The Stimulus worked.

[ProSense]

Whenever anyone tries to counter Repulican claims by pointing out that the stimulus worked, the question that often follows is: "for who?"

It worked for millions of the most vulnerable Americans.

The Making Work Pay Credit was a big part of the stimulus. More than any other policy, the MWPC put money into the hands of low-income Americans.



In 2009, the stimulus also increased funding and restored the SNAP program to a level equivalent to the pre-1992 trend.

Granted that participation went from 30 million to 46 million from 2008 to now. The stimulus increased the allocation and the benefits.



http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/snapsummary.htm

If the increases had remained at even the level from 1992 to 1993, 3.43 percent, the program would be at about $50 million in 2013.

From 2001 to 2013, participation increased times 2.75. Funding for the program increase about times 4.4 during the same period, driven by the stimulus increase.

From 2008 to 2009, participation increased 18.6 percent and funding increased 42.5 percent.

From 2008 to 2013, participation increased 68.7 percent and funding increased 111 percent.

I'd say the stimulus increased funding to an adequate level. It should have remained at that level and indexed to inflation.

The stimulus also increaseduUnemployment benefits by $25 per week through December 2010.
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20090196.htm

Stimulus funding helped Americans with disabilities and seniors.

Obama’s stimulus package aids people with disabilities

By Mike Ervin,

<...>

The first is a one-time additional payment of $250 to people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and other selected Social Security benefits. Many SSI recipients live on less than $10,000 a year, and so this additional income will make a significant difference.

Second, the stimulus package also allocates $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce the processing time for claims and appeals decisions. During the Bush years, the number of people awaiting final determination on their Social Security disability claims more than doubled to 755,000. Many were waiting two years or more for determination, without income. Obama’s allocation should help end this disgrace.

<...>

More creatively, Obama provided $140 million to support centers for independent living. These nonresidential centers are run by people with disabilities and are focal points for services and advocacy. There are hundreds of these centers throughout the United States, providing thousands of good jobs for people with disabilities and others in their communities.

The stimulus package will also invest in the future by providing $540 million for vocational rehabilitation programs, which assist people with disabilities in obtaining higher education and jobs.

- more -

http://progressive.org/mag/mpervin030509.html

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a number of provisions of particular concern to people with disabilities.

•The Act included $500 million to help the Social Security Administration reduce its backlog in processing disability applications;
•The Act supplied $12.2 billion in funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);
•The Act also provided $87 billion to states to bolster their Medicaid programs during the downturn; and,
•The Act provided over $500 million in funding for vocational rehabilitation services to help with job training, education and placement.
•The Act provided over $140 million in funding for independent living centers across the country.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/disabilities

[onehandle]

1. The President should be on the road 24/7 talking about how the GOP slowed recovery since 2010. nt

[edhopper]

2. You should read Krugman today

the stimulus worked and then the Dems ran away from it, making it an economic victory and a political defeat.

[Adrahil]

4. Absolutely.

And I don't get it. We KNOW stimulus works. We KNOW austerity fails. And yet so many Dem politicians try to run away from what they KNOW is the right thing and will, if they stick to it, WORK both economically and politically.

[ProSense]

8. Look at

"the stimulus worked and then the Dems ran away from it, making it an economic victory and a political defeat."

...this thread, it's crickets. They run away or ignore it.

[okaawhatever]

21. The week the stimulus was passed, CATO Institute took out full page ads in the

New York Times, Washington Post and Roll Call signed by 200 economists calling the stimulus a failure, give away, etc. Eventually 600 economists and other business leaders sent a letter to President Obama in support of the stimulus, but that didn't have much of an opposing effect. That letter wasn't read in the court of public opinion. the CATO institute and neo-cons wanted to poison the stimulus forever and they did a pretty good job.

[ProSense]

23. The Anti-Stimulus Economists Bite Their Tongues

The Anti-Stimulus Economists Bite Their Tongues

So, did Obama's rescue package end up working after all? The free-marketeers who rallied against the stimulus look back and realize they had almost no idea what they were actually talking about. And that, yeah, it probably worked.

- more -

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/economist-reflects-on-stimulus-092909

Which party is best for the economy? It's not even close
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/02/1127055/-Which-party-is-best-for-the-economy-It-s-not-even-close

[okaawhatever]

24. Awesome. good to know there is a main stream publication like Esquire shining

light on the subject. Now if we could just get more main stream media on board, maybe people will fight harder to get the next budget passed with it's additional spending.

