The $787 Stimulus PlanPresident Barack Obama passed his $787 billion stimulus plan in February of 2009. This plan was to strike the Great Recession at the heart. However, it was not intended to immediately stop the Recession, but rather reduce the damage it has done to the economy. The stimulus plan would reduce unemployment and give financial aid to them, secure marketing for housing and auto, tax credit, and energy.
Unemployment and financial aid: America's unemployment rate at the time was just above 9%. The stimulus plan involved unemployment benefit checks weekly, so the unemployed would have no financial problem until they were employed again. These checks ranged from about $195 in Mississippi to about $425 in Hawaii. Once a worker would become unemployed, they would receive benefit checks for up to 26 weeks, some unemployed were eligible to receive checks for up 33 weeks. Taxation of these benefits would be suspended for up to $2,400. This cut a lot of slack for the unemployment. Housing Market and Auto Market: The stimulus plan for this part involved tax breaks for first time purchases of either a home or a car. First time home buyers would receive up to $8,000 tax credit, and they didn't have to repay the government. First time car buyers would be able to deduct the purchase's tax from a taxable income. Taxes: A key element to the stimulus plan would have a $400 to $800 tax credit to single taxpayers with adjusted growth incomes (AGI) of $75,000 to $95,000 and married couples with AGIs of $150,000 to $190,000. Retirees who have Social Security and disability benefits would receive $250 tax credits. Parents of college students would also be eligible to claim tax credits of up to $2,500. Energy: The stimulus plan provided about $50 billion of making a clean-energy future and had extra money or tax credits for homeowners weatherizing their homes and car buyers buying hybrids. Car owners who have a plug-in hybrid are eligible to have a tax credit of $7,500. For homeowners who weatherize their homes can save up to about $350 of energy consumption. |
Summary:
The Great Recession or aka "The Financial Crisis" was one of the worst economic disasters since the Great Depression. It started in 2008 when the stock market started to crash. It got worse in 2009. Following that unemployment began to rise, house prices were rising and mortgage was dropping, consumer prices were rising, banks had lent too much money, etc. This seem like to be like the Great Depression. President Barack Obama introduced two stimulus plans, a $1 trillion in January, and a $787 billion in February. The $1 trillion stimulus package had almost no affect on the Recession, so says most of Americans who had been interviewed about the stimulus plan. The $787 billion plan had more affect on the Recession. However, it wasn't a big enough affect on the Recession. It was more successful, but not successful enough if people don't notice a big change. It continued until around the end of 2011 when the stock market and other sectors had stabilized and unemployment finally went below 8%. |