Making and taking money

I'm really lousy at economics - as a list of my creditors will tell you - but this Stimulus package being forced upon us has me stumped. It's hard for me to see $900 as anything more than a new computer, the same way that it doesn't seem like anything more than an eight-ball of drugs to a tweaker. None of us will refuse cash, but few of us will take it without feeling a little bit weird either. Not that it's free money from the government, of course. It was our money to begin with in the form of taxes. But the reasons for it still seem strange. "You can use this money to stimulate the economy by spending it on Australian businesses," explains the govt. But why not then just inject it straight into those businesses? "This money will encourage people to keep spending in these hard times." But wasn't over-spending the reason we're now in trouble? Exorbitant lines of credit, deposit-free real estate and so on was lapped up by too many people who then couldn't foot the bill. I do understand that the main purpose of money is to be circulated, like a hot potato, with the govt skimming off some of the skin each time it's passed along. When I receive my wage some of it is taxed. When I buy anything with it that gets taxed too. Even when I selfishly spend my stimulus package on a foreign built piece of hardware some of that will also end up taxed.
It's a real capitalist dichotomy: spending money makes you feel rich, while saving money makes you actually rich. Hence the govt wants you to feel rich rather than be rich, because the economy relies on you spending, not saving. You'd never catch the current govt saving money, so why should you. So much so, that they'll front you the money to do so. But money is not wealth. Wealth is based on the relative worth of something real (land, gold, bushels of tea, barrels of oil etc). If Rudd was giving me $900 worth of gold then I'd be extremely happy, but he doesn't have $900 of gold, only $900 in cash. Money - be it cash or electronic - is only an abstract representation of wealth that changes all the time, depending on supply and demand and how much of the stuff itself is printed. It's basically a govt printed voucher that's easier to carry than real wealth, only I can't drink it or pour it into my petrol tank.
See, I'm even lousy when trying to explain basic economics. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if Captain Rudd hands me a life jacket, chances are it's not because we're sailing in fime weather.