What will you do with your rebate check?
A tax payer rebate from New York City. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
When it comes to our ailing economy, you may remember how the Democrats and Republicans in Washington finally managed to work together quickly on something. They came up with that 170 billion economic stimulus package. The idea: to put money in the hands of ordinary Americans in the hopes they'll spend it to boost the economy.
Well, things may not work out as expected. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll finds that only 21% of those surveyed plan to spend their rebate check... of $600 for individuals who earn less than $75,000 and $1,200 for married taxpayers who earn less than $150,000 together.
32% say they'll save the money. 41% say they'll use it to pay off bills, and 3% say they'll donate it to charity.
In the past, taxpayers have spent half to two-thirds of their rebate checks, but today's unsure economic times may mean people are less likely to part with that money. However, the chief economist at Moodys.com says it's important to distinguish between what people say they'll do and what they actually do. He thinks taxpayers will end up spending two-thirds of their rebate checks.
Meanwhile, in yet another sign of tough economic conditions, it's reported that almost 1 in 10 people in Ohio now receives food stamps. That's the highest number in the state's history, with caseloads almost doubling since 2001. The factors to blame are those now familiar to many Americans: low wages, unemployment, and the rising cost of necessities like groceries and gasoline.
Here’s my question to you: What do you plan to do with your rebate check?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Charles from Lansing, Michigan writes:
I will use mine to pay bills. I don't plan to go out and spend it on Chinese products and apparently 75% of the population plans the same. This so-called stimulus is all politics. If the money would have been spent on roads and bridges, thousands of jobs would have been created and we would have gotten something for our money.
Brian from Idaho writes:
Jack, My wife and I get discounted rent in June and July, only $300/month, so our rebate check is going to pay for two months of rent.
Marcus writes:
Cash it before the Democrats try to take it back.
Richard in Washington writes:
Nothing. I don't get a check this year. I sold investments; I had to pay off my mortgage. I get no reward for doing the right thing.
Sue writes:
Double it and use it to pay the tax on my Social Security payments, since I still have to work to keep a roof over my head.
Larry from Georgetown, Texas writes:
We plan to install new carpet in our bedroom and if there is enough left over buy a copy of your book, Jack.
Paul from Nashville, Indiana writes:
I'm going to use my rebate check to pay my bankruptcy lawyer.
Rex from Portland, Oregon writes:
I will take my friend Arlene out to Outback and feed her some rib eye steak and bloomin' onions. Then I will go to Radio Shack and purchase a new alarm clock made in China and hope that it works better than the last one. From there I will go to my favorite phone store and get that new Korean cell phone I have had my eye on for months. On the way home I will stop and fill my gas tank with Arabian gasoline and cry a lot. I shall top the day off with a dinner of New Zealand lamb, Chilean vegetables, Peruvian potatoes, and a delightful white wine from Sauvignon, and retire blissfully to my Swedish bed. Broke. God bless America.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Buy a one way refundable ticket to the other end of the world and use it if Hillary Clinton is elected.
Jack:
I am going to pay bills off. I know that McBush wants the public to spend money, but spending money got us in this mess to begin with. Pay down the debt!
Buy a US savings bond.
Pay down my credit card balance
Send it back to help pay for all the unseen advertisement cost which is more than the paper the check is written on.
Pay my credit card bill.
That’s easy, I’ll use all of it to pay a tiny part of my taxes. I had planned on putting a down payment on a new Cadillac, but the guy just laughed at me. Easy come, easy go.
Put it in savings. Until I run out of gas money.
Pay my credit card bill that went towards my federal income tax for 2007
As an uninsured citizen of these United States, I will lay out my medical bills, close my eyes and pick one! Let's see ... $300 would just about pay for the ambulance that took me to the hospital.
I hope there are some people who CAN go shopping with their checks – most of my friends will be paying bills.
I used my home equity line of credit to buy a 1941 Packard Clipper. I consider it an investment and it has already gone up in value. Although my investment lost its brakes the other day and I'm glad for its strong second gear and functioning emergency brake.
I will no doubt throw most of my rebate at my mortgages, but a couple of hundred bucks will go towards fixing the brakes on my 401K.
Double it and use it to pay the tax on my Social Secuity payments since I still have to work to keep a roof over my head.
We plan to install new carpet in our bedroom and if there is enough left over buy a copy of your book Jack.
I'm thinking serously about applying it to start a new political party!
The Democrats and Republicans have betrayed the trust of the voters for so long I think the damage is irreparable.
Donate it to genuine change, good judgment, and honesty. Obviously, I'm not sending it to Senator Clinton.
Obama gets my support, and my check.
When I first heard this absurd idea of planes dropping emergency money rations from the sky I literally laughed out loud. My first reaction was that I'd turn around and send it right back but then I realized my government just can't be trusted to spend it wisely. Frankly, I don't have any plans to buy anything and I'm going to do what the administration doesn't want me to do with it: It's going right into my savings account where one day it will hopefully amount to more than just a few hundred dollars.
I will use mine to pay bills. I don't plan to go out and spend it on Chinese and apparently 75% of the population plans the same. This socalled stimulus is all politics. If the money would have been spent on roads and bridges thousands of jobs would have been created and we would have gotten something for our money. And any stimulus would actually come quicker with more money going immediately into our economy, not Chinas.
I plan to pay my credit card bill that I have had to use to buy food and pay some monthly bills. The thing that really worries me is, last time we got one of these rebates, it came out dollar for dollar out of the next years return. It wasn't added to income, it was taken out of the refund. So people, be prepared to pay it back, maybe we should save it so we don't own more next year.
Duh....put it towards a credit card.
I'd buy an ounce of gold but the rebate ain't enough. I guess I'll just spend it on a month's worth of gasoline. Or maybe I'll buy 600 lottery tickets.
Jack,
My wife and I get discounted rent in June and July, only $300/month, so our rebate check is going to pay for two months of rent.
