Are you stimulated by the Stimulus Package

Okay – the accountant in me is coming out.  I’m game for a tax cut or check as much as the next guy; don’t get me wrong.  But I question the impact this upcoming $825 billion is really going to have on our economy.  $825 billion is a lot of money – even for Bill Gates.  But in comparison to our overall economy it’s a little over a penny on the dollar.

For comparison….

The US Gross Domestic Product for 2008 = $57,400,000,000,000 (that’s trillion – give or take a few billion).  The stimulus is 1.4% of this.

The US Personal Income for 2008 = $48,300,000,000,000.  Thus the stimulus equals 1.7% of this amount.

Is adding another trillion dollars to our national debt really going to do that much for our economy?  I’m questioning this philosophy of borrowing our way out of an economic crisis.  Isn’t debt what got us in this mess to begin with?

But hey…send me the check.  I’ve got four teenagers; I’ll find a way to use it!