[PowerToThePeople]

3. 300 bucks a year?

Not even one tank of gas per month. I guess it may be able to cover a fair bit of a bus pass.

Where is that 30k standard deduction idea that was floating around last week?

[ProSense]

5. Is it better than $188 or $141?

"Not even one tank of gas per month. I guess it may be able to cover a fair bit of a bus pass. "

I'm surprised you aren't complaining about the $25 per week increase to unemployment.

Still, thanks for the comment. It's a perfect example of being outside of reality, comparing a significant and effective policy to an imaginary ideal.

"Where is that 30k standard deduction idea that was floating around last week?"

You mean the proposal to overhaul the income tax code and lower corporate taxes to 24 percent?

It's still just an idea (meaning it didn't and isn't helping anyone), and tell me: What would that mean for someone earning $13,000 whose tax bracket goes from 10 percent to 15 percent?

[PowerToThePeople]

6. I am not claiming we should NOT stimulus

I agree that any stimulus is better than no stimulus. I agree that less stimulus is worse. I just think low income people, people on the brink of homelessness every month, or short on food every month, or out of a job if their vehicle breaks down, need more than a few hundred extra bucks a year. It is not the 1960s any more. 300 does not get you much.

30k standard deduction would make that 13k income tax free. that is over $1500 extra a year. That is pretty substantial.

[ProSense]

7. No,

I am not claiming we should NOT stimulus

I agree that any stimulus is better than no stimulus. I agree that less stimulus is worse. I just think low income people, people on the brink of homelessness every month, or short on food every month, or out of a job if their vehicle breaks down, need more than a few hundred extra bucks a year. It is not the 1960s any more. 300 does not get you much.

30k standard deduction would make that 13k income tax free. that is over $1500 extra a year. That is pretty substantial.

...you're attacking a significant amount to low-income Americans, and pining away for something that will have a similar effect.

Their income tax will go up per check, but they will get a higher return at tax time.

The stimulus fund were on top of what low-income Americans see in tax returns with no additional monies coming out of their paychecks.

You are dismissing stimulus by using a proposed overhaul of the tax code.

Do you think the additional $25 per week in unemployment benefits was insignificant?

[PowerToThePeople]

9. Why do you put words in my mouth?

.you're attacking a significant amount to low-income Americans, and pining away for something that will have a similar effect.

Their income tax will go up per check, but they will get a higher return at tax time.

You can adjust your withholdings to negate this.

You are dismissing stimulus by using a proposed overhaul of the tax code.

I was not dismissing anything. I want more for low income people.

Do you think the additional $25 per week in unemployment benefits was insignificant?

No

The stimulus fund were on top of what low-income Americans see in tax returns with no additional monies coming out of their paychecks.

So, this worked similar to EIC? You get back even if you did not pay in? I am not sure I understand what you are saying here.

edit - I am not here to pat people on the back and say "well done." These people, potus, senators, and reps will never have to worry about the day to day survival that the everyday citizen has to deal with. They all have golden parachutes. I am here to raise a voice against what is currently an extreme case of inequality in our Nation.

[ProSense]

11. I did not "put words" in your mouth.

"You can adjust your withholdings to negate this. "

All that does is lower the amount you recieve at tax time.

"I was not dismissing anything. I want more for low income people. "

You are "dismissing" the $300, and wanting more doesn't negate the fact that you're dismissing a significant benefit.

If you don't think $25 a week (regardless of the base income) is insignificant, why are you dismissing more than $300 to low-income Americans?

"So, this worked similar to EIC? You get back even if you did not pay in? I am not sure I understand what you are saying here."

The point is that returns were increased beyond the standard by the credit.

Oh, and by the way, the stimulus also increased the EITC.

ARRA and the Earned Income Tax Credit

Update May 31, 2013 — This page has been updated to reflect the fact that the EITC changes under ARRA, which were to expire at the end of 2012, were extended through December 2017 by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

Update Oct. 31, 2011 — This page has been updated to reflect the fact that the EITC changes under ARRA, which were to expire at the end of 2010, were extended through December 2012 by the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010.

The earned income tax credit is a refundable credit intended to help people who work but earn modest incomes. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides a temporary increase in the EITC for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children. In 2013, the maximum EITC for this new category is $6,044. ARRA also increased the beginning point of the phaseout range for the credit for all married couples filing a joint return, regardless of the number of children.

