everything else. Meanwhile the feds borrow more money for rebates and John Q. Middleclass gets a few hundred bucks in tax rebates and has to spend it on higher state and local taxes and fees, rising utility and college tuition payments due to budget deficits created at the state and local level because federal funding of the states were cut to pay for the tax cut for the wealthy? And they want me to be confident in the economy?

These checks are only being used to take a Poll of people and obtain information about people that never file a tax return for their UNION OF THE AMERICAS!!

My confidence in the “economy” crashed the morning after Bush was “elected” in both 2000 and 2004. His stupid $150 billion torn and loose economic band aid won’t do squat to resolve the situation he created by invading Iraq over 5 years ago. It’s hilarious that $150 billion was allocated to 130 million American’s to “solve” the economic woes of the country and then a few weeks later, $200 billion were allocated to support 150,000 troops, not to mention the corrupt Iraqi government, that is supposed to last a year. Bush has screwed the pooch so badly he has to now rob from Mary to pay Peter and Paul for the money he stole from them.

If you are so unhappy with the check, send it back. Have an attitude of gratitude. I imagine that many of the people commenting here are the same people responsible for the mess we are in now… U.S. taxpayers who spent too much on houses, clothing, electronics and vehicles they couldn’t afford. “I have seen the enemy, and he is us” Pogo

Not at all–just the opposite. I am probably alone, but I think the rising price of gas is just was is needed to wake people up; too many have been asleep or ignoring the fact that petroleum is a finite resource and we are no longer the only country using massive amounts of it. It is also ruining our precious atmosphere and threatening all life on the planet. It may, finally, get the government off its collective arses to start heavy funding of alternative energy sources–something that should have been done a decade ago or more. To me, the higher gas costs go, the faster this will happen and the better our chances to survive ourselves.

You need to ask?
Cliff, Richmond,Ky.

Are you serious Jack? Those clowns in Washington don’t know the difference between investing and spending. They should have invested the money in our crumbling infrastructure. Since when does mortgaging one’s future by spending money one doesn’t have help anyone except bankers?

Norm in Yulee, FL

Don’t be funny, Bush doesn’t care about the consumers, how can $1200 change your credit card debt or mortgage problem?
This is a $150B boost for the retail / large corporations, who ARE going to end up with the big money.

My wife and I recieved our rebate check of only $600! What happened to the $1200! Empty promises. We filed jointly, so we should have recieved $1200. If we filed seperately, we should have gotten $600 apiece. Are we the only couple experiencing this?

No. For a family of four, rebate checks barely cover a months worth of groceries plus the gasoline used for shopping and travelling to work. I have not received my check but I already know that I will be holding on to my check for an emergency. Pres. Bush assertion that these checks will stimulate the economy is based on faulty information. The rising costs of goods and services makes the rebate look like inadequate. Why not keep the money and cut taxes.

My bankruptcy trustee took my whole $300. So I didn’t even get a chance to use it how I saw fit.

For those of you who think you are getting a 1200.00 rebate check, you might need to think again. My husband and I are supposed to get 1200.00 and we make less than 25,000 a year, We got a letter the other day saying we are getting 634.00 back. We don’t know why, and I’m sure it will take an act of congress to find out why. We will probably never know.

Kathy

From: Martha, Asheville, NC
What rebate? Myself and at least three others who were to receive their rebate on May 16, according to the irs.gov website, did not receive it. Jack, can you find out where our rebates are? At the rate gas prices are going up, by the time we get ours, it will take all of it to buy a tank of gas! Forget about groceries and medicine!

Will believe it when i see it, was suppose to get 2nd week in May. Will try and save a little, but mostly catch up on some bills.

Actually, my property tax is due this month and it is about $600 more than last year. So, I suppose the Federal government is just trying to fund the local government; while let me see the money in my bank account for about 7 days….. The good news is that a part of the economy is going better - bank payment processing businesses, check printing company, post office, ads/media (get ads dollar for tax rebate special deals etc from businesses); the bad news is that the money stays still in the governments account somewhere, not mine.

The rebate checks make me less confident about the economy. The government is taking my hard earned tax dollars and floating them back to the citizens to spend, spend, spend. Why not keep the money to fund Unemployment Benefits further for the folks really in need?

