CLARKONOMICS: The stimulus package has now been signed into law. The gift certificates from the federal government will come in the form of a check from the IRS -- even if you normally take direct deposit -- just to slap you around and remind you that the politicians have done something for you! The rebates will start at $300 and go up from there, but there are income caps that will make some high earners ineligible. Meanwhile, the Senate has been adding benefits for those on Social Security who have no other income. There is a gotcha you need to know about if you have parents who fall into that category: They'll have to file a 2007 return stating that they had no income. That will enter them into the system and trigger the IRS to disburse funds.

The politicians want you to take your check, blow it to get that endorphin high and then vote them back into office. But Clark wants you to pay down your debt with it. Clark thinks this refund was a waste to begin with for a couple of reasons. First, it only happened because it was an election year; no one in Washington wants to be blamed for the recession we're either in or facing soon. So Congress adopted classic Keynesian economics by creating budget deficits and giving people money to kick-start the economy. Second, the irony here is that the feds will have to issue extra debt to cover their expenditure. The government simply borrowed $150 billion to give you $150 billion!

There is one ancillary benefit that Clark wants you to know about. There will now be a temporary period where you can likely refinance out of your jumbo mortgage ($417K and above) and into a conventional loan. This will mostly impact the real estate markets in California and Boston.