Since the interest alone on the "Economic Stimulus" package is costing the U.S. around $100 million per DAY, I can see how saving 17 days worth of interest will definitely have a major impact.

No, the rake is a percentage of the pot, and thus constant. Stacking the deck will not affect it in any way, nor would "action hands" (whatever that is) or any other playing style or computer cheat. These things may affect gameplay for other players, but not the house rake.

While the argument made here is good from a narrow economic view, do we really want the government to get involved with our personal computers?

Once we start down that road, where does it lead? In the end I think that opening the door for more government controls is far worse than receiving some spam emails or getting a computer virus.

Is it really necessary for every student to have a laptop in order to receive a good education? Couldn't this money be better spent in other areas of education?

My answers to these questions are "yes" and "yes".