Hightower Lowdown

President Bush almost had to put his arm in a sling after patting himself on the back so much over the rebate checks that he and Congress directed the IRS to send out this summer to millions of American homes.

He flew around the country at our expense to hand out blown-up mock $300 checks to people, like he was on the Prize Patrol for Publishers Clearing House.

When the actual checks were mailed, the Treasury was short of cash due to the economic downturn we're experiencing under Bush, so George had to borrow $28 billion from the Social Security trust fund to pay for his shameless political ploy.

The biggest surprise for many Americans will be their discovery that Bush's $300 checks amount to a case of "rebate and switch." The checks we're now getting from the IRS are not a rebate on taxes we've paid, but an advance on any refund we expect to get from the IRS after we file our tax returns next April.

Let's say you're due a refund of $300 next year. Instead, you'll get zero. And if it happens that you're not getting a refund next year, you'll have to pay back that $300 to Smiling George!

Bush's "rebates" are a bookkeeping gimmick. Despite the hoopla, he didn't lower anyone's tax rates for this year, so we still owe the same amount, including the $300 he's "advancing" us this summer.