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Saturday, September 7, 2024 |
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Stimulus----Stimulate what?????? |
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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50 De-Stimulating Facts
Chapter and verse on a bad bill. By Stephen Spruiell & Kevin Williamson Senate Democrats acknowledged Wednesday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill in its current form. This is unexpected good news. The House passed the stimulus package with zero Republican votes (and even a few Democratic defections), but few expected Senate Republicans (of whom there are only 41) to present a unified front. A few moderate Democrats have reportedly joined them.
Finally, the RSC proposal provides direct tax relief to strapped families by expanding the child tax credit, reducing taxes on parents’ investment in the next generation of taxpayers. Obama’s expansion of the child tax credit is not nearly as ambitious. Overall, his plan adds up to a lot of forgone revenue without much stimulus to show for it. Senators should push for the tax relief to be better designed. |
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MadisonMom ![]() MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Dec 09 2008 Location: MadisonTownship Status: Offline Points: 298 |
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Today is Tuesday.....can you update a little bit? This had to be last week. Reread first sentence. Is this what was passed today? Tuesday 2/10/09.
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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The important issue is what the money is going to be spent on. The Senate has passed their version, the House their's and now it will go to committee and they will reach a compromise. Bottomline is whatever comes out will have Billions of dollars spent on items and projects which will not stimulate the economy any time soon and much of it never. |
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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If you are feeling ambitious here you go:
House Bill http://thehill.com/images/stimulus/h.r.1.pdf
As of 2-11-09.
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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No PORK Obama says, but sure is a lot of BACON. But hey we don't care according to Dems.
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Middletown News ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() Joined: Apr 29 2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1100 |
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Dear Taxpayer, Will you join me in taking a stand in the first major policy battle of President Obama's Administration? Stop the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Trillion Dollar Spending Bill, Sign Our Online NO Stimulus Petition TODAY- Click Here Earlier today in the U.S. Senate we suffered a difficult defeat as the $838 billion senate version of the Pelosi-Reid-Obama spending bill passed the senate with 61 votes. While today's vote is a disappointing setback we cannot be discouraged. Much of this fight still lies ahead in the next few days. Despite today’s passage in the Senate, this fight is far from over! The bill will still have to go to conference to work out differences between the House and Senate versions, before coming back to both chambers for another vote. They will fight to add back as much pork as possible, including brand new pork not in either the House or Senate version. You can fight back today by clicking here and joining the growing army of taxpayers saying NO by signing Americans for Prosperity's petition to stop this disastrous trillion-dollar debt scheme. We've got to keep raising awareness and increase the pressure against this spending and debt outrage. Thanks to the help of our signers forwarding this to their friends and family, calling talk radio, and promoting it on the internet, we've blown past 200,000 signed petitions! Just what is wrong with this bill?
It is critical that we send a loud and clear message to DC politicians that ordinary citizens simply cannot afford the crushing burden and devastating consequences of this initiative. Please act today to make your voice heard -- and encourage your friends and family to do the same -- by signing AFP's petition here. ![]() Tim Phillips President, Americans for Prosperity |
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Meltdown 101: Highlights of economic stimulus planBy JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer 52 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Now that there's a tentative agreement on the economic stimulus plan that President Barack Obama and other supporters hope will provide a considerable jolt to the economy, how long will it take to get infrastructure and other projects moving? And do economists think the plan is big enough to create millions of jobs? Here are some questions and answers about the latest version of the stimulus initiative. Q: What are the main objectives of the package? A: A combination of tax cuts and spending incentives totaling nearly $790 billion is aimed at putting money back in the pockets of consumers and businesses and creating millions of jobs. It also looks to accomplish some long-term goals, such as making the country more energy efficient and improving the nation's crumbling roads and bridges. Overall, the package breaks down to nearly two-thirds spending initiatives and just over one-third tax cuts. Q: Does the bill include federal aid to the states? A: Yes. It includes major contributions to states to help with their budget shortfalls and assure the viability of Medicaid and education programs. