The much awaited New Economic Stimulus Package (Second) has been passed by the Obama administration to battle the current economic downfall. With unemployment at its highest level in a quarter of a century, the banking industry is in crisis despite the bailout money given to the sector and the whole economy facing its worst crisis since the great depression 1929, this $ 819 billion stimulus package will give respite to the Americans who are finding it very hard to cope up with the ongoing economic crisis.
The Federal Stimulus Bill mostly emphasizes on spending increases and tax cuts to revive a badly ailing economy. The package includes aid to states and local governments to help them avoid cuts in medical coverage and school funding. The bill also would extend unemployment benefits and give unemployed workers subsidies for health care coverage.
About 3.6 million jobs have been lost since the United States entered a recession in December 2007. The world’s largest economy contracted by 3.8% in the last quarter of 2008 and most economists predict even worse in the current quarter. So the major portion of the tax relief in the bill would go to individuals which include a $500 refundable tax. There is also emphasis for traditional job creating programs such as highway construction and mass transit projects.
Apart from that tens of billions of additional dollars would be distributed to the states, which face the prospect of deep budget cuts of their own. This money marks an attempt to ease the recession’s impact on schools and law enforcement agencies. With funding for housing and other provisions, the bill also makes a down payment on Osama’s campaign promise of creating jobs that can reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
Obama’s Stimulus Package Details and Breakdown 2009
Now let’s have a close look at the whole $ 819 billion stimulus check and see how the money is going to be distributed among various sectors. We can do by breaking it up in to the broad areas in which it is panning to help.
Direct Payments
First of all the stimulus bill’s spending are divided in to direct payments to individuals (includes unemployment compensation or tax credits) and purchases of goods and services, either directly by the government or indirectly in the form of grants to states and local governments.
Now let’s have look how the entire boll amount will be distributed among various sectors
Tax Breaks
The House would pull over around 64% of the entire package or $525 billion in to the country’s economy within 19 months through spending and tax breaks
Health, Human Resources, Education and Labor
In the Stimulus package $91.3 billion has been reserved for these sectors. But most of the funds in this portion would not be spent before September 2010. Only about half of the cash proposed to renovate elementary and secondary schools would be used in the next 19 months.
Medical Provisions
An estimated $ 89.7 billion dollar has been devoted for the medical sector in the stimulus package. Most of this money will be made available between 2009 and 2010.
Tax Credits
An estimated $ 82.1 billion has been reserved for tax credits and the major half of which will be distribute within the next two years
Transportation and HUD
$ 62.3 billion dollar has been allotted to this sector of which just one third will be allocated for highway construction by the end of fiscal 2010.The rest will not be touched now.
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
A total of $ 79 billion in this stimulus package is reserved for this fund which will be administered by the Education Department .The programmed will help the state and local governments to fund education and other services in order to ease the pressure on them.
Miscellany
Some other areas covered by the economic stimulus package are as follow:
$ 48.9 billion is allotted to the Water and Energy sector
$ 47.7 billion for unemployed workers and struggling families
Health insurance assistance for the unemployed will cost $40.8 billion
$ 26.9 billion for Agriculture, Nutrition and Rural Development
Health Information receives $ 20.2 billion
Now I am sure you will have a lot of questions for the government tax man so I am publishing the IRS help line below.
Contacting the IRS By Phone
I’ve listed the phone numbers for the IRS below.
| Description | Number |
|---|---|
| IRS stimulus payment (rebate) questions | 1-866-234-2942 |
| IRS refund questions | 1-800-829-1954 |
| Main IRS Assistance Phone Number Monday – Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. | 1-800-829-1040 |
Expect to wait on hold:
I tried calling up IRS stimulus number but not suprisingly like most other support numbers I was greeted by a nice message that told me the IRS was experiencing heavy calls volumes regarding the economic stimulus/rebate. I didn’t wait to see how long it was going to take. However from other accounts I have heard that you might as well put it on speaker and go about your regular job untill your hear somebody from the other side.
