In an attempt to revitalize the American economy and avoid recession, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a $168 billion economic “stimulus” package on Wednesday. This package will give hundreds of dollars back to U.S. families in an attempt to increase consumer spending and save the economy. President Bush’s economic stimulus package made it through Congress Thursday of last week. Agence France Presse reports:

Bush said the world’s largest economy had overcome shocks in the past and expressed confidence that the giant economic aid plan would help the economy through a “rough patch.” …Bush’s signature clears the way for one-time tax rebate checks to be mailed to tens of millions of Americans in coming months. The Economic Stimulus Act also calls for tax breaks aimed at firing up business investment.Economists are divided on the stimulus’s likely impact amid a two-year-long housing market slump and a related credit crunch, and after the economy lost 17,000 jobs unexpectedly in January.Some economists have called the plan an election-year gimmick, but others say it could help boost critical consumer and business spending, but not until later this year.

In a pleasant surprise, according to a survey cited by cnn, only about one fourth of Americans are planning to spend the rebate money they receive.

Nearly half (46 percent) said they plan to use the rebate to pay off debt and a quarter (28 percent) would save the money, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and ubs Securities, which jointly commissioned the study of 1,005 households between January 31 and Sunday.

The problem is, with a $9 trillion-plus national debt, a massive trade deficit, and a record number of housing foreclosures, America’s economic woes go a lot deeper than what a few hundred dollars per family or a few tax breaks can fix. America is on its way out as the world’s economic powerhouse.