Economic Stimulus - Apparently Not So Much

Remember those economic stimulus checks? Well, looks like most of them actually ended up in the oil companies pockets due to rising fuel prices. Even at $3.88 gas is about a buck higher than this time last year and according to economists, the surge in fuel and food prices pretty much evaporated any "stimulus" those checks might have created.

According to an AP report, the senior U.S. economist at Global Insight, a private forecasting firm, said the GDP could post back-to-back declines in those two quarters, meeting the traditional definition of a recession.

"The rebates are not translating into anywhere near the spending impulse that Congress and the administration had hoped for," he said. "Under these circumstances, the economy remains in very fragile condition."

Wonder what other gimmick the Bush folks will think up before they are driven out of office?