Here is a basic overview of the stimulus plan. You will notice some are not going to affect or stimulate the economy at all, just a bunch of pork.
- First-time homebuyers purchasing a home before Dec. 1 will receive a US$8,000 tax credit. While this would in theory support the housing industry now, the tax benefit will not be realized until 2010, making it likely that potential homebuyers will wait until the last minute before making a purchasing decision.
- The US$1,000 child tax credit will be extended to more taxpayers who typically do not earn enough to pay taxes, and so normally would not benefit from the credit.
- College students or their parents will receive a tax credit of up to US$2,500 on tuition and related expenses in 2009 and 2010.
- Tax credits will be distributed on a weekly basis, at about US$13 a week per wage earner starting in June. Over the course of 2009, single tax payers will receive US$400 and couples US$800.
- Americans drawing unemployment checks will receive an extra US$25 per check.
- A temporary assistance emergency fund for needy families will be set up in the amount of US$3 billion.
- The first US$2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009 will not be taxable.
- The Department of the Interior will receive US$735 million for road repair in national parks.
- The Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will receive US$9.2 billion for projects ranging from energy efficiency improvements to visitor centers to the cleanup of abandoned mine sites on public lands.
- The plan makes US$25 billion available for teachersâ’ salaries.
- Early education and childcare programs will receive a US$4 billion package.
- The EPA will receive US$800 million to clean up hazardous waste sites and gasoline storage tanks.
- The plan sets aside US$3.7 billion for the hiring of new police officers and US$1 billion for the hiring of local officers under the Community Oriented Policing Services program.
- Law enforcement on the Mexican border and in rural areas, Indian tribe law enforcement, programs that help crime victims, youth-mentoring programs and efforts to fight Internet child predators will receive US$765 million.
- States facing budget deficits will receive an injection of US$87 billion for Medicaid.
- The government will pump in US$90 billion for highway repaving, new water lines and old bridge reinforcement.
- The stimulus plan sets aside US$20 billion for â’green jobs,â’ which include everything from the energy efficiency remodeling of federal buildings and schools to building renewable energy installations such as wind turbines and solar panels. If this works, it would contribute to the formation of an entirely new and beneficial economic sector â” the very definition of effective stimulus spending.
- Americans drawing on supplemental security income would receive a one-time payment of US$250. This benefit goes primarily to those on limited income and so is likely to be spent shortly after being awarded.
- Homeowners will receive a tax credit to cover as much as 30 percent of the cost (up to US$1,500) of remodeling their homes for energy efficiency (adding energy-efficient windows, furnaces and air conditioners). This is the sort of activity that normally only takes place in times of extreme economic growth, so a tax credit that would not be earned until 2010 is unlikely to affect spending decisions. (Note that green remodeling of government buildings is in the â’immediate stimulusâ’ category, because the federal government has direct control over how the money is spent, as opposed to this program which encourages the private sector to follow suit.)
- The government will help pay health insurance premiums up to 65 percent of the total cost for laid-off taxpayers, defraying costs under the current Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) program which allows fired employees to keep their coverage for 18 months but at the full cost of the premium. The COBRA program only applies to companies employing a minimum of 20 employees. Employees laid off but not eligible for COBRA will be allowed to sign up in 60 days.
- The government will offer direct grants to producers of wind turbines and will inject US$2 billion into next-generation batteries to stimulate technology innovation.
- The plan will give US$300 in rebates for the purchase of new, efficient appliances and US$5 billion for energy improvements for low-income homeowners.
- The stimulus will get an extra 800,000 students into the Pell Grant program, which allows low-income students to attend college, and will increase the grant US$4,731 to US$5,350 for 2009 and US$5,550 for 2010-2011.
- Tuition tax credits will be increased to US$2,500 and will be 40 percent refundable for those families who do not earn enough to have to pay taxes and thus take advantage of the credit.
- Scientific research will be supported with US$15 billion, with the National Institute of Health distributing US$1.5 billion to university research facilities.
- There will be an injection of US$2 billion for prisoner rehabilitation programs under the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant.
Personal Thoughts
I want to be stimulated, not teased. Some of these wouldn’t even count as foreplay.