I think giving families with children an added $300 per child is a slap in the face to all single, working people in this country. This country continually rewards people to have children. In case they haven’t noticed, we already live in a world that is becoming increasingly over-populated. Why give tax rebates for each child in a family instead of charging taxes to have children?

No not at all.
I don’t have confidence in anything that comes out of Washington.

Mike

Wasn’t the checks supposed to bolster the economy, not bolster the OPINION about the economy? Aren’t you asking the wrong question?

My daughter (age 23) recieved her check today. She will be paying her car insurance. We need a few more checks, and by the way, where is mine?!?

I will not be confident in our economy until we bring manufacturing back to our country. We can not be confident in anything when we depend on all of our products being produced by other countries. Our companies depend on us to buy their products but they send jobs to India and China where they do not pay fair wages. They are exploiting the workers in countries where governments do not care about walfare of their people. We also need to stop corporate walfare and lower taxes for all people. Rebate check will not do anything for anybody.

Absolutely not. My rebate check will go toward paying credit card bills and to offset the increased price in gasoline and food. This is just another stunt from the Bush Administration to money launder borrowed funds from China through the US middle class consumer to his buddies in banking and big oil.

Another thing off the subject: Is Campbell Brown that naive to challenge Dick Durbin yesterday on CNN that the energy crisis is an issue created by the Democratic Congress when they faced record numbers on filibusters in the time they held the majority? Can you say Bush Administration gridlock?! There’s a reason why Ralph Nader and others are asking for their resignation.

I am greatful for the 1800 bucks I got back. We do not spend on silly things unless we have the cash - we have always been this way and it hass served us very well. I am going to take my 1800 and buy me a plasma! Funny, this “bad economy” hasn’t affected our lifesyle.

What does the rebate check have to do with confidence in the economy? If anything it shows that the Government acknowledges that the economy is in shambles and has to give everyone money to help keep our heads above water… for at least a little bit or until the election is over…..

not at all, we hurt why they make money, the they are the top 2%

I don’t know about making me feel more confident, however I am very grateful. I am a bit disappointed though that I only received $300. I go to school full time and work, I can use any help toward tuition and books since both keep sky rocketing at the pace of fuel. I hope things turn around soon, especially here in Michigan.

The rebate check was a boondoggle from the outset. $600 will not solve anyone’s problems, much less the economy. With the price of gas rising exponentially, $600 is, if you’re lucky and have a small car, about a dozen fill-ups. If you have a large SUV, $600 is not even a respectable downpayment on a smaller, greener vehicle. God forbid that you actually owe taxes and have to give it back to the IRS. What a joke!

Look, the Democratic Congress can’t do much when they don’t have majorities plus Bush always says, “Don’t bring me a bill with this or that ’cause I’m goona veto it!” That guy is a big rant!

Bless the Democrats with WH and Congress, and you’ll see action for the good! I have no doubt!

And why always rant on India, hey, at least they’re Democracy! And we don’t spill like lotusts into America like those in south border!

No, it doesn’t make me more confident of the U.S. economy. I am getting more and more discouraged and without hope for our country if Obama is the nominee. We will go even further under. God help us! Hillary is the only one who can save this country now.

Wonder if this gesture made George sleep better at night? With a little luck I will be able to buy some groceries, buy some gas, pay off existing utility bills and keep my family out of homelessness. We now have to figure out how we and our childrens children will be able to pay down the National Credit Card. Our children will now have to take three jobs to pay off the foolishness of this administration. George never met any of your money he didn’t want to give away.

NO WAY!!! the Miserable amount received won’t even cover the cost of GAS!!
Our economy is getting worse and with rising gas & food prices Americans are only getting deeper and deeper in debt!!

This only proves the incompetence of our administration!

no it does not boost my feeling toward a better economy.. The cost of living and gas increasing that’s only going to let you pay 1 or 2 bills and get gas.. dallas tx

Jack,

First and foremost, the rebate check does not make me confident in the U.S. economy. Next, and more importantly, the checks should have been used to mandate Solar Panels on our homes and improving our roads. This would accomplish two goals: oil independence and jobs for Americans!

Let the revolution begin, here and now, with us!

My final answer, No Jack. My $600 is going strictly to food, and if I’m lucky to have $50 at the end of the week, I’ll treat my car to a few gallon of gas so I can drive to the work the following week rather than my typical commute using my daughter’s bicycle. Just like Lloyd Braun from Seinfeld states “Serenity now, insanity later”. Thanks to Bush and the clowns in congress, much appreciated.

