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NEWS ABOUT: economic stimulus package

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(Newser) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when... More »

Congress Extends Credit for First-Time Home Buyers

Also adds 20 weeks of jobless benefits

(Newser) - The House voted to extend and expand an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers as part of a stimulus expansion expected to inject $45 billion into the economy. The legislation, which passed the Senate yesterday, also extends unemployment benefits for 20 weeks and creates tax breaks for businesses... More »

Credit Stimulus for 650K Jobs: White House

Directly or indirectly, $150B spent has had great effect, report says

(Newser) - The economic stimulus package has already created or saved at least 650,000 jobs, the White House said today, even though just $150 billion of the $787 billion has been spent. And the number of jobs is closer to 1 million if it includes positions added indirectly, according to the... More »

US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising

... and it's still rising faster than before recession

(Newser) - News that the US gross domestic product jumped 3.5% in the third quarter cheered investors and others, but the cheers will ring hollow if unemployment keeps rising, John Authers writes. Consumer spending rose even as disposable income fell—“ not a pattern that can be sustained for long, and... More »

Golf Carts—Sorry, LSVs—Win Big in Stimulus

Electric car credit goes to street-legal carts

(Newser) - The federal government really wants to buy you a golf cart—as long as you don’t call it a golf cart. The stimulus contains a tax credit of up to $7,500 for anyone buying an electric vehicle, provided it’s primarily used on the road. So dealers are... More »

Geithner to Bankers: Crackdown Is 'War'

Treasury secretary tells Wall Street it must accept regulation

(Newser) - Tim Geithner had tough words for Wall Street bankers yesterday, telling the financial industry's annual conference that they had no credibility to protest new regulation. The Treasury secretary said government had a responsibility to crack down on dangerous practices on the Street and design new laws allowing seizures of institutions... More »

Record $1.4T Deficit Imperils Recovery

Gap dwarfs FY2008 figure, spells trouble for new stimulus plans

(Newser) - The federal deficit in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 was $1.4 trillion, lower than projected but still a record. At 10% of GDP, the figure is the largest since 1945, when the deficit was 21.5% of GDP. The figure made public today coincides with early rumblings... More »

Obama's Stealth Stimulus: $250 Checks to Seniors

With social security stagnant, Obama proposes payment to elderly

(Newser) - Seniors won’t be getting a boost in their Social Security benefits this January, but President Obama tried to head off that announcement yesterday by encouraging Congress to give them all a one-time $250 check. The administration sees these payments, which would cost the government about $13 billion, as another... More »

Education Cuts Will Stunt Economy

Congress needs to get states cash to keep universities healthy

(Newser) - Education has been the most important component of America's economic success over the past 150 years, writes Paul Krugman—that is public education. But after 30 years of Reaganite opposition to public spending, we've seen a "slow-motion erosion" of America's educational standing, until what we think is the "... More »

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?

American protectionism worries our northern neighbor

(Newser) - Canada’s biggest problem now also happens to be its best friend: America. PM Stephen Harper once worried that Canada’s “special relationship” with the US had been lost under George W. Bush—and it hasn’t improved a bit under Obama, writes Luiza Ch. Savage in Macleans. Not... More »

Put New Stimulus to Work for Unemployed

Painful 'new normal' isn't good enough

(Newser) - Economists are buzzing about a "new normal" of higher unemployment and wage stagnation post-recession, but Americans shouldn't resign themselves to a mediocre economy, writes Harold Meyerson. Downturns triggered by banking crises usually cause higher rates of unemployment for longer periods than normal downturns, but the cycle can be broken... More »

Obama Mulls Tax Cuts, Spending to Goose Economy

Grim jobs outlook spurs talks on new stimulus measures

(Newser) - The Obama administration is examining new ways to boost the economy amid troubling unemployment statistics. The White House and Democratic leaders in Congress are considering strategies that include new transportation spending and an extension of tax credits for first-time homebuyers and small businesses struggling with operating losses. A proposal to... More »

Recession's Over, Need for More Stimulus Isn't

Job market needs big improvements now to avoid a troubled future

(Newser) - The recession may technically be over but that's no reason for policymakers to start hanging up "Mission Accomplished" banners, writes Paul Krugman. Getting complacent about the state of the economy will result in a vast amount of human misery, he says, because the job market is still terrible and... More »

Biden Stunned Stimulus Is Working So Well

VP: 'If it doesn't work, I'm dead'

(Newser) - The $787 billion economic stimulus package is working better than expected, Joe Biden said yesterday in a conference call with state governors. “In my wildest dreams, I never thought it would work this well,” Biden said. “Thank you, thank you.” Biden held  the conference—which included... More »

Obama Set to Bankrupt US, Appease Foes

Wrongheaded policies to be on display at UN, G20 meetings

(Newser) - President Obama's agenda can be summed up as "beggar thy neighbor, bankrupt thy country, and appease thy foe," as can be seen in his plans for summit meetings this week, Bret Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal. The president chairs a UN Security Council meeting on... More »

States Ignoring $5B in Stimulus Cash for Needy

Say they can't afford matching funds, despite benefits

(Newser) - About half of US states are passing on a $5 billion pool of federal stimulus funds because of a requirement they put up 20% of the money, ProPublica reports. Only 27 states have applied for money under the program, which gives them wide discretion on how to distribute it—some... More »

Manufacturing Drives Global Recovery

US production grows for first time since Jan. '08

(Newser) - The world may be manufacturing its way out of the global recession, with new figures showing a faster-than-expected recovery from the US to Europe and Asia. The Wall Street Journal reports that American factory output is growing for the first time since January 2008, while separate surveys showed expanded manufacturing... More »

States Pass on Stimulus Money for Unemployed

$3.1B sitting unused in federal coffers

(Newser) - More than $3.1 billion in stimulus money earmarked for the unemployed is idling in federal coffers, USA Today reports, because 23 states haven’t expanded their unemployment benefits in order to qualify. Another 350,000 workers could receive benefits if they did, according to one worker advocacy group. But... More »

Why Stimulus Gets a Bad Rap

(Newser) - The Democrats’ $787 billion stimulus package is less popular than ever—even though it’s already working, writes David Wessel for the Wall Street Journal. The case against it is weak: Fed rate cuts hadn’t slowed the recession, already a year-old at that point, making the stimulus an appropriate... More »

Hutchison Kicks Off Bid for Texas Governor

Texas senator says Rick Perry has had his chance

(Newser) - Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced her bid for Texas governor today and began a 5-day string of stumping appearances around the state, the Dallas Morning News reports. Talking at her old high school, Hutchison attacked fellow Republican Gov. Rick Perry for allowing property tax rates to rise and for failing... More »

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