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Why is it that in this age of online and mobile banking the US government has opted to disburse its $160bn stimulus package by bulk-mailing cheques to 128m American households?

Over at Bloggingstocks.com, Joseph Lazzard parsed the views of US economists about the speed (or lack thereof) of fiscal policy stimulus.

David H. Wang noted that while Congress and President Bush did quickly pass and sign the stimulus package in February, the distribution of those funds - due to start this month - has been “anything but speedy”, especially compared with the Fed:

in an attempt to jump-start its economy stalled by the nation’s worst housing slump in more than 15 years, [the Fed] has implemented a host of monetary policy changes to provide monetary stimulus quicker. [It] cut key, short-term interests multiple times during a 10-week span (and later implemented additional rate cuts), and devised two, new, Fed-administered institutions to address the credit crisis, provide liquidity, and ensure the orderly operation of financial markets.

In contrast, the delay in getting the stimulus package out, Mr Wang says, has been negative for the economy:

The problem is, all the while the forces of recession have had a chance to grind for another three months, and that’s not good. It’s delayed the recovery.

Glen Langan concurred, saying the depth of the housing downturn and its effect on GDP activity placed a premium not just on stimulating the economy, but on the ability to get that stimulus working as soon as possible:

Bou have to ask, if the fiscal stimulus distribution began immediately, by late February, would the U.S. economy have benefited from those increased dollars? I think the answer is yes, without question, even allowing for the fact that some rebate money will be saved or invested and not spent.

Moreover, Mr Wang argued, if the Federal Reserve can act swiftly to deal with financial crises, “it’s high time that fiscal policy quickens its response time.”

No word on just how (or when) that’s going to happen, though.