President Bush is hoping the rebates will "give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown."

Now really, how much will a one-time check of only a few hundred dollars help someone whose house is foreclosing next month? 

How much will it help the auto worker in Detroit who lost his job?  Or the bank teller whose bank folded and job went with it? 

How much will it help you pay for gas later this summer when the money is long spent?

And here’s the big one – How far will that money go to help you pay the taxes on the U.S. government’s $9.5 trillion in public debt?  A debt which is heavily contributing to the economic mess we’re in, in the first place. 

Then there’s the war in Iraq – it will cost over $3 trillion.  Senator Barack Obama says the war costs each U.S. household about $100 per month. The St. Petersburg Times found Obama’s claim to be accurate. 

So if you get a tax rebate of $300, it will only take three months to get eaten up by the war costs.  If you get a rebate of $600, it will take six months.

But when you add the government’s $9.5 trillion in public debt PLUS the $3 trillion for the Iraqi war, everyone pays several hundred dollars a month in taxes alone.  Well, that kind of wipes out the tax rebate fast.

But, hey, at least it feels good. It means you don’t have to pay those miserable taxes for a month or so. And it’s always fun to get a check in the mail.  Especially a check the goverment is encouraging you to spend.

Mind you, I’m not even mentioning the $950 billion in credit card debt American’s hold.  If your tax refund has to go to catching up on credit card payments, you won’t be able to have much fun with it, but at least you can count on a bit of temporary relief.

Temporary it is, even though the president is acting like this is the cure for all time.  He’s sending a big message to our country and the world that he’s dealing with the economic problem in a decisive fashion.  But isn’t the idea a bit delusional?

Making a big splash in public is part of the "cure" – it raises expectations for everyone.  People can all look forward to a shopping spree. Storekeepers will expect people to come in an buy. We’ll all have fun.  

But then what? 

When that money is spent, will our economy have revived and re-established stability? 

As long as the value of the dollar continues to plummet, fuel and food  prices continue to rise, more homes foreclose, the severe credit crunch continues and more job layoffs are announced, I don’t see a spending spree solving our problems any time soon.

The tax rebate is more for morale than anything.  While we can use a morale boost, our economic problems need real solutions that should have started long ago.

I’m astounded that President Bush had the temerity to say, "Fortunately we recognized the signs early and took action."

Recognized the signs early?!?  Where’s he been hiding?

Experts are saying we’ve been in a recession for two years already, and the president is talking about it only now - officially calling it an "economic slowdown" to avoid using the dreaded "R" word for recession.

The tax rebate may stave off the economy from totally tanking for a while… we hope.  But there is much more going on that no one-time tax rebate can fix.

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