Stimulus checks are good — in the short term only. They are the “fish” in the proverb: “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Instead of showering all citizens − needy or prospering − with billions of tax-financed dollars, hire people to work, paying them with those billions. States-run, federally financed programs to repair roads and bridges, provide job training or retraining, plant trees, clean beaches and waterways, ad infinitum, would provide income and skills, which would grow our economy.

For folks who do not need their stimulus checks to pay for food or overdue bills, I suggest donating them to a homeless shelter, meal center, food bank or other organization that feeds, clothes, houses and/or mentors the truly needy. The givers, recipients and our country will all benefit.

Mary Drake

Mystic