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The battle of the rebate checks is about to begin... News today that Wal-Mart announced it will cash the government's stimulus checks for free, with no purchase required. And it will also waive the purchase fee on its Wal-Mart MoneyCard, its prepaid debit card, if consumers load them with any portion of their rebate funds. The retailer has also unveiled a new series of rollbacks--not on splurge items like consumer electronics or jewelry, but in the grocery aisles. It says it expects more than six in 10 Americans to use the funds to cover basic family needs, so rollbacks include shampoo, breakfast juice, lunch meat and cereal bars. The bad news for the Bush administration is that this will not be the shot in the arm they are claiming the rebates will provide for the economy. And with gas definitely going over $4 a gallon before the summer is out, you know where the rest of that rebate check is going. Still when Americans complain while filling up that Hummer, they should thank their lucky stars they don't live in Europe, were most gas is nearly $10 a gallon. It's going to be an interesting year.

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Well... We needed room for the kids!