NO! We owe back taxes and it will get applied there. While we’re not upset about that, it doesn’t stimulate the economy and that’s the what these checks are supposed to do.

No it is not going to make much of a difference with the gas prices and food prices as they are today. On the other hand if we could use all that butt kissing Obama gas that jack spews we could all save them rebate checks for our retirement. I know that his knees and lips must be scabed over something terrible.

No. Why would borrowing more money from China make me feel good about the economy? Especially since my grandchildren will be paying off this little ‘gift’! Borrowing money from China that will eventually go to OPEC nations is not something that gives me confidence.
Teri
Palm Coast, FL

First of all, they tried to sell this thing as six hundred for each person. My wife and I just received six hundred for both, so for us it is three hundred each. Today three hundred is a joke. Our government is a joke.

Jack, I received my $900 check last week. I took $400 of that and did what I was “supposed” to do and spent it. I put the other $500 in savings, as gas here in southern CA now costs more than $4 per gallon I figure I might need to tap it before long. The American people are not as mentally challenged as the government likes to have us believe-we see prices soaring every day, no matter what the economists say. It’s hard to feel confident about the economy when the people who are supposed to tell us the truth about it aren’t doing so.

No. It just means we are further in debt to China which will lead to even more problems. Being in financial trouble as an individual, I need to use that money to catch up — a little. If it weren’t for that, I would send the damn check right back. Aren’t we spending like 30 bazillion dollars a minute in Iraq? Don’t we need to provide relief to foreclosed home owners and bankrupt lenders? What are these idiots thinking? I got an idea…how ’bout we charge $1.50 a gallon for gas like we did before Bush took office? How ’bout we cut middle class taxes and make the rich pay what they can afford? How ’bout we, we as voters, deliver the stinking government a stinking economic stimulus package in the form of a Democratic president, Senate, and House — return things back to the prosperity and budget SURPLUS of the Clinton administration! I bet nobody’s laughing at Al Gore’s “lock box” anymore.

Jack,
The rebate checks are just another way to show how stupid the Government is, because no more than 20 % of the money the people receive is going to be spent in stores. The other 80 % is just going to be stuck in the bank to be saved. Tell me what good that is going to do towards boosting our economy.
John

Jack,
In 1972 when we had the oil embargo it was a ploy by the oil companies. I worked for Shell at the norco refinery in Norco, la. and Gasoline was 36 cents a gallon. the holding tanks at that refinery were full and could not hold anymore. Once the price got to 72 cents a gallon there was plenty of gas. I worked in the accounting dept. that was responsible for keeping tract of the tank levels.
so when they say they had 40 billion in profits, the congress woman was right, Profit is after all expenses, operating, investing, salaries and costs. that is what profit means.
Jean lomont,
Virginia

Absolutely not. This was a bad idea, more for show, and the long term impact on the national debt is something no one wants to discuss. If consumers and government spent within their means the country could avoid many of these fiscal disasters.

I don’t get a rebate check, but if I did, I’d take it to Mexico or Canada and spend it all there just out of spite. Fix the gas prices. Then I can spend money at the mall instead of spending it trying to drive to the mall.

Jack,

These rebate checks are a bit like having the fire department hand you a wet sponge if your house was on fire and then expecting that this would make you feel better about the whole situation.

Bill

I own a store that is in serious need of some customer traffic. So far, I have seen no effect from the stimulus checks on my business. We’ve gotten pretty good at predicting sales from week to week with the rise and fall of gas prices.

Bush could try stimulating the economy by putting a hold on these speculators in oil. Congress can talk til they are blue in th face and all those speeches and postering will not accomplish a blessed thing. It is obscene the amount of profit that the big oil companies make. That and speculation is what is killing our economy at the moment. It wouldn’t hurt if they would take on China and India about unfair trade practices too. I went to Hobby Lobby the other day and the only thing I could find that was made in the USA was “Silly Putty”. Congress and Bush must have silly putty for brains.

This is a typical election year gimmick to make it look like the politicians are doing something for the people. This is just like the Hillary/McCain vacation gas ploy. It’s amazing we get anything done in this country. We must be the laughing stock of the world with this so called leadership.

