Unless your ordering things from over seas it will have a possitve effect. It will help the owner of the store you bought your coffee from, it will help the man that brought that man the coffee beans, it will help the man that brought the cup it came in, it will help the man that brought the cream and sugar you put in it, and so on. Yes all those things are made over seas but production is not 100% of economy.

I think more people will be using it to pay off debt, than spending.

i think most will just pay bills with it-as for the government giving money their not-it is ours that is being misspent on a daily basis--just my thoughts-smile and enjoy the day

Thats true but think about it this way. you pay $15.00 for a t-shirt. It cost $0.12 to make in Japan but $5.00 to make in the US. How much do you think that shirst would cost then? Then apply that the everything you bought this year. Cost of living would sky rocket. Dont get me wrong it bothers the piss out of that this is how it has to be in this day and age. But I feel there are many reasons the economy is crap and over seas production is just a part of it.

What a good point. Even though these products are produced over seas the people that sell them are here in the US so they will profit from it.

In most polls, most people so far are saying they will be using it to pay down debt, not buying new products. I'm probably going to be one of them who will be doing just that.

You make a good point. The economics of the situation is this: the cost associated with the value added of those foreign goods/services here in the US would affect our economy. For example: let's say an iPod is manufactured in China by a contractor but packaged, shipped and sold at a retailer in the US. For simplicity let's say retail price is 100 but only 60 goes to that contractor - packaging is 5, shipping is 3 and the retailer adds the remaining 32. 40% of the money spent stays here in US circulation. But it doesn't stop there, we have to follow the buck until it's stopped, either in savings somewhere or when sent overseas. Those $40 goes to Apple, where the added boost in profits from spending might entice them to hire a new employee in, say, San Francisco. That employee spends his paycheck in a restaurant, where it will go to pay for the morning dropoff of bakery goods... and so on and so on. Keep in mind this is new money being inserted into the economy and as such there will also be an associated inflationary effect, which could cause economic problems later on. We'll see how much value the stimulus plan has, stand by.

Well I am using mine to pay off old American debts instead of buying things in Belgium with it. So I'm not sure my "refund" will help anyone's economy except the credit card companies. LOL.

Those "prodcuts or services from overseas" have already been bought my American companies. Spending the money with them will help THEM, and therefore, help the economy.

I called the Social Security Office and found you have to register / be cleared by the IRS to even qualify / and going to you local library / Post Office for information will not you get you any further -- Call IRS only

Those of us who arent paying off debt are going to spend it. Most of the people receiving the stilumus check that will blow it will spend it at Walmart. So, we borrow money from China then spend it at Walmart - which is based in China. I dont know how much it will be helping OUR economy but it looks like it will be helping China...