Brian
Idaho
Jack,
I plan to put a down payment on a new house or buy a new car. Yep, when China's money arrives in my mailbox I plan to live the good life with my new found fortune. If you listen closely you can almost hear the economy getting better in anticipation of all the money it will soon be flooded with. On the other hand maybe I'll go outside and give the check straight to the repo-man and beg him not to take my car since I'm two months behind. Who knows Jack, with all that Chinese money one can only dream of the many ways they will spend it.
What do you plan to do with your rebate check?
Nothing I don't get a check this year. I sold investments I had to pay off my mortgage. I get no reward for doing the right thing...
Pay off debt already accumulated! Won't do a thing for the economy, Jack! Keep in mind that this is coming out of next years return, it's not a tax break like Big Business gets! Next year it will bit some in the rear and what if the trouble isn't over yet? It won't be , trust me. Just electing some one to fix the 8 years of financial cancer, (Bush), will only be the beginning. It may take years to overcome what this criminal as done to the country!
Why, is no one mentioning the fact that IRS 1040 form filers are being singled out , to NOT recieve a rebate check......
Nikki, Walla Walla,WA
Going to get my "Viagra" prescription refilled; new batteries for my hearing aid; and new eye glasses........so I can see what I'm doing with my Viagra....and any extra change........ a Snickers bar.
JACK: I'm going to put mine in the bank, I'll be just like a politician. I will not do what they want me to do, They never do what we would like for them to do.So there. It is my turn
Donate it to a candidate that will help give government and this nations interests back to the people. That is the best investment I can make at this point. Obama for President is an investment in my family's future.
Well, since the government is borrowing all of this money, most of it from the Chinese, I will go to WalMart and spend it on Chinese-made goods thereby completing the full circle. It's very Zen. Ooommmm.
Ed Reed
Port Aransas, TX
Pay my bills of course. I think many Americans will spend it for paying bills or getting food into their tables. Everything is damn expensive, I don't think majority can spend that on luxeries.
Nuwan from Houston, Texas
Easy, I'll fill up the gas tank – barely.
Jack,
For me, I would pay down my debt just as the Federal Government should be doing. Sending out this money to "boost" the economy is a joke. A one time gift from the government isn't going to fix our problems as long as gas is over $3 a gallon. If they really wanted to fix the economy, they should work on ways of reducing energy costs. People can't buy as much because the transportation portion of their budget jumped over the past 2 years. And don't get me started on the weak dollar.
Atlanta, GA
Jack,
I'd like to get mine in Euros or some other real currency.
John
Three Rivers, MI
I plan on buying a copy of every book written by a CNN newsperson. I will read them all from cover to cover and then I too can be considered one of the Illuminati. Failing that, a classic #2 combo at Wendy's.
Put it in the bank, and forget I ever got it.
I buy a thousand coffee!
Buy a dishwasher and new garbage disposers for my mom she need a dish washer, she should not have to stand up at night cleaning dishes after working all day to provide for the family.
Howard
Joshua Tree, Ca
I can't think of a better way to stimulate the economy than to send my check to the Obama campaign.
Easy. I'm going to count the number of times it lets me fill my gas tank.
MY REBATE CHECK ALLOTMENT: REPLACE THE 500$ IM MAKING OUT A CHECK TO THE IRS FOR. THAN ILL TAKE THE LEFT OVER 100$ AND STASH IT FOR NEXT YEARS CHECK I HAVE TO WRITE TO THEM... BILL PS IM ON SS AND ANNUNITIES
Jack, it's probably going into my gas tank, eventually! I wish I had your money, then I would rich and would not have to worry about it. At least this wasn't a another stupid question about Hillary Clinton!
I am undecided, as that poll you guys conducted really confused me.
Your poll has 42% using it to pay bills and another 21% "spending" it.
Excuse me, but payng bills and spending it, are the same thing. If you think otherwise, let's all just stop paying our bills and see what happens to the economy.
Geeshh!!
Harry
Ky.
I am going to send it back and say put this towards the national debt. I am asking myself to step up and tighten the belt. I am driving less and eating less and not going out and holding on to my money instead of making this economy grow as a protest. I wish to stop the madness called Wall Street. I challenge others to do the same. Our country is out of control we owe too much to China. Good thing I like Chinese food.
We'll be paying on bills. If we can get enough paid, we may be able to keep our house. It's too bad they can't put a limit on the interest rates charged consumers. Raising those rates was seen as a way to get more money for the financial institutions. Instead it's put the consumers in a position of not being able to pay their bills, and there's more very negative results including the loss of income for the sharks. There will be no more credit in this household except the mortgage, which we'll continue to struggle to pay. Amazing what greed does, isn't it?
GIVE IT TO OBAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am going to save it until they send me the next one..lol,than i will have enough to pay the irs back next year..
Patty from Michigan
It will make ME fell good to keep it
What rebate check Jack? I'd be shocked if you get one either, if you do then CNN is even cheaper than I thought.
I'm one of the lucky "rich" that won't get any money back, just have the right to pay more into our broken tax system. Problem is Jack, these bottom feeders will always be just that, you can dress up a pig but it's still a pig. People that have money will always have money because we earn it, invest it and have ownership in our decision making.
Honestly, the 600 bucks will not help these helpless people that are already a huge drain on our system. Just gives them more money they did not earn to be careless with.
I'm not getting a check Jack. But, those I've talked to are either paying their bills off or they are tucking it into the bank.
Patricia
Palmdale, Ca.
I'm going to buy George W. Bush a clue.
Presently I do not file taxes. To get a rebate I have to file a tax form. Next year I will have to file taxes because of the rebate. Everyone I hope knows that one must claim the rebate as income next year. And pay taxes on it, even though the rebate is already being paid by taxpayers anyway. Why would anyone volunteer to get the shaft twice? It's one of the last bendovers being pushed on the taxpayers by the Bush administration. I'm standing up for this one. No thank you on the rebate.
Pay bills. PERIOD!
~kyla
NY,NY
Years ago I would have donated this charity. They could then give it to someone who needs to buy food, pay utility bills and who doesn't have as much money to spend as he once did...and unfortunately I have become that someone now. Thank you Washington for your generous act of kindness and also for your act of foolishness with "our money" over the past few years. Do I need to explain to Washington my words "our money"?
