Free Money… NOT!

It’s common knowledge that the government is synonymous with inefficiency. Tack on whatever epithets you will–slow, circuitous, hypocritical–they’re mostly true. So should it come as a surprise that the way the government is handling the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 is less than intelligent? For those unfamiliar–that is, if you haven’t received one of those letters–the government plans to send most people who make less than $75,000 a payment this May of $300 to $600 to stimulate the economy. Sounds good so far. But it cost $60 million to print the letters, many millions of which inappropriately arrived in the hands of those not receiving a payment. I know this because I got the letter, and I’m not getting a cent because I can be claimed as a dependent. Meticulous IRS records somewhere in Washington show that I am not eligible, so why spend money to send me a letter? I suppose this would be way too easy, but why not just send the eligible taxpayers a check with a small printed explanation?

Gee, I wonder why everyone’s worried about a recession.