Here - Have a Sucker!

Bush calls for $145 billion stimulus package

President sees tax rebates as a way to give economy a 'shot in the arm'

I may not be the brightest bulb in the box but it seems to me that this is not a "shot in the arm". Rather it's like offering a lollipop to a cancer patient. Perhaps it makes the patient feel nice, cared for, even happy for a moment. But then, when the sucker is gone she realizes that she still has cancer.

I don't think our economy is fundamentally flawed to the extent that I'm no longer a capitalist. And I don't think the solution is to raise taxes. But this little infusion of dollars won't change the fundamental problem that people are spending more than they make. In a way you could call it enabling.

More and more the solutions posited by either side of the political aisle are all about throwing some money at the problem. If the government spends more on education, the problems will melt away. If the government had control over health care then we would all live in a utopia of health care for free. If the government gives away some free money then all our individual economic woes will be gone. It's just crazy. And when these things don't work we find our nation with less freedom, higher taxes and more problems. Plus, once we've given government the control over that issue, we don't even get to offer our input without the whole messy political process getting in the way.

Now don't get me wrong. If there is free money being sent out I won't turn mine down. But maybe instead of running to Target in order to "infuse" dollars into the economy, we should pay down a credit card, invest in our retirements or buy our own dang health insurance. Oh who am I kidding, I've got my eye on a new...