The stimulus check question: to save or to spend?
Clark Gruninger admits it’s pretty unlikely that the federal stimulus rebates arriving in mailboxes and checking accounts this week will draw many new customers to his Pontoon Beach boat shop, Gruninger’s Performance Marine.
The rebates were supposed to jump-start the economy, but with gas prices surging and recession-like conditions looming, Gruninger knows many will have more pressing needs for their newborn stimulus checks than anything in his store, where a new 25-foot SanPan pontoon boat sells for nearly $50,000.
“It’s hard to say,” he said Wednesday. “But I can’t see it’s going to help that much.” He’s right to be pessimistic, experts say.
Small business owners and local retailers will almost certainly miss out on the lion’s share of economic benefits from the stimulus checks, which the government began sending to 130 million Americans Monday, and will continue through the summer.
