Link 1http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28545581Outline of Obama’s Stimulus Plan:
January 9, 2009 6:50 AM Age: 149 days
BY: SOURCE: MSNBC.COM RESEARCH, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND REUTERS
The Plan
President-elect Barack Obama offered up a few more clues on Thursday about what sorts of programs he would like to see in a record-large economic stimulus package. He intends to invest in energy, education, health care and infrastructure.
His advisers have indicated that the approximately $775 billion package will be spread over two years, with the biggest chunk -- $300 billion -- reserved for tax cuts. The package is intended to spark more consumer spending and generate about 3.2 million jobs by the first quarter of 2011, the advisers say. Details reported so far:
Tax relief
• The $300 billion in tax cuts includes $500 for most workers and $1,000 for couples, at a cost of about $140 billion to $150 billion over two years, the Associated Press reports. The individual tax cuts may be awarded through withholding less from worker paychecks, effectively making them about $10 to $20 larger each week.
Payroll taxes
• Payroll taxes withheld by the government would be cut as well, according to the AP. The break would be retroactive to Jan. 1, and couples receiving the $1,000 tax cut also would keep an extra $80 a month under this provision.
Child tax credit
• More than 5 million American children who are poor would be eligible for a $1,000-per-child tax credit for the first time, according to the New York Times. The tax benefit also would be given to millions more poor children who now qualify for only partial credit, The New York Times reported.
Jobless benefits
• Some $77 billion would be used to extend unemployment benefits and to subsidize health care for people who have lost their jobs, according to the AP.
Jumpstart on jobs
• A substantial amount of money would be devoted to job-creation projects such as roads and bridges and toward long-term goals such as alternative energy programs.
Business breaks
• For businesses, the plan would allow firms that incurred losses last year to take a credit against profits dating back five years instead of the two years currently allowed, the AP reported. One proposal under consideration would give businesses a $500-per-worker break on payroll taxes, according to the Times.
Aid to state governments
• State budgets have taken a huge hit from falling property and sales tax revenues, and governors have urged Obama to help. According to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, the return on that investment is $1.36 per dollar spent.
Adam Posen, an economist with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said helping states bridge budget gaps would help keep teachers and police officers on the job.
Accountability
• The stimulus plan won't include money for politicians' pet projects and will include provisions to ensure transparency and accountability to taxpayers and Congress, Obama officials told the AP. An oversight board would be created to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent. A user-friendly Internet site also would allow people to track the flow of funds, the officials said.
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