|
NewsPapers
- -001 A Summary of the Stimulus Plan (ProPublica.org)
"You could read the 1,071-page gorilla that passed today. Or you could let us do the work for you. We’ve dissected the beast in two charts – one for spending below, and one for taxes." 02-09
- -001 Oversight of Federal Stimulus Funds (MSNBC News)
"At least 49 states and the Virgin Islands have created or proposed ways to track, provide oversight, and distribute information relating to federal stimulus funds. Governors have created new entities, state agencies are documenting projects, and legislatures are forming commissions or committees to oversee the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The following provides a brief summary of actions that states are proposing or taking to provide oversight and transparency of ARRA. Also included are state websites that will provide information on implementation and spending of funds from ARRA." 03-09
- -001 Stimulus Plan, By Sector (CNN News)
Not including the tax provisions, "Energy and the environment get the biggest allocation, nearly $100 billion." 02-09
- -001 Track the Stimulus Funds (Recovery.gov)
"Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors." 02-09
- -001 Where the Bailout Dollars Have Gone--and Are Going (CNN News)
"The government is engaged in an unprecedented - and expensive - effort to rescue the economy. Here are all the elements of the bailouts." 03-09
- -01-26-10 Devaney: Stimulus Funds Watchman (New York Times)
"In 38 years of government service, Mr. Devaney, a hulking former college football lineman and Secret Service man, has been unnerving would-be miscreants. But now the Big Man, as Mr. Devaney’s colleagues call him, is taking on an incomparably bigger job, tracking a sum 50 times the agency’s annual budget as chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — or as the irresistible acronym has it, RAT Board." 04-09
- -01-30-09 Economy Shrinking Fast (New York Times)
"The economy shrank at an accelerating pace late last year, the government reported on Friday, adding to the urgency of a stimulus package capable of bringing the country back from a recession that appears to be deepening."
"The actual decline in the gross domestic product — at a 3.8 percent annual rate — fell short of the 5 to 6 percent that most economists had expected for the fourth quarter. But that was because consumption collapsed so quickly that goods piled up in inventory, unsold but counted as part of the nation’s output."
"'The drop in spending was so fast, so rapid, that production could not be cut fast enough,' said Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist at IHS Global Insight. 'That is happening now, and the contraction in the current quarter, as a result, will probably exceed 5 percent.' " 01-09
- -02-15-09 Education Provisions of the Stimulus Plan (U.S. News)
"Under the stimulus bill, starting next year, taxpayers earning up to $80,000 (or $160,000 for joint filers) will be able to reduce their tax bills dollar for dollar for the first $2,000 of tuition and books." 02-09
- -02-17-09 Stimulus Job Creation by State (CBS News)
"With President Obama poised to sign the $787 billion economic stimulus package into law this afternoon, the White House has released its estimates of how many jobs the package will create in each state." 02-09
- -03-12-09 Can States Circumvent Governors on Stimulus Funds? (ABC News)
"South Carolina Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn is urging his state's legislature to stop Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's plan to reject $700 million in stimulus funds. The House majority whip is uncertain, however, as to whether the course he is recommending is constitutional." 03-09
- -04-14-09 Critics Slam Microsoft Bridge (CNN News)
"Should a bridge that would connect two campuses at Microsoft's headquarters be funded with $11 million from the federal stimulus package?"
"Critics of using stimulus money for the bridge say it would give the software giant a break on a pet project. They also say it serves as a warning sign of how some stimulus money is not being used to finance new projects but is being diverted to public works already under way."
"Supporters argue the bridge is an ideal public-private partnership that will benefit an entire community while fulfilling the stimulus package's goal of getting people back to work." 04-09
- -04-14-09 Stimulus Steers Billions to Weatherization (CNN News)
"Across the country, in nearly every state, boom times are coming for programs to make homes more energy-efficient." 04-09
- -04-16-09 Spending Billions While Avoiding Waste (U.S. News)
With the $787 billion from the stimulus package beginning to roll out of Washington's coffers, the money is arriving in places like Columbus, Ohio, where it's covering the salaries of 25 police cadets, and Kansas, where it's funding the widening of U.S. 69 outside of Kansas City. But even as economists debate whether the cash injection will kick-start the economy, there's plenty of concern about how much will actually get to its intended destination."
