Spotlight on the Consumer

TIME'S economists look for the July tax cut to start the recovery

Will the consumer spend it or save it? That is the $50 billion question facing the U.S. economy. In July, the Government will begin giving out $39 billion in tax cuts, the second installment of the three-year personal income tax reduction that Congress passed last year, and $11.5 billion in increased Social Security benefits. If the American consumer quickly spends most of that money, the extra business that will be created should be enough to end the nearly yearlong recession. But if...