Economic Stimulus Payment

I found this while cleaning out my drafts, initially started as the opening in a piece about the economic growth theory and the effectiveness of tax cuts in these type of situations which low and behold well we all know by now how its worked out and the unfortunate situation many find themselves in. Anyway, I never had the time to commit to writing it but thought this was funny.

July 2008

I received my notice from the Department of the Treasury that I am “entitled to an economic stimulus payment” payable by my government directly to me. Unprecedented, I sat there holding it and thought that perhaps the white paper should have come with a pole so that I might wave it like a flag. Not in patriotic rejoicing but rather more like a white flag of surrender. The legacy of the Bush Administration as it relates to economic policy, saying in effect that we are so sorry, we have been so bad at managing the economy that we don't feel quite right taking your money so have it back. Sure there are things that we might do if we weren't ideologically opposed to doing it so here you go. Why bother having economic policy advisers in the first place? But I'll take it and cash it and be thankful that it didn't get shipped to Iraq or given to Dick Cheney all the same.