what EXACTLY is the economic stimulus package?

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One Response to “what EXACTLY is the economic stimulus package?”

1. kevin c on: 8 September 2009 at 10:53 am

   First, I’m not saying that it will or won’t work – only time will tell.
   The version of the bill I downloaded in January had allocations as follows;
   —————–
   $825 billion total (as of 1/15/09 – my copy of the bill is older than the feb. version passed)

   • $550 billion in new spending, described as thoughtful and carefully targeted priority investments with unprecedented accountability measures built in (yeah, right).

   • $275 billion in tax relief ($1,000 tax cut for families, $500 tax cut for individuals through SS payroll deductions)

   • $ 90 billion for infrastructure

   • $ 87 billion Medicaid aid to states

   • $ 79 billion school districts/public colleges to prevent cutbacks

   • $ 54 billion to encourage energy production from renewable sources

   • $ 41 billion for additional school funding ($14 billion for school
   modernizations and repairs, $13 billion for Title I, $13 billion for THOUGHT special education funding, $1 billion for education technology)

   • $ 24 billion for "health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies" and "to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments."

   • $ 16 billion for science/technology ($10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation; $6 billion to expand broadband to rural areas)

   • $ 15 billion to increase Pell grants by $500

   • $ 6 billion for the ambiguous "higher education modernization."

   ————-

   I believe more in bullet #1 (targeted priority investments) because of the AIG bonus backlash … The Gov’t (on both sides of the aisle) appears to really be holding industry’s feet to the fire on this money. Thanks to the Internet and instant information.

   You can download a copy of the actual bill (407 page PDF – small by governments standards for something this huge) at the link provided.