Regarding the economic stimulous plan

[lynn]

I am a little at a loss of the thinking here. If the g'ment is giving the credit to encourage people to buy but people choose to save, pay down debt or send it back , does it not defeat the purpose? From what I read most americans are paying off debt or saving and not planning on spending.

[Rhonda in TX]

It may be that most people, once they pay down their debt, will feel that they can spend again.

[lynn]

I didn't think about that. Wouldn't that put them back in debt though if they spend what they just paid down or out of?

[Mama Lynx]

Let's say I'm taking $50 a month out of the family pay to pay that down.

If I get $1000 from the stimulus package, and pay off that debt, that frees up $50 a month for me to spend.

What bugs me about the package is that people who do not pay income taxes are getting it. I pay income taxes, and am not getting anything, lol. It's easy to see where the money for this package comes from.

[Colleen]

From what I read most americans are paying off debt or saving and not planning on spending.

What people plan and what they do are often not the same. The last time a scheme of this sort was unrolled, there was a spike in spending. As I mentioned in another thread, though, the potential impact is lessened when the majority of that spending isn't on domestic products.