Fiscal (Non)Stimulus - Part Two

I posted the other day some (more) views on why fiscal stimulus is not going to work. I even attached a statistical analysis from a guy at Stanford (the West Coast's version of smart people) showing this to be the case. Well, let's consider it from a more back-of-the-envelope down-to-earth perspective.

Let's assume you are a somewhat average American making a somewhat average salary. Your life may be better or worse, but I need to start from some base-line. So you make an average amount and you have several thousand in credit card debt. You are worried about your job, your spouse is working part-time, your son needs dentures, you are worried about college, retirement, the house payment and the like. You have been cutting back where you can but are running out of places to cut. You are at least somewhat worried about your financial future and your children's financial future.

So now the government gives you a one time $1000 check. There may be another one or two some time in the future, but no guarantees. So you get this check. What do you do? Well, let's make this multiple choice:

1. You splurge on a new high-def TV;
2. You take the family (at least some of it) to Disney;
3. You have a big neighborhood party to celebrate the check;
4. You by some new furniture, clothes for the kids, a new car, whatever; or
5. You use it to pay some of those bills you were not sure how you were going to pay.

Okay, I made this a bit extreme, but not too much from what I can tell. Americans are wising up and spending their money in a more prudent fashion. If only the politicians were to learn how to do this, I could sleep better at night.