It was a spike in gas prices that first led to the idea of refunds, but then lawmakers in Sacramento decided to make it based on income and it morphed into something that is now called the Middle Class Tax Refund. The money started going out in October, so why are so many San Diegans still waiting on their refunds? The California Franchise Tax Board's website says direct deposits started going out Oct. 7 and were supposed to finish Nov. 14. But when we checked the website Monday morning, it said 6.7 million direct deposits were sent. Later that afternoon, that number jumped to 6.9 million, so clearly they didn't finish two weeks ago. “Those refunds, all of them should be out by now,” said Political Analyst Steve Swatt. He says the whole point of this money was to help Californians pay for spiking gas prices in early spring, but bickering in Sacramento over who should get the money caused massive delays. “It is sort of typical of the way politics work that they tried to do something, but couldn't get it done until the end of June and that delayed payments for everyone," Swatt said. MORE: https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/working-for-you/many-san-diegans-still-waiting-for-california-stimulus/509-a388891f-1119-4860-a27b-9419364ec84e