Jack,
My 401 is down $60,000.
My house value is down $20,000
Some economic advisor decides ethanol will solve our energy issues and we see how that is working on food and overall inflation.
Yeah, a $1,200 rebate will fix everything…..NOT!

I’m worried more about my health insurance. This year my rates jumped a whopping 33% to $984.00 / month (Anthem BC and Shield).

A $1200 rebate is nothing especially since I owed over 10x that in taxes.

Should I go on? By the time summer rolls around, $1200 bucks will get you 13 fill ups on your car and then it’s gone. I point my finger at George Bush and ask him if he has any of these problems? Answer: He doesn’t have a clue. He’s well taken care of as well as McCain, who’s hobby is government and the Clinton’s who make their money off the taxpayers.
I ask, why would anyone invest 2 million dollars in a gov’t campaign for the Presidency??? Must be more to it then all let on…..to be valued that much…..is it a quick way to get wealthy?? Ask Bill Clinton.

The congress has an 18% approval rating and a confidence rating in the minus range. This rebate amounts to less than the tax-free earmarks congress took for themselves…

Mr Cafferty:
Your question begs the point. Fact is the Republicans have made such a mess of things over the last few years that no one is going to have any confidance in anything till they are all gone! All I can say is vote in November.
Opinion from Montgomery Texas proud home of the Texas Flag!

jack i recevied my rebate check and i have a wicked shopping addiction i took 50 dollars and put the rest in a savings account i will wear what i have over and over again and go to mcdonalds once a week or so and get something from te dollar menu so now i have 49 dollars to car pole with my co-workers good luck to everyone out there because it will get tougher.

When the government gives us our own money back, it really goes to show how big of a mess this is.

No Way Jack!!! It’s gonna take more money to than the Prez sent me to get back my confidence. They say money can’t buy love, what makes you think it will buy confidence? My confidence is not for sale!

I didn’t get a check, but I am still saving 40% of our income and spending, although I just spent a ton of money in Italy thanks to the exchange rate.

How does adding billions of $$ in more debt help me have faith in my economy???

Did George Bush and family, his Daddy and family all get checks too? I’m going to write George and see what he did with his, then do the opposite. Because I don’t have millions to add it to.

I bought a HOUSE with my check! Now that home values have fallen to almost nothing I can afford one! And I’m not talking about using the check as a down payment. I actually bought the ENTIRE house with my $900 check! Yay for me.

they give me a warm fuzzy… i see it more as an attempt to buy votes for republicans….

they don’t give me a warm fuzzy… i see it more as an attempt to buy votes for republicans….

Absolutely not. In fact, they make me feel worse. This $150 billion dollars should be going towards programs that can fix the economy on a large scale, rather than provide a pittance for individuals and couples. $600 or $1200 isn’t going to save people from foreclosing on their homes or losing their jobs. It’s just delaying the inevitable and, quite frankly, it’s insulting to the American people. It’s like George Bush and a Democratic Congress saying “Hey, we know we can’t work together and, as a result, we’ve driven this country in the ground. Most of the rest of the world hates us (and rightly so), we’re losing jobs to countries whose leadership aren’t in shambles and whose priorities focus on educating their citizens rather than pandering to them, and our generation may be responsible for the destroying the planet and causing the end of human civilization, but here’s a few bucks to make yourself feel better about it for a couple of months.”

I don’t qualify for a rebate check. I do qualify for the AMT. How do you think I would feel about this? Sometimes I think we might all be better off if we paid congress not to be in session…..ever.

Jack,
Noway. I will not be receiving one of those baby’s because of my income. I probably will be tagged for paying extra taxes to help cover those checks. This might come as a suprise to many …BUT…. my pay check is ALSO going less far……and I cannot necessarily say that I am better off than several years ago. You know this country needs to be inclusive. I am single and have paid many more times taxes than most. I do not mind………….but I often wonder how generous the system will be to an old single white guy if things were to get rough for me ??? “I doubt that Uncle Sam has anything in the bag for me !!”( “Wizard of OZ”).

Did it help “my” economy? Yes it did, I invested my 600 bucks (along with extra money i had laying around) in to good Growth Stock Mutual Funds and plan to put that money to work and make it grow over the next 5 to 10 years. Will it help the General Population, No.. it won’t. Because most of this country is so far in debt and