02-29-08 by dugan
The headline of this column in U.S. News, by Marianne Lavelle, says it all: "Signing Your Economic Stimulus to the Saudis." Or not quite all. She could have added …"and Exxon, Chevron, BP, Chell and Conoco." Her assessment is one that’s gaining steam: Given the spiking price of gasoline, the federal economic stimulus payments going to taxpayers in May will be spent on gasoline before the check comes. Consumers won’t do more than pay the credit card bill, doing nothing to lift the economy from recession.
OilWatchdog noted two weeks ago: "If our elected representatives can’t summon the guts control hedge fund speculators and unregulated energy trading markets, families getting a federal "economic stimulus" check for several hundred dollars this spring will just send it straight to credit card companies to pay off their gasoline bills." Lavelle gives all the details on why that’s true.