Reasons Bush's Relief Plan Is Too Little and Too Late

Jon Markman writes:

Now, the problem for most people reading this...online is that the fattest rebate checks probably wouldn't go to you. Sorry, but you probably have a job and a higher-than-average income. The government fears you might do something stupid with the rebate check, like save it.

But, before he writes this, he says,

That rumbling sound you hear coming from Washington, D.C.? It's Treasury Department helicopters packed with bags full of cash about to be dropped on voters, as the federal government prepares to launch a brazen, desperate election-year effort to rescue the economy.

If you thought the government's delayed response to Hurricane Katrina was a study in out-of-control largesse -- replete with no-strings-attached debit cards handed to anyone with a Cajun accent and a damp shirt -- wait until you see what the government has in mind for the rest of us this year.

The latest is President Bush's just-announced call for $145 billion in tax relief aimed at preventing a recession that is actually already here. The intent of the plan is simple: "Letting Americans keep more of their money should increase consumer spending," the president said. Bush said Congress should take steps to implement a stimulus plan as soon as possible.

As you can see from the stock market's response, the plan suffers from being too little, too late.