"Watchdog groups say that while it's still early, the White House's commitment to openness and minimizing waste, including launching the Recovery.gov website, is heartening. They applaud the appointment of Earl Devaney to head a new stimulus oversight board. While inspector general of the Interior Department, Devaney directed the investigation that led to lobbyist Jack Abramoff's imprisonment." 04-09
- -05-05-09 Local Officials Scramble for Stimulus Cash (MSNBC News)
"For local officials around the country, big money is at stake as the federal stimulus money trickles down. According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s fiscal “watchdog,” about $280 billion of the Recovery Act’s total of $787 billion will be administered through state and local governments. Much of the money is doled out by formula, but for other stimulus funds, such as a subsidy to hire additional police officers, cities and counties must compete with one another." 05-09
- -08-05-09 Where Stimulus Funds Are Being Spent (MSNBC News)
"The federal government has given stimulus money to all 50 states and territories. Roll over a state to see its allocation. Click on a state and the table at right lists the federal agencies that are awarding the money." 08-09
- -10-15-09 First Data on Impact of Stimulus (CBS News)
"Businesses receiving federal contracts under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of the program, according to data released Thursday by a government oversight board. "
"The numbers, based on jobs linked to less than $16 billion in federal contracts, represent just a sliver of the $787 billion stimulus package. But they offer the first hard data on the early effects of the program." 10-09
- -Stimulus Funds: Where They Are Going (CNN News)
"Businesses receiving federal contracts under President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program reported creating or saving more than 30,000 jobs in the first months of the program, according to data released Thursday by a government oversight board. "
"The numbers, based on jobs linked to less than $16 billion in federal contracts, represent just a sliver of the $787 billion stimulus package. But they offer the first hard data on the early effects of the program." 01-10
- 05-10-09 States Offer Patchwork Aid (New York Times)
"As millions of people seek government aid, many for the first time, they are finding it dispensed American style: through a jumble of disconnected programs that reach some and reject others, often for reasons of geography or chance rather than differences in need." 05-09
- Editorial: How to Know If the Stimulus Plan Is Working (MSNBC News)
"Yet while job creation is arguably the most important goal of the stimulus package, other parts of the bill will have a much more immediate and visible impact. Food stamp increases and extensions of unemployment benefits will be among the first noticeable effects of the package. Tax credit payments for individuals and families would follow, along with other tax breaks and incentives. Rising consumer confidence and lower unemployment will be far more gradual, and aren't likely to surface until late 2009 at the earliest." 02-09
Projects
- -Report Card on the Stimulus (Time.com)
"The general public's opinion of the bill that authorized the government to spend $787 billion to create jobs and end the recession is that it has been a dud."
"Overall, economic forecasters such as Moody's Economy.com and IHS Global Insight say the bill generated paychecks for anywhere from 1.5 million to 2 million people who would have been out of work this past year without the stimulus."
"But what makes the bill's success hard to judge is that it was oversold. Before the stimulus was passed, a report from President Obama's economic advisers predicted that the bill would ensure that the unemployment rate would remain at 8% or below. By that estimate, the bill looks like a failure. A few months ago, the unemployment rate hit 10%; currently it is 9.7%."
"Another problem is that the bill included a huge jumble of programs." 02-10
- Editorial: Crisis Is Worse Than Obama Admits (Newsweek.com)
"Geithner is realistically pessimistic about the economic crisis while the rest of Washington—even President Obama—hasn't caught on to how bad it is yet. From the rhetoric surrounding the stimulus bill, you'd think the American economy is already stabilized, able to breathe on its own, and ready to get up and start walking."
"The patient he diagnosed is nowhere near ready for ambulatory care or physical therapy. Rather, it's struggling to breathe without life support. Worse, it is still in danger of infecting the whole hospital." 02-09
- Editorial: Stimulus Bill a Sorry Spectacle (CNN News)Editorial: Stimulus Bill a Sorry Spectacle (CNN News)
"What a joke. Your Congress has voted to spend almost $790 billion of your money on a stimulus package that not a single member of either chamber has read." 02-09
- Editorial: Stimulus Package for Seniors (U.S. News)
"How about the reinvention of our communities to fit the needs of an aging population? That's an infrastructure program even more important than repairing bridges, sewers and roads. By spending billions of dollars to stimulate the economy today, we will improve the way society supports our parents and grandparents tomorrow. Let's call it the Sustainability for Seniors Act (think of it as the new SSA)."
"According to two academics, Maurizio Antoninetti and Mario D. Garrett, 'Communities are not prepared for an aging population, especially in the areas of transportation, housing, land-use planning, public safety, parks and recreation, work force development and volunteerism/civic engagement.' 02-09
- Editorial: The Stunted Economic Stimulus (Newsweek.com)
"The case for a huge stimulus, which I support, is that it's insurance against the possibility of a devastating downward economic spiral. Spending and confidence are tumbling worldwide. In the fourth quarter of 2008, the U.S. economy contracted at a nearly 4 percent annual rate. In Japan, the economy fell at a nearly 13 percent rate; in Europe, the rate was about 6 percent. These are gruesome declines. If the economic outlook is as bleak as Obama says (and it may be), there's no reason to dilute the upfront power of the stimulus. But that's what Obama's done."
"His political choices compromise the program's economic effectiveness. Let's start with the numbers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that about $200 billion will be spent in 2011 or later—well beyond when it will do the most good." 02-09
- Warning: Stimulus Spending Lacks Sufficient Oversight (ABC News)
"The GAO study asserts that officials from most of the states surveyed 'expressed concerns regarding the lack of Recovery Act funding provided for accountability and oversight. Due to fiscal constraints, many states reported significant declines in the number of oversight staff -- limiting their ability to ensure proper implementation and management of Recovery Act funds.' " 04-09
- -Stimulus Funds Usage by State (Foundation for Change)
Provides the number of jobs created or saved by the Recovery Act, workers receiving the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, additional children with health care, and students aided by the American Opportunity Tax Credit, by state. 04-09
|