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the moderate Republican who helped broker the deal, said the spending includes about $90 billion in increased federal matches to states to help pay for Medicaid, along with a $54 billion "fiscal stabilization" fund that states could use to build and repair schools and improve facilities at institutions of higher learning. Q: What are some of the other main focuses of the bill? A: Here are some highlights: Education: The package has some $11.5 billion to support the IDEA program for special education. There's another $10 billion for a federal program to help low-income students. Energy: The package includes funds to modernize the electrical grid — in part by incorporating renewable energy resources — and to make federal buildings more energy efficient and help low-income households weatherize their homes. Health: The plan includes subsidies to allow people who are laid off to purchase health insurance through the federal COBRA plan. There is also money to support hospitals seeking to modernize health information technology. Infrastructure: The infrastructure section of the package includes funds for building and repairing highways and bridges, expanding transit systems, upgrading airports and rail systems and building and repairing federal buildings — with the focus on making them more energy efficient. Funds are available for clean water projects, cleanup of environmental waste areas and nuclear waste cleanups. Money devoted solely to transportation infrastructure reaches almost $50 billion. Collins said that when all the infrastructure projects for roads, sewers, energy and electricity transmission are added up, it will reach about $150 billion. The package includes money to bring broadband Internet service to underserved areas. Other highlights: The plan also supports National Institutes of Health research and contributes to programs in the departments of defense, homeland security, veterans affairs and state. Q: What are some of the tax breaks in the bill? A: It includes Obama's signature "Making Work Pay" tax credit for 95 percent of workers, though negotiators agreed to trim the credit to $400 a year instead of $500 — or $800 for married couples, cut from Obama's original proposal of $1,000. It would begin showing up in most workers' paychecks in June as an extra $13 a week in take-home pay, falling to about $8 a week next January. There is also a $70 billion, one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax. The fix would save some 20 million mainly upper-middle-income taxpayers about $2,000 in taxes for 2009. Q: How will infrastructure spending affect jobs? A: The Federal Highway Administration has estimated that every $1 billion the federal government spends on infrastructure projects translates to 35,000 jobs. Collins put the total infrastructure spending — including highways, mass transit, environmental cleanups and broadband facilities — at $150 billion. Do the math and that translates into more than 5 million jobs, based on the highway administration's assumptions. Senate leaders have offered their own estimate — they said Wednesday that the total stimulus package will sustain some 3.5 million jobs. Q: How long would it take for highway projects to begin? A: Lawmakers say most of the projects could be up and running within 90 days, although it could take somewhat more time in northern states with longer winters. Highway construction groups have estimated that there are thousands of projects that could be started within that 90 days. Q: Do economists feel the stimulus package is big enough to actually stimulate the economy? A: Many leading economists have concluded that the stimulus alone may be insufficient to bring a quick turnaround for the economy. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, called for a larger package of spending and tax breaks and predicted that unemployment could top 9 percent next year, up from the current 7.6 percent, even if an $800 billion package is enacted. Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman also contends that $800 billion will fall short of filling the gap left by projected reductions in consumer and business spending. Obama has also acknowledged that the stimulus measures are only "one leg of the stool" needed to stabilize the economy. Spending initiatives and tax cuts, he has said, must be combined with the ongoing massive effort to restore confidence and integrity to financial markets, get credit flowing again and right the collapsed housing market. |
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John Beagle ![]() MUSA Official ![]() ![]() Joined: Apr 23 2007 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1855 |
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Democrats have now broken their promise to have the public see the $790 billion bill for 48 hours before any vote.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) predicted that none of his Senate colleagues would 'have the chance' to read the entire final version of the 1,071-page bill before it comes up for a final vote. |
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Hahahahaha not even the Senate or House Reps. can get it read before the vote at 1071 pages.....what an Obamanation this has become.
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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It is unfortunate that Congress and this administration has already become a Circus and we can look for only more of the same over the next 4 years. Maybe The American People will wake up in 2 years.
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tomahawk35 ![]() MUSA Resident ![]() ![]() Joined: Nov 18 2008 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 223 |
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I have got to sit down with my wife and try to decide what to do with our extra $13 per week. I know this will answer all of our dreams,not. I tell you what you can really do with it but I will be polite on this board and mind my matters, but in reality this is an insult throwing crumbs to taxpayers all over this country. We got more than this under Hilter Bush and it did nothing to stimulate this country. This country ,state,and city just keeps insulting our intelligence.
