Back in May when the stimulus checks started arriving, a large minority of people said they were going to use them to pay bills instead of the hoped-for spending splurge. Although it rarely pays to count on the financial discipline of the American consumer, this time it turns out to be true.
Today, the International Council of Shopping Centers said that sales at national retailers fell .6 percent last week. In the last month, sales were up less than 2 percent from the year before — pretty weak. Maybe too much of that money is going to gas stations. Even with $100 billion in stimulus checks for consumers, the great American spending party appears to be over, for now.