economic stimulus package

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New 'Cash for Clunkers' Targets Appliances

Feds hope next consumer perk will boost sales

(Newser) - A new federal version of the Cash for Clunkers program will soon target appliances in a bid to convince consumers to replace their leaky dishwashers and grinding refrigerators. The $300 million Cash for Appliances program will offer rebates to buyers who replace worn out appliances with energy efficient models. Just...

This Year's Top Liberal Turkeys
 This Year's Top Liberal Turkeys 
MALKIN GETS FESTIVE
Nov 25, 2009 8:01 PM CST

This Year's Top Liberal Turkeys

Stimulus, President O-bow-ma get top billing

(Newser) - As we await tomorrow’s feast, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin gives us something to gnaw on, running down the year’s top turkeys:
  • The stimulus: The “Generational Theft Act” isn’t even a turkey, but a “Turbaconducken—the heart attack-inducing dish of roasted chicken stuffed inside a duck
...

Q3 GDP Growth More Like 2.8% Than 3.5%

 Q3 GDP Growth More 
 Like 2.8% Than 3.5% 
FUZZY MATH DEPT
Nov 24, 2009 9:29 AM CST

Q3 GDP Growth More Like 2.8% Than 3.5%

Spending and home prices are up, but not enough to help jobs

(Newser) - The government’s optimistic reading of GDP growth in the 3rd quarter was distorted by a pair of rose-tinted glasses, it now says. The Commerce Department has revised its estimate down to 2.8% from 3.5% on evidence that stimulus programs like Cash for Clunkers and the homebuyers' tax...

Obama's Stimulus Finally Gets Some Respect

Warring economists agree that it has helped—if not enough

(Newser) - Economists are still fighting about whether the economic stimulus was too small, or too big and wasteful, but a consensus is emerging, at least, that the $787 billion package, flawed as it is, is working. With a quarter of the money now spent, the New York Times says a broad...

Millions Must Repay Part of Stimulus Tax Credit

Withholding errors mean 15.4M will get smaller refund or owe money

(Newser) - An IRS tax credit designed to lighten the load on recession-addled taxpayers won't work out as well as hoped for about 15.4 million Americans. Because certain minutiae of the new Making Work Pay credit weren’t factored in to withholding tables, more than 10% of taxpayers who file individual...

Dems Switch Focus to Jobs
 Dems Switch Focus to Jobs 
Nov 17, 2009 7:35 AM CST

Dems Switch Focus to Jobs

House aims to have job creation package ready by Xmas

(Newser) - House Democrats hit by accusations they've been focusing on health care at the expense of employment plan to tackle job creation in the coming weeks. There's no consensus on whether the move will come as one big package or a series of smaller measures but Democratic leaders plan to have...

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy
Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy
PAUL KRUGMAN
Nov 6, 2009 6:48 AM CST

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...

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...

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...

US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising
US GDP Jump Hollow if Unemployment Keeps Rising
ANALYSIS
Oct 29, 2009 8:07 PM CDT

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Education Cuts Will Stunt Economy
 Education Cuts Will 
 Stunt Economy 
Paul Krugman
Oct 9, 2009 9:03 AM CDT

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 "...

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?
 Canada to US: 
 Are We Still Friends? 
Analysis
Oct 8, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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