David in Las Colinas, Texas
Jack, that's a simple question. I'll buy a pizza for the hubby and give him the remote. Then, I'm off to buy SHOES! Whoo Hoo!
Repay the loan needed to pay my taxes and buy a loaf of bread if there is enough left.
I will spend it on gas for my car. Gas has gone up because of irresponiblity of the US Government borrowing money from China for these checks which in turn lower the value of our dollar which in turn raises the cost of oil which in turn raises the cost of gas that we all need to drive, heat our homes and so on. Therefore, I'll just reinvest my check back into this domino effect leaving me where I started in the first place.
Jack,
They say don’t count your chickens before your eggs are hatched, but I am planning to use my check to put my belongings into storage and I am keeping my fingers crossed that my check comes before my eviction notice which is inevitable.
Probably stick it in savings. I've never been much of a big spender, and I can't see that changing any time soon.
I'll do what practically every other American will do...pay down my credit cards. I think Visa, Mastercard and the rest should get ready for a big influx of cash.
My wife has already informed me I will be giving it to her.
Become governamental, get me some wine , women , and song !!!
I will spend it paying down on my high interest Chase credit card. I have not been late in making a payment in years and I always pay more than the minimum each month, yet my rate there is at 25%. After it's paid off, I'll cut it up.
With the high cost of gasoline the money will be spent on gasoline
Im going to Disneyland!!
Easy, Nothing! Im not getting one because i live with my parents, but i am still a tax payer with debt arnt I?
If I get a rebate it will likely just go to the ex-wife. Excessive child support imposed by the state has bled me dry. Between that and taxes almost half my income is gone before I even see it, so $600 really doesn't mean much in the larger scope.
Jack, I would take courses on how to dodge sniper fire!
Uche, Brooklyn, NY
Use it to help me move to Germany.
Jack,
That's a no brainer pay my bills!
I will certainly not go on a wild spending spree. No matter how many pundits prophesy on how little the effects of the rebate will be, One thing is certain, It is a life line for many, and anything at this time is far better than nothing. I live in an environment where the groans resulting from the state of the economy is very loud and I am certain there will be a few happy faces soon, and perhaps a few drunks too. If the rebate can put a momentary smile on a few faces, Bush would at least have atoned for a very small percentage of the pains his policies have inflicted on us. Remember that anything is better than nothing.
I suppose pay some bills and then travel if possible!
Send it to Hillary for President!
We will be saving our rebate check. This is a ridiculous waste of our tax money and will not help the economy. Why send out money to boost the economy when we are borrowing money from China to fund the war in Iraq? Obviously, we don't have the 150,000,000,000 to send our citizens. Only 1 in 5 polled said they plan to spend the rebate. How will that help? George Bush is the worst president to occupy the oval office in my lifetime, by far. He should have been impeached long ago along with Cheney. You don't boost the economy by going deeper in dept. Obviously, George never had to balance a checkbook.
Give it to the oil companies
Hi Jack, I plan to pay some bills, then fill up the gas tank, that should take up my 300.00
Jack
Play catch up with all my bills and maybe there will be enough left to fill up the gas tank on my old Chevy.
I am going to mail it to Shell Oil Company, They and all the other gas companies are the only ones making out on this deal with the rebate checks. As usual they just keep getting richer and richer!!!!!
Well I will catch up on bills, contribute to the Obama campaign and pray I have some left for a rainy day.
Austin Texas
Obama 08
So Bush has tucked a few dollars in my belt and said "Go on, buy yourself something pretty." I guess if I go spend it, i can't complain about the sorry state we're in. Is this a rebate or a bribe?
Hopefully I'll get the rebate check by July 15 so that I can use it to pay my extimated income tax payment.
Deposit it into our son's 529 Plan. NOT spend it at Walmart!
Jack I'm from Long Island NY
I would invest it in any this that will keep the Clintons out of Office. By doing this I would probably double or even triple my in vestment. Maybe I'll get to keep it .If Hillary ever turns over her tax returns and the Library paper they want need my help. She will be out of here
Go Obama 08
I will frame them and keep to prove that Bush once did something positiv.
Sorry for the repete but typing was never my good point
Jack I'm from Long Island NY
I would invest it in any (thing) that will keep the Clintons out of Office. By doing this I would probably double or even triple my in vestment. Maybe I'll get to keep it .If Hillary ever turn over her tax returns and the Library paper they want need my help. She will be out of here
Go Obama 08
Jack, let us see the check first. I know Bush wants us to spend the money to bolster our economy, but before we decide whether to spend or save what we receive, we would want to see what the situation is in the country and make up our minds on the basis of our own ideas and the advice of those we trust.
Jack-
Considering the fluctuations of the credit market I will pay as many revolving credit cards down as soon as possible.
Gerry, AZ
Lets see, I'm 65% blind. Make $10,400 a year. Husband makes $10,000 per year and he does All the tailoring + embroidery for the Cops in SF. He's also a retired USMC Officer, $11.30 per hour in SF. We will by Food and pay phone and cable, can't get married on that either!!. Dirt Poor is still Dirt Poor. Semper Fi Boxer
I plan to donate it to the Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, there is nothing I can think of that will help stimulate this economy better then an OBAMA Presidency. I think it was very generous of the Unitary Executive to give us all this money we can donate to Senator Obama.
I plan to save some and also spend some.
Give it to the big oil companies the next time I buy a tank of gas.
Ern In Turlock,Ca.
I will donate my check to the Barak Obama Campaign!
Use it to help pay bills. With the rising cost of gas, food, staple goods and even services I find I have to be late on bills to keep up. So my check will help me catch up on bills.
Fill up the tank once or twice. That's about all it will pay for.
My wife and I will check out the cost of monkeys. If we can find two for the right price we will use the rebate money to buy them. We will name one George and the other Dick and donate them to the local zoo.
The same thing I did with my tax rebate: deposit it into my bank account. I've done the same for years. After all, why should the Government tell me how to spend my own money when they can't even get their own budget straight?
Pay off bills and save the rest... How exciting.
