Will the Stimulus Plan stimulate?

Austin American Statesman writes about the new plan for bringing the economy up to par in this article. And in this one.

On January 24th congressional leaders pass an economical stimulus plan which hands out at least 300 dollars to tax payers and in some cases non tax payers. This plan was generated by President Bush to pull America out of the economical rut that it is in by given out a total of 150 billion dollars in hopes that spending will take place and economy will be stimulated.

The steps go as followed: Americans will file their taxes as usual and IRS will take care of the rest. Individuals will receive up to 600 dollars and married couples will receive 1,200, in addition to that another 300 will be given to each qualify child under the age of 17. The amount of the check will be based on income for each person/couple; in addition, those who don’t pay income tax may get a check from the IRS as well. The IRS will also team up with the Social Security Administration, AARP, and Veterans Affairs department to ensure that everyone over 50 will be getting their golden stimulus check. It is expect that 130 million households will be reached.

This plan seems to be quite promising, but is money really the answer to everything? Will giving out checks even going to make a dent in this pre-rescission economy? Democrats and Republicans in congress believe so. These checks are geared towards the lower income family. But it just so happens that lower income families do not make up all of America. On the plus side, government established programs like Fannie Mae will be able to increase their mortgage limit from 416,000 to a giant 730,000 dollars. For those in Austin, that means we can go from living in Round Rock to Westlake if we so choose.

It’s difficult to really know what this stimulus plan will do to the economy right now. It may even take a year to see results. US government aims to bring the economy up, and it may very well be that way. As for the rest of us, we shall hope for the best and prepare for the worst as we wait for our check.