Stimulate This

Today is indeed “tax day.” Related to that: I got mine! The letter letting me know that I’ll be getting $600 from the government shortly after sending in my ‘07 tax return as part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

I’m having trouble grasping the logic behind it. In short, unless we all commit to buying U.S.-made goods, our anticipated shopping spree will largely pump our government gifties into someone else’s economy. So when that check comes in, skip Walgreens, Starbucks, and your usual retail haunts. Instead, save your bucks for those places at which Made in the USA is guaranteed—if you can think of any.

Then there’s also the thinking, among behavioral economists, that how we get our money will greatly affect how we spend it. Click here for an interesting audio on the subject that I heard on Marketplace a few weeks ago.