Editor's note: This article appeared in the November 24, 2008, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.

With talk of a second round of government stimulus checks circulating, results from the April 2008 stimulus check distribution are of the essence. Fifty-two percent of Americans say spending the checks did not stimulate the economy and only 37 percent say that it did, according to research from Harris Interactive, a Rochester, N.Y., research company. Fifty-two percent of Republicans say rebate checks did stimulate the economy; 61 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of Independents say that it did not.

Actual results as of August report people primarily used their rebate checks to reduce non-mortgage debt such as paying off bills or credit cards (36 percent) and to add to their cash savings (29 percent). One in five spent the money on other things they wanted to buy. Just one in 10 used the rebate to take a trip for leisure purposes. Fourteen percent spent their money on home improvements, and 12 percent spent their money in restaurants and dining out. Only 5 percent said they used the money for technology devices or entertainment events.
 
Further research commissioned by New York banking company Goldman Sachs and carried out by the International Council of Shopping Centers, New York, indicates only 39 percent of Americans will go shopping if the U.S. Congress provides another economic stimulus check. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed would save any money from Uncle Sam, and 18 percent of the 1,000 consumers surveyed indicated they would use the extra money to pay down existing debt.