It looks like the US House and Senate have passed the widely-discussed “economic stimulus” plan to send out bonus payment checks to citizens ranging from $300 to $1,200 based on family and work status.  The goal behind the bill is to pump some extra money into the economy, which has been on shaky ground as of late with the growing problem of the big sub-prime mortgage meltdown and decreasing consumer confidence.

Now let’s hope that the money consumers get will go towards something good…like paying off that debt that large banks love shuffling around to make their reports show profit.