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spiderjohn ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jul 01 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2749 |
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my favorite tomahawk post of all time
u da man!!!
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Pacman ![]() Prominent MUSA Citizen ![]() ![]() Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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For the average person, DON'T SPEND IT ALL IN ONE PLACE.
How will the government stimulus plan affect you?By The Associated Press The Associated Press Sat Feb 14, 9:30 am ET
An examination of how the economic stimulus plan will affect Americans. ___ Taxes: The recovery package has tax breaks for families that send a child to college, purchase a new car, buy a first home or make the ones they own more energy efficient. Millions of workers can expect to see about $13 extra in their weekly paychecks, starting around June, from a new $400 tax credit to be doled out through the rest of the year. Couples would get up to $800. In 2010, the credit would be about $7.70 a week, if it is spread over the entire year. The $1,000 child tax credit would be extended to more low-income families that don't make enough money to pay income taxes, and poor families with three or more children will get an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit. Middle-income and wealthy taxpayers will be spared from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was designed 40 years ago to make sure wealthy taxpayers pay at least some tax, but was never indexed for inflation. Congress fixes it each year, usually in the fall. First-time homebuyers who purchase their homes before Dec. 1 would be eligible for an $8,000 tax credit, and people who buy new cars before the end of the year can write off the sales taxes. Homeowners who add energy-efficient windows, furnaces and air conditioners can get a tax credit to cover 30 percent of the costs, up to a total of $1,500. College students — or their parents — are eligible for tax credits of up to $2,500 to help pay tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010. Those receiving unemployment benefits this year wouldn't pay any federal income taxes on the first $2,400 they receive. ___ Health insurance: Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work. Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It's expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan. Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months. Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don't generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them. COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year. Those who were put out of work after September but didn't elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up. The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program. ___ Infrastructure: Highways repaved for the first time in decades. Century-old waterlines dug up and replaced with new pipes. Aging bridges, stressed under the weight of today's SUVs, reinforced with fresh steel and concrete. But the $90 billion is a mere down payment on what's needed to repair and improve the country's physical backbone. And not all economists agree it's an effective way to add jobs in the long term, or stimulate the economy. ___ Energy: Homeowners looking to save energy, makers of solar panels and wind turbines and companies hoping to bring the electric grid into the computer age all stand to reap major benefits. The package contains more than $42 billion in energy-related investments from tax credits to homeowners to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and direct government grants for makers of wind turbines and next-generation batteries. There's a 30 percent tax credit of up to $1,500 for the purchase of a highly efficient residential air conditioners, heat pumps or furnaces. The credit also can be used by homeowners to replace leaky windows or put more insulation into the attic. About $300 million would go for rebates to get people to buy efficient appliances. The package includes $20 billion aimed at "green" jobs to make wind turbines, solar panels and improve energy efficiency in schools and federal buildings. It includes $6 billion in loan guarantees for renewable energy projects as well as tax breaks or direct grants covering 30 percent of wind and solar energy investments. Another $5 billion is marked to help low-income homeowners make energy improvements. About $11 billion goes to modernize and expand the nation's electric power grid and $2 billion to spur research into batteries for future electric cars. ___ Schools: A main goal of education spending in the stimulus bill is to help keep teachers on the job. Nearly 600,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools could be eliminated by state budget cuts over the next three years, according to a study released this past week by the University of Washington. Fewer teachers means higher class sizes, something that districts are scrambling to prevent. The stimulus sets up a $54 billion fund to help prevent or restore state budget cuts, of which $39 billion must go toward kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. In addition, about $8 billion of the fund could be used for other priorities, including modernization and renovation of schools and colleges, though how much is unclear, because Congress decided not to specify a dollar figure. The Education Department will distribute the money as quickly as it can over the next couple of years. And it adds $25 billion extra to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, which help pay teacher salaries, among other things. This money may go out much more slowly; states have five years to spend the dollars, and they have a history of spending them slowly. In fact, states don't spend all the money; they return nearly $100 million to the federal treasury every year. The stimulus bill also includes more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs. ___ National