Jack,
Well first let's remember that with inflation being what it is that same $600 check will not be worth nearly that much by the time it arrives in my mailbox. That said, gas in the car, and food on the table for a week should just about take care of it, don't you think?
Robert
I will take my friend Arlene out to Outback and feed her some rib eye steak and bloomin' onions. Then I will go to Radio Shack and purchase a new alarm clock made in China and hope that it works better than the last one. From there I will go to my favorite phone store and get that new Korean cell phone I have had my eye on for months. On the way home I will stop and fill my gas tank with Arabian gasoline and cry a lot. I shall top the day off with a dinner of New Zealand lamb, Chilean vegetables, Peruvian potatoes, and a delightful white wine from Sauvignon, and retire blissfully to my Swedish bad. Broke.
God bless Amurrica.
Cash it before the democrats try to take it back.
WHAT REBATE CHECK? I LOST $1500 CUT FROM MY MEDICARE DISABILITY THIS YEAR SO FAR. I GUESS THE GOVT. DOESN'T THINK I NEED ANY EXTRA CASH TO BE PATRIOTIC.
I too, will spend my rebate check!
Gas for a week! Woot!!
It probably will go toward purchasing gasoline for my vehicle and the high cost of groceries. It certainly won't be spent on anything else. Perhaps a little into my savings. The price of both, here in California, are so ridiculously high, this rebate, whatever the amount, will just put a small dent into my everyday cost of living (no frills involved).
Pay Bills
My plan is to use the entire $300 to buy copies of 'Its Getting Ugly Out There' f as graduation gifts for nieces and nephews graduating from high school and college.
Save it toward a home purchase - or buy clothes.
Jack,
I will be using my rebate check to offset what I owed the Federal government in taxes.
Portland, OR
What rebate check? I will not be receiving one, one needs a job to pay taxes.
Jack, like most people, I'm going to stick it in my checking account and use it for the next couple of bills that come up. But do you know what's hilarious? I just read that the campaigns have topped one BILLION dollars in spending. I want someone in the Oval Office to explain why that wasn't enough 'stimulus' across the 50 States. What was the real reason Bush wanted to empty those coffers on his way out of office?
That's a quandary Jack. Do I send it to the big business lobbyists who support Clinton & Bush. cause they're gonna get it anyway, or do I stock up on canned dog food in anticipation of the day my social security benefits are suppose to begin?
I'll be paying down my credit cards.
...and of course he KNOWS it is only going to pay for school. Pay now or pay later with interest. It would go for bills if not for school. We are a working class family that use to be a middle class family until the economy started going downhill. We have the Republicans to thank for that.
I would invite my friends over for a Jack Cafferty themed party. I would buy Jack's book, It's Getting Ugly Out There and a box set of DVDs of WNBC Live at Five shows from the 1980s if those were available.
Jack, I am not getting a rebate check, but if I did, I would donate it to the ever growing shelters for the forclosed homeless.
Jack, I plan to purchase a few shares, of AEDS/Airbus stock, with my $600 refund check. With the hurdred or more, U.S. Air Force Re-fueling Tanker Aircraft, they'll be making, on US tax payer money, I'm sure their stock value will go through the roof. It gives me a warm & fuzzy feeling, to see another 100,000 American jobs go, to Europe. Thank you President Bush, for looking out, for us.
Buy a hybrid. Not. I will save it for my son's education.
As much as the government has taken from me in taxes...I think I'll just save it so I can pay taxes for next year and give it back.
Fill up the tank
How about pay off my high interest credit cards, that will surely spar the economy or better still I will reduce my principle amount on the mortage by the entire check, they should send this every year.
Since I will be unemployeed effective Apr 4 and I will probably not be reemployed I am sure my check will go toward bills.
Jack since our good congress saw fit to give us this big old check, I am in a quandary as what to spend it on a tank of gas so i can get out of town for a while or a new computer so I can type these stupid blogs to you daily. Jack believe it or not I do think along the same lines as you possible might be the age thing, but figure I am older than you. Enjoy your comments keep up the good work. By the way not sucking up so you will read.
Fill the home oil tank, @ $3.80 gal. fill up my pickup truck @$4.23 gal and if there is any left trat the family to a meal in a restaurant. A chain restaurant like Roadhouse Grill. There are no 5 star dining out nights in my future.
I am not holding my breath nor counting my chickens before they are hatched. I haven't received the check yet and don't spend money until I have it in hand. If it comes, I will probably save it in case we have another economic crisis.
I love this question, Jack. Going on two weeks before the Pennslyvania Primary, and you still amaze me with your "Great Blog"! I suppose I should answer the question : "Lobster Dinner/ Prime Rib Full Course Dinners",and all the fine "Wine" to wash it down, til all gone$$$ " Bona Petite"!!! The Neo-Dem
I'll use it to pay Georgia state taxes. In Georgia we pay every kind of tax: income, ad valorem, sales, property. The state of Georgia never saw a tax it didn't love. So this six hundred bucks goes to them. Maybe Georgia state officials will stimulate the economy by buying themselves something nice.
Pay down whatever I owe for the 2007 tax year.
Jack....I am going to put the check into my 401k because I love the rush I get playing the slot machines and watching my money get deposited never to return again. Never thought I would see the day that playing the slots might seem like a better shot at financial reward than my 401 K.
Richard Corwin
West Palm Beach,Fla
I plan to put every penny of it in my savings account!
Jack,
I plan on putting my check into a 529 plan. I need to save every penny I can because it is going to cost me over $400, 000 to send my two kids (4 and 3) to college.
You might recall we got some strong winds here in Tennessee a few weeks back. Well, I need a new roof. I guess my check will help the economy by giving some roofer some work. And just for the record they are getting so much work, it's hard to even get any of them to come out and give an estimate. In the words of one company I called,
"We're slammed."
We plan to put it where it's safe, Jack – in the bank. But with gas prices at an all-time high, by the time we get the check we might need it to fill up the car.
Spend it, Jack. . . Spend it.
EB; Sandy, UT
Jack, my sister was laid off last week thanks to Gov. Schwarzanegger's education cuts. Nice to know the rest of America is getting money while a good teacher is not going to have a job next year. How does this make sense?
