Some states consider own stimulus plans

While taxpayers wait for federal rebate checks that Congress hopes will help jump-start a slowing economy, state officials across the country are floating their own programs to stave off a recession.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell proposed a one-time tax rebate up to $400 for more than 475,000 lower-income working families. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to give families tax breaks by selling off future revenue from the nationwide settlement with tobacco companies.

In Connecticut, some lawmakers want to send rebate checks of $50 to $290 to 1 million taxpayers. Legislators are also considering rental and heating assistance for needy families and a new revolving-loan fund to ease the subprime mortgage mess.

It's unknown how many - if any - of the proposals will become reality. Many were proposed by governors and legislators after Congress approved a federal stimulus package last month, which will send rebate checks ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of Americans and offer tax incentives to businesses.

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It seems odd that a federal policy designed to fix the economy of the entire nation should have to be supplemented with state stimuli covering only part of that country. As some of the people quoted in the article mentioned, Macroeconomic policy is much more effective, if it is indeed effective at all, if it is handled on a basis of an entire system instead of just one portion of the economy.

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