Not only will we have to pay for it but we are going to pay for it with interest. About a month ago the government sold $45 billion worth of 5 year bonds at a 4.25% rate if memory serves. That is where they are getting this money because nobody wants to raise taxes in the current environment and rightly so. In 5 years we will end up paying about $56 billion for this stimulus today due to interest. If it works then it will be worth it but I don't think it will work as well as expected. The government is no substitute for the jobs and trade created by private companies, even in the short term.The $12.7 billion that goes to workers who earn under $100 000 will be the most effective part of the package. However it could have been better distributed via tax cuts because whenever governments take money and redistribute it back to the people some is lost along the way. I don't expect to see very good returns on the $28.8 billion being spent on schools, housing, energy efficiency in homes, community infrastructure and roads. It will help keep Rudd's popularity high but in my opinion our spending levels on these areas is already sufficient and in some cases we even need to cut back spending.[edit on 3-2-2009 by Jacob08]