Buy a couple tanks of gas...
I'm retired, on social security so I intend to take the $300 and invest it in a tank of gas and a hamburger. I don't think I can "supersize" it though. Maybe a cola.
First is it an advance on next years tax refund ? And if it is why do anything with it until next year.If not pay down bills with it.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, my income is over the limit to get a refund check. Those of you who are getting some of my taxes...you're welcome.
What will I do with my rebate money? It's a big joke so I'll do something funny. Like laugh my way to the bank to cash it and wait
'till next year for Uncle Sam to tax it. Naw – really, I'll buy some gas and food and booze; and talk about which candidate I'll choose. It'll be either the woman or black, to give us Americans back our jack. So is my rebate money really a joke? I'll leave that up to the American folk.
For the first time in my life as a mother, I will use it to store baby diapers
Send it back. Why owe taxes on it next year?
Buy some gas so I can try to find a job that did not go to China.
Matt
Charleston, SC
I plan to buy some serious groceries. I have forgotten what steak tastes like !
I'd really like to do my share to stimulate the economy. Sadly, no U. S. manufacturer makes a decent 46 inch high definition LCD television. At least I'll help the Japanese economy. Over the past several years our government has entered into trade agreements that make it increasingly difficult for American consumers to buy American products. That's a big reason why our economy is in the mess it's in and a big reason why this stimulus package will have such a limited impact. Shame!
Jack,
I'm in process of doing what my grand-parents did in their day with new money.....stuff the matress.
Lance
Detroit, MI
Jack,
I'll use mine to buy something that will increase in value . GOLD. Our dollars aren't worth the paper they are printed on.
I'm going to repay Peter whom I robbed to pay Paul.
"Mike S., New Orleans March 26th, 2008 2:18 pm ET
I can’t think of a better way to stimulate the economy than to send my check to the Obama campaign."
What a great answer!!! Thank you, I hope Jack reads you on air.
I keep telling my parents when it comes in the mail, I'm going to take it outside and burn it.
-Brett
Cincinnati, Ohio
My wife and I intend to use our huge rebate check to purchase land near Crawford, Texas, on which we will build a two-holer outhouse upwind of the G.W. Bush "ranch." Free use of the facility will be given to anyone who votes for the Democratic ticket in November.
I am buying a new sofa.
Save it or pay off debt.
Jack, Gas for a month and food or high/blood presure medicine.
Bills, Bills, Bills,....telephone, cell phone, light, mortgage, bank loan, tuition loans, car loans, insurance (life, car & health), all four credit cards......AHHHHH!!
I will kiss it bye, bye, baby bye-bye, since it will almost cover taxes owed to the Big Dogs at the IRS.
Charles in Florida
pay my bills and save some to feed my family .
Most of this rebate will be spent to pay for the higher gas prices coming our way and into trying to re-stock our pantry. Guidelines say we make too much to qualify for food stamps, (I can't work because of an injury). By the way, please tell that 3% planning to donate to a charity to mail their rebate to me.
Exchange it for foreign-currency?
Jack I'm putting my away. If McCain ever gets in ,god help us , we all better save and save, he's not going to do anything for us but take everything away from us and keep us in this war. To bad that we american 's have lost our United states, over stupidity.
since im starting law school and fashion school in new york, im going to save it for future use
Putting our money into savings to pay the increased taxes we have to pay with 100% assessment. My friend in North Carolina pays $1700 dollars in property taxes on a home of 2400 sq feet on a half acre.
We have home of 1700 square feet on a 1/3 acre. We are paying with my getting reduction on combat pay for the 1960s and other, nearly $6000.00. The reason in New York State, teachers get pensions 70% of their ending salary at 30 years. Is anyone else receiving 70% pension of income?
That is the reality of living 90 miles from New York City in the Hudson Valley.
lucky me, my name is Peter, so i am paying myself(saving) not giving it to paul, the chinese one way economy have in this country.
Send it to the IRS towards my '06 taxes I couldn't yet afford to pay!
Delegates –
If Florida and Michigan delegates will not count,
why not reduce the amount needed to be nominated by the percentage that those sataes represent??
I'm going to put it in the bank in case McCain wins....then I'll really need it.
I will cash it and place the cash in my safety deposit box, along with my gold coins and diamonds and other cash I have in my box, saving all for the difficult times ahead for us.
M.F. Anderson
Nashville TN
Easy to answer that one. Pay down my credit card. I haven't carried a balance in years and have always paid my balance off every month. That has not been possible the last few months, and the rebate check will help to get my credit balance a little lower.
I am going to invest in food!
I won't be spending this because my last "Rebate Check" was nothing more than a Payday Advance. After Papa Smirk lowered Withholding to stimulate the economy before the 92 Election, I vowed never to fall for it again. This is the same dance to a different tune.
give it to the OIL MAN
I will invest it and leave it to my unborn grandchildren in hopes it will earn enough to pay off some of the interest to China that this idiotic Ponzi scheme will burden them with!
I plan to go to Las Vegas. Drink, gamble, have fun with all the other "rebaters".
Why should I try to stimulate an economy that is going to pot when I hear that Congress is planning on giving my hard earned money to the people who bought houses they can't afford and are now in foreclosure.
So I say screw it all & just have fun with the pittance the government is "giving" me. I encourage your readers to do the same!!
Put it in savings to pay for the next tax increase...its coming! The government doesn't give you anything it doesn't take back.
Jack,
This administration is so out of touch with the american people. As usual, the only stimulas will come from the already wealthy, We are loosing are shirts in our 401's and most people like myself will pay bills with it. Are elected officials are so out of touch, maybe they should live on minmum wage and have to pay for gas, heating oil, prescription drugs, rents, all on $600.00 a week, after all they expect all of us to do this.
It's going in the bank for when we need it. I agree with Suze Orman. This so called stimulus package should have never been done. It has put our country even more in debt and I know that this economy is only going to get much worse before it gets better.
Apply it to my prescription drug Part D costs.
Jerry Wilson
Donate some of it to John McCain, see some rock concerts, and have some fun with the children. Things that I was going to do anyway but now the goverment can pay for part of it.
