{"id":1252,"date":"2009-01-29T16:25:54","date_gmt":"2009-01-29T21:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/selfinvestors.com\/tradingstocks\/news\/details-of-economic-stimulus-package-too-much-pork-too-little-stimulus\/"},"modified":"2018-08-12T01:40:39","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T06:40:39","slug":"details-of-economic-stimulus-package-too-much-pork-too-little-stimulus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selfinvestors.com\/tradingstocks\/news\/details-of-economic-stimulus-package-too-much-pork-too-little-stimulus\/","title":{"rendered":"Details of Economic Stimulus Package: Too Much Pork, Too Little Stimulus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The nearly $900 billion (remember when $350 billion was expensive?) economic stimulus package, aka the Pork Package set forth by Democrats cleared the House and heads to the Senate with zero Republican support.  If signed into law it would push federal debt to levels not seen since WWII.  With support for many social programs, many have complained that much of it will do nothing to stimulate the economy with too much wasteful spending and not enough for tax cuts.  In an op ed piece the WSJ calls it a political wonder<\/a> that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.<\/p>\n

For all the talk of alternative energy and the importance of reducing our need for foreign oil by the Obama administration, the Christian Science monitor points out that just $24 billion can be directly attributed to green investments – $16 billion in tax breaks and $8 billion in loans.  However, including renovations of federal buildings and public housing pushes that number higher and some see this as just a down payment with a separate energy bill to be announced later.<\/p>\n

Some highlights of the package according to USA Today<\/a> and WSJ<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

$544 billion in new spending<\/strong><\/p>\n

$125 billion for public education including $20 billion for school renovations and $79 billion to avoid education related layoffs<\/p>\n

$87 billion for Medicaid<\/p>\n

$30 billion goes to road projects<\/p>\n

$27 billion to continue unemployment insurance benefits<\/p>\n

$20 billion for food stamps<\/p>\n

$20 billion to digitize medical records<\/p>\n

$8 billion for renewable energies<\/p>\n

$7 billion for modernizing federal buildings<\/p>\n

$6 billion for mass transit<\/p>\n

$5 billion for for the construction and repair of public housing<\/p>\n

$4 billion for community activist programs such as ACORN<\/p>\n

$2 billion for child care subsidies<\/p>\n

$650 million for coupons for digital TV conversions<\/p>\n

$400 million for global warming research<\/p>\n

$335 million for STD prevention<\/p>\n

$50 million for National Endowment of the Arts<\/p>\n

* Republicans pushed the Democrats into dropping money for family planning and restoration of the National Mall<\/p>\n

* the WSJ estimates that just 12% of the package could be considered a growth stimulus<\/p>\n

$275 billion in new tax cuts<\/strong><\/p>\n

$145 billion: Tax cuts for 95% of working Americans, $500 for individuals, $1000 for couples and small business for 2 years<\/p>\n

$23 billion: $1000 per child tax credit<\/p>\n

$20 billion for company equipment write offs<\/p>\n

$16 billion in “green” tax credits<\/p>\n

$10 billion: $2500 credit for college<\/p>\n

$6.9 billion for homeowner tax credits<\/p>\n

For your reading pleasure…<\/p>\n

House Stimulus Bill<\/a> <\/embed><\/object> <\/p>\n
Publish at Scribd<\/a> or explore<\/a> others: Government Business & Legal <\/div>\n