A several-hundred-dollar check from Uncle Sam will be a nice gift, a few months down the road. But will the economic stimulus checks revive the U.S. economy?

Coupled with business incentives, the individual rebates might stave off recession. Time will tell.

What strikes me as the immediate effect, though, is the symbiosis of the stimulus package with a speech delivered Wednesday in Kansas City by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. Both turn on the power of the American consumer.

Hailed as the force that pulled the United States out of its last recession, consumer spending is once again expected to right the economic ship.

The American consumer is notably ready to spend. Witness the negatives savings rate. Many shoppers don't need a stimulus check to stimulate the economy.

And, if they can get good-quality, eco-friendly stuff at always-low prices, as Scott vows, Wal-Mart could see sales ratchet up in July or thereabouts as the checks (presumably) filter back into the economy.

What's good for Wal-Mart is good for America. And vice versa.


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