Buy a one-way train ticket to Canada, and use the rest to come when these buffoons in Washington are removed
Personally, my wife and i will probably use the money to buy furniture. But, if things don't get better financially in the next few months, most of it will probably go toward paying bills. If Hillary becomes the Democratic Nominee, I am going to join the fellow whos flying to the other end of the world! 🙂
I will use my rebate check to pay the doctor bills from my heart surgery since thanks to our brain-dead government, I am unable to buy health insurance that would have covered my pre-existing condition.
SEND IT BACK.
MD
I was going to invest into Spitzer's secret past time...but I am about $4000 short.
Pay it up at the pump .
Kapri
New York , NY
Simple Jack. I will save it for when the government decides to increase taxes.
I'll buy a one way refundable ticket to China and use it if barack obama gets elected i'll have a better life there than i would in america if he gets elected
Jack,
It would be nice to be able to enjoy the rebate check, however mine is coming just in time to pay my home taxes. So much for fun.
Nina
I'm not sure, I'd like to tear it up, afterall if it isn't cashed – it's not borrowed. Will the check come with a certificate of authenticity saying "Made in China?" Brother.
Individuals may contribute up to $2300 to any candidate or candidate committee per election. Why not make an investment in the future of your country and ultimately your children's and grandchildren's lives by contributing that tax rebate to Senator Barak Obama's campaign for President? That's what I'll be doing with mine. Even if only the 21% who planned on spending it did so, imagine the possibilities!
I plan on donating it to the McCain campaign. Giving up a few hundred dollars now is a lot better than the thousands I stand to lose when Clinton/Obama raise my taxes.
Jack,
I am going to put my money in the bank.
Ed
New Jersey
Buy the top of line iPhone 🙂
Our rebate check is going right back where it came from. Since we're not of the top 2% who got all the tax cuts, our income tax bill is almost as much as the rebate. So the government has wasted postage x3 to get us this money so we can give it back. HUH?
Hiya Jack,
The same thing I did the last time, I'll be paying ON bills. The amount of the check won't even come close to paying anything OFF.
Pay bills because everything is increasing in price (gas, food, electricity, taxes etc.) This is the time to be totally debt free.
Put the money I had to get from the bank to pay my taxes back in the bank.
I think there is no reason to send those checks, as they are destined to cover an unexpected bill.
I'm saving it ... depositing it in the same account where I've left my gasoline savings. I moved back into the city at the end of '07 and drive less than 10 miles a month ... I couldn't care less about keeping up with the Joneses so for me this rebate check is like all the rest ... gravy, baby!
Jack,
I'm going to pay off (a portion), cause this little bit ain't enough, of my credit card bills.
David
Columbia, SC
I'm going to take my rebate check directly to Wal-Mart to help this ridiculous cycle the Feds have created run itself into the ground.
Im going to Disney Land.
Paydown debt. At least as far as $600 will go.
I plan to save it. With the current state of the economy, who knows what will happen next. The dollar is weak, employment is down, wages are down, cutbacks are rampant at all big name companies; any spending going forward will need a valid justification before the money goes.
I am going to buy a gun to defend myself against the elite & the rich.
~Vermont
I'll be putting a new set of tires on my 17 year old car, hoping it will last a little bit longer.
Michael
Simpsonville, SC
Use it to pay off credit card debt
As with every other dime I get, pay bills.
Lakeport, MI
I'm going to get the check and LAUGH AND LAUGH. Billions of
dollars in Iraq. God knows what other sleazy deals this administration
has engaged in. I'm considering spending my check on a tankful
of gas and a copay for my prescriptions.
I'll spend some of the rebate on an eye exam and glasses. A little will be spent on a set of curtains and shades. The rest will be put aside for our next fuel oil delivery, or we will be in danger of freezing.
Jack:
I fully intend to make the best possible use of my rebate check – I will send it to the Obama campaign!
I'm donating mine to the Obama campaign.
I am going to over-tip every time we eat out. The rebate won't change my life, but it could make someone's average day a little bit better.
Nothing, as I'm living in Australia at the moment due to job opportunities, unlike in my own country. Shows how great our economy is that an American has to go abroad just to find work.
I'm using the rebate to study abroad in Africa. I'll see and talk to people who are even more destitute than I. At least it is one place on the planet where Americans are liked.
Mark it return to sender and send it back to the treasury. The whole idea of a rebate check that totals 170 billion dollars borrowed from the Chinese is ludicrous and irresponsible. The Bush administration has left enough debt for my children.
Jack I dont know what im going to do. All I know im going to put a dwon payment on a house and on the 2008 Lincoln MKX. That is what im going to do with my rebate check
LAS VEGAS, BABY!!!!!
I have 7 rotten painful teeth I" be happy to get them out.
Also my glasses are3 yrs old and hard to read.
I 65 and disability.
Will sure be glad to be able to take care of these much needed.
Thank you,
C.S>Powell
I'll save my money to pay for enough gas to go to the polls in November and vote Bush out of office.
bt in Oklahoma
I think the best use of my rebate check will be to contribute to the Obama campaign!
Georgetown, Texas
I'm going to use it to by an electric car.
I'll be using my tax rebate for the increases in property and school taxes in my town of Bethlehem, NY. $600 probably won't even cover this year's increase.
Jack,
I'm going to do what every red blooded American should do – I'm going to spend it in an American business – Wal-Mart where I get my fruits and vegetables from Mexico, my clothing from Vietnam and India, my durable goods from China, my fish from Chile and if I have any left over, I'll buy gasoline from the Middle East and hopefully, I'll have enough to fill up my Korean car.
Long live the USA?
I plan on donating my $600 to the Obama Campaign Fund so Senator Obama can take another relaxing trip to the Bahamas and his staff can go on another shopping spree at Tiffany's.... oops, I forgot....they didn't mean to use the campaign charge card on jewelry.
Jack, I'd like to buy a life preserver that might help me survive the sinking of this out dated ship I used to love.
I am going to buy a tank of gas, loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and a gallon of milk and hope I have change!