In 2013, the credit begins to phase out at $22,870 for married taxpayers filing a joint return with children and completely phases out at $43,210 for one child, $48,378 for two children and $51,567 for three or more children. For married taxpayers filing a joint return with no children, the credit begins to phase out at $13,310 and completely phases out at $19,680.

These changes applied to 2009 and 2010 tax returns under ARRA, and were extended by the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010 to apply to 2011 and 2012 tax returns. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended these temporary ARRA increases for five years through December 2017.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/ARRA-and-the-Earned-Income-Tax-Credit

[PowerToThePeople]

13. keep dancing... n/t

[ProSense]

14. Lame. n/t

[PowerToThePeople]

15. ..

[ProSense]

16. Yeah, I figured out the level I was dealing with from the first comment. n/t

[PowerToThePeople]

17. I got the last post

neener neener, neener....

[ProSense]

19. Kick! n/t

[okaawhatever]

20. Obama's recent budget proposal includes a massive increase to earned income

credit amount and inclusion of single taxpayers without children.

[PowerToThePeople]

22. That is good to hear.

The poor work hard for what little they earn. I would like to see them keep more of it.

I actually very much dislike how payroll taxes are collected currently. I would prefer that Gross pay and Net pay were the same. I wish ALL payroll taxes came out prior to funds being paid to the employees. Gross pay is just an illusion shown to working people to make them think they are better off than they are.

[JaneyVee]

10. No question it worked. But it could've worked much better with more money.

[ProSense]

12. Yes, and Republicans know it worked

Republicans Slam Stimulus On Fifth Anniversary — But Most Took Credit For It Back Home

By Igor Volsky

Monday marks the five-year anniversary of the passage of the American Recovery Act, President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus stimulus package that invested in everything from infrastructure projects to electronic medical health care records and alternative energy sources. Every single Republican in the House and almost every Republican in the Senate — with the exception of Former Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) — voted against the measure and today the GOP continues to deride the law as wasteful an ineffective.

But as ThinkProgress reported throughout 2009, over half of the GOP caucus praised the effects of the stimulus or took credit for the federal dollars in their home districts and states — despite repeatedly voting against it in Washington D.C. Below is a list of the top 13 stimulus hypocrites:

<...>

TIME’s Michael Grunwald reports that the Obama administration will release a report this week showing that the Recovery Act “increased U.S. GDP by roughly 2 to 2.5 percentage points from late 2009 through mid-2011, keeping us out of a double-dip recession… added about 6 million ‘job years’ (a full-time job for a full year) through the end of 2012…(and) directly prevented 5.3 million people from slipping below the poverty line.” The Congressional Budget Office — and most economists — agree that the law “created higher output and employment than would have occurred without it.”

UPDATE

In a video released Monday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) argued the stimulus “clearly failed,” noting that “unemployment remains stubbornly high and our economy isn’t growing fast enough – proof that massive government spending, particularly debt spending, is not the solution to our economic growth problems.” But in December of 2009, Rubio told NBC’s Tampa affiliate WFLA, “Ultimately I would have accepted those portions of the money that would not have put Florida in a worse position off in the future than it is right now.’” Rubio later clarified his position to the Weekly Standard: “It’s one thing to say you’ll accept the funds from the federal government. It’s another to actively advocate those policies, which I think are disastrous for America.”

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/02/17/3298561/stimulus-hypocrites/

Here's the list of 13 stimulus hypocrites:

1. Paul Ryan requested stimulus funds for jobs in his district.

2. Eric Cantor held a job fair with organizations that received stimulus funds, supported using stimulus funds.

3. Mitch McConnell bragged about stimulus projects, requested more money.

4. John Boehner admitted stimulus funds would create “much needed jobs.”

5. Lamar Alexander asked for a stimulus job grant.

6. Cathy McMorris Rodgers took credit for $35 million in stimulus highway funds.

7. Jack Kingston issued a press releases bragging about bringing stimulus jobs to his district.

8. Steve King claimed credit for highway stimulus funds he voted against.

9. Phil Gingrey handed out giant stimulus checks in Georgia.

10. Kevin McCarthy praised stimulus funding for local courthouse.

11. Louie Gohmert signed a letter requesting stimulus funds for NASA.

12. John Cornyn wrote two letters asking for stimulus funds.

13. Lindsey Graham claimed it would be “crazy” not to accept recovery dollars.

[ProSense]

18. Kick! n/t