debt: One thing about the president's $790 billion stimulus package is certain: It will jack up the federal debt. Whether or not it succeeds in producing jobs and taming the recession, tomorrow's taxpayers will end up footing the bill. Forecasters expect the 2009 deficit — for the budget year that began last Oct 1 — to hit $1.6 trillion including new stimulus and bank-bailout spending. That's about three times last year's shortfall. The torrents of red ink are being fed by rising federal spending and falling tax revenues from hard-hit businesses and individuals. The national debt — the sum of all annual budget deficits — stands at $10.7 trillion. Or about $36,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. Interest payments alone on the national debt will near $500 billion this year. It's already the fourth-largest federal expenditure, after Medicare-Medicaid, Social Security and defense. This will affect us all directly for years, as well as our children and possibly grandchildren, in higher taxes and probably reduced government services. It will also force continued government borrowing, increasingly from China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia and other foreign creditors. ___ Environment: The package includes $9.2 billion for environmental projects at the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would be used to shutter abandoned mines on public lands, to help local governments protect drinking water supplies, and to erect energy-efficient visitor centers at wildlife refuges and national parks. The Interior Department estimates that its portion of the work would generate about 100,000 jobs over the next two years. Yet the plan will only make a dent in the backlog of cleanups facing the EPA and the long list of chores at the country's national parks, refuges and other public lands. It would be more like a down payment. When it comes to national parks, the plan sets aside $735 million for road repairs and maintenance. But that's a fraction of the $9 billion worth of work waiting for funding. At EPA, the payout is $7.2 billion. The bulk of the money will help local communities and states repair and improve drinking water systems and fund projects that protect bays, rivers and other waterways used as sources of drinking water. The rest of EPA's cut — $800 million — will be used to clean up leaky gasoline storage tanks and the nation's hazardous waste sites. ___ Police: The stimulus bill includes plenty of green for those wearing blue. The compromise bill doles out more than $3.7 billion for police programs, much of which is set aside for hiring new officers. The law allocates $2 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, a program that has funded drug task forces and things such as prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs. An additional $1 billion is set aside to hire local police under the Community Oriented Policing Services program. The program, known as COPS grants, paid the salaries of many local police officers and was a "modest contributor" to the decline in crime in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government oversight report. Both programs had all been eliminated during the Bush administration. The bill also includes $225 million for general criminal justice grants for things such as youth mentoring programs, $225 million for Indian tribe law enforcement, $125 million for police in rural areas, $100 million for victims of crimes, $50 million to fight Internet crimes against children and $40 million in grants for law enforcement along the Mexican border. ___ Higher Education: The maximum Pell Grant, which helps the lowest-income students attend college, would increase from $4,731 currently to $5,350 starting July 1 and $5,550 in 2010-2011. That would cover three-quarters of the average cost of a four-year college. An extra 800,000 students, or about 7 million, would now get Pell funding. The stimulus also increases the tuition tax credit to $2,500 and makes it 40 percent refundable, so families who don't earn enough to pay income tax could still get up to $1,000 in extra tuition help. Computer expenses will now be an allowable expense for 529 college savings plans. The final package cut $6 billion the House wanted to spend to kick-start building projects on college campuses. But parts of the $54 billion state stabilization fund — with $39 billion set aside for education — can be used for modernizing facilities. There's also an estimated $15 billion for scientific research, much of which will go to universities. Funding for the National Institutes of Health includes $1.5 billion set aside for university research facilities. Altogether, the package spends an estimated $32 billion on higher education. ___ The Poor: More than 37 million Americans live in poverty, and the vast majority of them are in line for extra help under the giant stimulus package. Millions more could be kept from slipping into poverty by the economic lifeline. People who get food stamps — 30 million and growing — will get more. People drawing unemployment checks — nearly 5 million and growing — would get an extra $25, and keep those checks coming longer. People who get Supplemental Security Income — 7 million poor Americans who are elderly, blind or disabled — would get one-time extra payments of $250. Many low-income Americans also are likely to benefit from a trifecta of tax credits: expansions to the existing Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and a new refundable tax credit for workers. Taken together, the three credits are expected to keep more than 2 million Americans from falling into poverty, including more than 800,000 children, according to the private Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The package also includes a $3 billion emergency fund to provide temporary assistance to needy families. In addition, cash-strapped states will get an infusion of $87 billion for Medicaid, the government health program for poor people, and that should help them avoid cutting off benefits to the needy. |
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