Greeley Dotson
I will pay the government the money I owe them for income taxes from the rebate they are giving(?) me! Thank you, Uncle Sam. Betty,from Baldwinsville, New York
Jack, I am going to forward mine to the oil companies, after all, they are the ones responsible for the checks being issued in the first place.
Mike
Mechanicsburg, PA
After I buy gas and pay rent, get some food and maybe go out for a movie i will use that rebate check to buy enough gas to get me to the bank to obtain a loan for all that other stuff I just did.
The rebate or whatever it is is a bribe to the American people and a cheap one at that. Why not make every lobbysit in the country pitch in a few million to actually makes this thing workable.
There is obviously a bottomless hole for money in Washington and we get $600 for our troubles.
I'll tell you waht I'm gonna do with mine, how many nights does $600 buy at a Motel 6?
I will take my refund check to the nearest casino, likely operated by Indians, and double my money. About as good an economic plan as currently espoused by our fearless leaders.
I want to do everything I can to support President Bush's attempt to boost the economy, which is why I will give every cent to Barack Obama!
Phil
California
Any rebate I get is just going to go towards making the minimum payments on my credit cards.
I have a wife and two kid's; by the time I deposit the check, it will already be spent.
Hey Jack, Does it really matter what we do or buy with our rebate check? I don't think so because anything we go to purchase is foreign made anyhow so other than stimulating the retail stores it still leaves our working people witout a job, and our country without any real GNP's anymore.
Considering the cost of gas, milk, bread and about everything I use has significantly escalated, I will use our $1200 to pay down debt so that I can survive our 2% social security raise. No upfron retailers are in my horizon, Sorry George Bush, your game is not working at this house.
Jim Scott
Commerce Ga.
Buy gas 4 times. Doing something about the price of oil, cost of gas, and profits of Exxon would put more money in everyone's pockets than a dozen 'rebate' checks from the IRS. $8 billion quarterly profits for Exxon means this price isn't necessary.... do something America.... it's time to say NO!!!
With my allotment, I'm going to stock up on a whole bunch of boxed wine before I become a broke PhD student in the fall.
Jack
Just how far do these people in washington think 600.00 will go?
I might fill my car up and buy a few groceries, and mabe I'll have enough to pay my light bill. What are you going to do with yours?
kmac
More than likely, I will spend my rebate check to pay for this high @$$ gas as I am sure most Americans will!!! What else is there to do with $600? Bush is right; we Americans will spend it because he knows we have no other choice. The little dummy knows gas is higher than that knot on his head!!! Or, does he? Little @$$hole!! Oops!! I bet you want read this. Seriously, people are paying to go to work!!
~Just My Thoughts~
Frustrated American
Of course, my kids were happy that we were going to get money from the government until they discovered that they would be the ones who would actually have to pay it back some where down the road. Of course we won't turn it down, quite frankly we need it. Well, I figure I'll see 1800.00, so I'll begin by paying 577.00 towards my gas bill, could be more, considering I haven't received this months bill yet, then I'll probably spend another 500.00 on groceries for my family, which would probably feed everyone quite well for about two weeks. Then I'll have to play catch up on the electric, cable, internet, phone bills, and medical bills, if there's anything left, I may be able to buy my daughter a dress for prom night and my son a pair of shoes.
I think I will use the rebate check to follow in the footsteps of the govenor of New York, a cheaper version of course, and see what I can stimulate.
Here's an idea. I'm not hearing much from anybody about education (nothing I want to here anyway) so I'm going to use our $1200 to pay for the first month of early learning day care for my twin daughters. Yes, $600 a month times 2! Hell, it can't pay for my $4000 mortgage, put a dent in my $9000 in credit card debt or buy the 50 inch LCD TV I always wanted ($2000). Why not?
With $4 a gallon diesel fuel, $600 will buy me about 2800 miles in my work truck and an oil change.
My wife and I earned $164,000 last year. We paid just shy of $40,000 in Federal taxes alone, and were able to get $6,000 of that back. We won't get a bonus check, so I guess we won't get to stimulate the economy. We did get to help Bear Stearns though!
Im going to use the 300 i will receive to pay off my oil bill that i will have at the end of this long winter season we are having here in Northern Maine, were a couple of days ago we had 25 below zero here. a yat, you got to be tuff to get old, retirement anint what it use to be.
Ha. I'm too poor to get one.
But thanks for asking, Jack
Use it to pay bills ... BEFORE te $$ de-value more!
Jack
I'd like to spend some of my check to buy you a Vote for Obama t-shirt to wear on the air so anyone tuning in to your segments will know what you are truly up to.
I'm going to spend my rebate check locally. I"m going to purchase the best pot that's available with my rebate check.
Eggman
Imperial Beach, Calif.
It is an insult. I will return mine. Billions spent on Iraq, billions more given to Bear Sterns and pennies to tax payors.
Buy seeds, bullets, a fishing pole, and a moonshine still for gas and, well you know. We all will need our comforts, Jack.
Jack:
I'm going to cash it and stash it, so that when the stuff hits the fan,
I may be able to but a loaf of bread on the black market.
What else but pay "a bill." or maybe save it for the new 8% sales tax our governor has come up with which will only go back into their pockets. Florida is being so generous with a new property tax decrease they have to make up the money somewhere.
Disgusted
Miami
tax money is going to give my family a 3 day vacation...which without it stay home and pay for gas and bills!
We'll save ours for the next increase we will get in our long-term care insurance premium–which is about every year! Guess we should just not try to look to the future, and go on Medicaid instead, like most who don't prepare for old age.
With gas prices still on the rise, spend it at the pump, that's about all it will be able to buy.
HI JACK
I'm not doing anything with my rebate check because I'm not eligible to receive one because I'm receiving Worker's Compensation. This president promised that every American would get one! This president makes me sick! I guess disabled Americans born in this country don't count. There should be a law against the discrimination of disabled Americans in this country.
Joe TANNERSVILLE NY
My rebate check is going to be used to bribe Hillary Clinton to take a hike or to get on the same ticket with Obama.
I plan on giving the check right back to them! All they are going to do is take it right back from you anyway.
