Stimulus Package

Stimulus Package

By

Cathy Kendzior

Many states report plans to cut millions of dollars from their current budgets. Plus delay any investments they may make due to downturns in the national economy. Results of these mean many programs throughout the states are bracing themselves for funding cuts or what is called level funding.

The proposed stimulus package or better named the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Can help strengthen some of these existing programs. This is great news for a lot of program leaders and businesses that could use this money. Now many people would say the stimulus package is not a good thing. Basically this package has made it worse for America.

The Stimulus package also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment act. Is intended to put 787.2 billion dollars out there to help Americans get back to work and shorten the recession. This package is supposed to increase the GDP by 1.4 percent and 3.8 percent by the fourth quarter of 2009 the year that it came out.

The stimulus package in 2009 was to create up to 2.3 million jobs. Yet unemployment 2 years later hit an all-time high in some states. 71 billion of that money was to go for green initiatives divided amongst energy conservation and to improve mass transit. Yet a wind farming and windmill technology is just coming out only in some states not all.

Many people don't know that there are provisions in the stimulus package for business to follow. Or that there are items not outlined but yet still there. One of those items is part of the green funding. The original stimulus package included 50 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear industries and 4.6 billion for carbon-capture-and-sequestration for coal fired plants. Both of these were dropped when the House and Senate went into conference. Yet at the end the money for the nuclear industry is gone but the coal-related money did not. The stimulus package still has 3.4 billion for CCS programs.

There are other provisions that are out-lined for businesses. Businesses can write off 50% of the cost of depreciable property acquired in the same year. Yet the limitation is the equipment must have been purchased after Dec. 31, 2007 or before Jan. 1, 2010.

Most businesses with a net operating loss can receive tax refunds under the package. Called carrying back or applying the net operating loss to tax refunds for the previous five years. They also have the choice of carrying that loss forward for 20 years. Yet what happens to paying the government back if the company goes under before these times.

Obama must re-look at what the stimulus package is doing for our country. Twice now the government has had to almost shut down because it has