ONE TEAM OF ECOMEDICS has done what it can. Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve Board monetary policy gurus dropped its short-term interest rate another 0.25 percent last week, to 2.0 percent, and told its patient, the U.S. economy, not to look for still another shot in the arm. We might do more for a few patients, since the banks in our care seem to be suffering from a reduced ability to function normally, but that is about it.
The other team has finally begun to distribute part of the $170 billion of medication it prescribed some months ago. The first doses were deposited last week in the bank accounts of the 7.7 million taxpayers who have direct deposit arrangements; paper checks will begin to arrive this week in the mailboxes of the 130 million Americans eligible for this Christmas-in-May-June-July. Individuals will receive up to $600, and couples filing joint tax returns up to $1,200, with families getting an additional $300 per child. Individuals earning more than $75,000 per year, and couples with incomes above $150,000, will get less.