I'll donate the money to the john mccain camp and all republicans should. whats a couple hundred dollars compared to if a democrat gets elected and we get taxed thousands
Jack I'll cash the check the same day I get it because I'm affraid if I wait too long the thing will bounce. Then I'll take those weak American dollars and buy Saudi riyals. I'll hold my riyals just long enough to find a good deal on Chinese Yuan. Perhaps with a short wait on those trades my vast wealth derived from my petty refund will multiply into something that will allow me to buy one of those illusive and expensive American made products....US Economics 101. Something has to change from the top down...soon.
I'll go buy a fuel sipping scooter made in CHINA!
What can you get for $600 these days?
I will pay a credit card payment and send some to Obama.
buy a riding lawn mower.
I can't figure out how buying stuff will help the economy. Most people who are not putting the refund check on their dept will spend their money at Wal-Mart or some other big box company. Most of the merchandise that these companies sell is made in China. Who's economy are we stimulating ours or other countries? In the past when rebate checks helped to stimulate the economy we did not have the global economy that we do today.
Re: Economic Stimulus Package, (ESP)
Jack,
I'm a senior citizen. I'm buying 3 things: a good set of hand weights, exercise band, and a good healthy cookin' cookbook.
I'm going to learn how to cook tasty dried beans & brown rice, so if the economy keeps on its downward trurn, my healthy eating will minimize my need for health care. With my exercise equipment I can exercise while I'm watching the latest political mudslinging and waiting for either political party to address the health care crisis looming before Social Security and Medicare are reformed.
BTW, Jack, love your attitude. It makes my afternoon each day.
I'm donating mine to the Ron Paul campaign.
My wife and I are planning on putting our rebate checks to good use. We will be donating them to the Obama campaign. Thanks dub'ya!
I forgot to say–I'm from Provo, Utah.
I plan to install an underground sprinkler system using a local (small business) contractor.
The first thing I will do is thank the Chinese for lending me the money.. then I'm going to go out and buy some chinese products, then after that I will leave it up to my kids to pay back the 150 billion we all borrowed...
Jack, At age 73 my small rebate will go for about one months gasoline. Especially since Cheney went to the Middle East to negotiate with the Saudi's. HA! HA!
George, Lonoke, Ark.
After hearing John McCain’s speech on the economy, it seems the only logical thing to do is take my rebate check and donate it to the Obama/Clinton Campaign. I don't need Washington mailing me a check as a solution to an economic crisis that is far more complex than the remedy that has been agreed on. When did the government become a street teamster that breaks the economy and comes in and throws down cash to band-aid a wound that clearly needs to be stitched up?
McCain’s willingness to do nothing about fixing this economy solidifies the fact that as President he would be nothing more than a Bush II. And as anyone who has any interest in movies knows, movies with roman numerals in the title usually amplifies the horridness two folds relative to the original. Don’t believe me, go rent Jaws 4 The Revenge.
We will pay the bills we already have. If they added more O's at the end of the check we would stimulate the hecck out of the economy!!
most of it will go for gas at the pumps, great timing for Exxon which made 40+ billion last year and will probably make 12 to 13 billion in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of this year
Jack, I'm planning on buying President Bush a one way ticket out of Washington, on a horse and buckboard, back to Texas.
Jack;
I plan on putting that money in the bank and saving it because we don't know what those fools in Washington will do next
every dollar counts i guess, considerering the fact of living out here in rural alaska where gasoline is $5.91/gallon and the price of food is a lot higher too
That's easy! I just finished our 2007 tax return and we owe the IRS over $2400. Our rebate won't even cover half what we owe. Hope the rest of you will enjoy your rebates! and spend it all...
Jack, I'll send you my rebate check to post one of my comments on TV. 😉
If I WERE getting a rebate check I would roll it up and smoke it. From where I sit, it would provide as much stimulation as our last relief package did for the ecomomy.
I have thought I would pay down the Amex card, but I see things I just can't live without, or at least don't want to, and with a $600 check to pay for them it's becoming a toss up. The Amex card is at 1.99%, so it's no big deal. Take me to Amazon.com.
The Enricher doesn't waste the reward of the believers. We shouldn't neck the check but we should spend in good will to deck the wreck.
I'll save my rebate check to cover my mortgage when Barack gets elected and kills me with more Social Security taxes and really drives ruin into the American economy.
One thing I will not do is rush out to buy cheap Chinese imports from Wal Mart! We exported good manufacturing jobs to China, borrowed money to fund the occupation of Iraq from China and now we borrow money from China to stimulate our economy??????
Hi Jack,
I'll be giving my check to Hillary Clinton.
There not to much you can do with it, beside we will have to pay taxes
on it next year, so it's not like we are getting something for free.
Everything has a prize.
I'll be spending mine on bills, but i do think that Obama's plan including food stamps (W/expiration dates) should have been implemented, giving a little more certainty of its use for its intended purpose.
'Listen' to O
I plan to put all of my tax rebate into my savings account. Unlike most Americans, I believe in saving money, not spending it. I doubt if our country would be in such dire economic straits if the government taught the old-fashioned virtues of saving money and staying out of debt.
Use it to pay my quarterly taxes. I am retiered and on a fixed income.
With the rising prices eapecially gas and food it is nearly imposiable to save up for monthly bills. If Mr. Bush would pull his head out of the Iraq sand He would relize we are in a resision and use the money to pay some of the national debt he has ran up. ot continue to spend, spend, spend,
I will spend part of it on the TV series the West Wing on DVD. That way I can see how a properly functioning White House and an honorable and knowledgeable president could handle crises such as this economic recession.
I don't need the money, so I will give it to a friend who struggles to make ends meet as she is on SSI ($700 per month) and therefore is not entitled to receive a check. Or I may give it to the Obama campaign.
Mary, Sacramento
Gold, Silver, and ammo.
The idea of a $600 check from the Federal Government is depressing. This check, just like all the other money I make will just be used for gasonline. The $600 will barely provide enough gasonline to drive to and from work for two weeks.
The American Dream is to work hard to get ahead in life. NOT to work hard to give all I make to the foreign gasoline companies.
W. Kalson
California
Pay our Property taxes,