According to Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation:

...it is not practical to contemplate distributing cash rebates until the peak filing season is completed, which in past years has been the very end of May.

And that's if everything goes right. Now add 8-12 weeks' time to process rebate checks and you're looking at July-ish before the big stimulus actually happens.

Think we'll really need it by then?

Does it matter?

What's really important about this stimulus package isn't its timing or its size. What's really important about it is the psychological effect it will have on consumers. Placebos can be amazingly effective.

It's the outlook for tomorrow that fuels today's markets. It's our view of what's around the corner that helps companies decide how many people to hire and how much raw material to order and whether capital investment is a good idea right now.