Stimulus Aims Two-Phase Jolt at Fading U.S. Economy

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aKVgiDHFg6zk&refer=economy
Fair and other economists say the first evidence that the plan is working should be visible in consumer spending and retail sales, which they expect will stop declining around mid-year
The next sign may come in business investment, as companies grow more confident about a pick-up in sales. The final signal of success would be a turnaround in a labor market that has lost 3.6 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007.

The bill contains a $400 tax reduction for individuals and $800 for families for this year and next, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Workers will see the relief in the form of a smaller amount of income taxes withheld from their paychecks.
“We can basically change those withholding tables very quickly so people will immediately see some more money going into their bank accounts,” Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in an interview yesterday on Bloomberg Television.

Many economists argue that such a delivery method, untested in previous stimulus packages, will be more effective at increasing demand because consumers will be less inclined to save the money or use it to pay debt