Given the current state of the economy, Whittaker Associates has found that many companies are postponing major business decisions until the Economic Stimulus is passed and major economic action is taken. For this reason alone, it can be assumed that the package will have a very important impact regardless of how, when, and why it is passed.
Below, I have summarized the lengthy proposed stimulus package to concisely show what sectors would benefit from the spending.
Energy
$32 billion: Funding for “smart electricity grid” to reduce waste
$16 billion: Renewable energy tax cuts and a tax credit for research and development on energy-related work, and a multiyear extension of renewable energy production tax credit
$6 billion: Funding to weatherize modest-income homes
Science & Technology
$10 billion: Science facilities
$6 billion: High-speed Internet access for rural and under-served areas
Infrastructure
$30 billion: Transportation projects
$31 billion: Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure
$19 billion: Water projects
$10 billion: Rail and mass transit projects
Education
$41 billion: Grants to local school districts
$79 billion: State fiscal relief to prevent cuts in state aid
$21 billion: School modernization ($15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500; $6 billion for higher education modernization)
Health Care
$39 billion: Subsidies to health insurance for unemployed; providing coverage through Medicaid
$87 billion: Help to states with Medicaid
$20 billion: Modernization of health-information technology systems
$4.1 billion: Preventative care
Jobless Benefits
$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training
$39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid
$20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.
Taxes
Individuals:
$500 per worker, $1,000 per couple tax cut for two years, costing about $140 billion.
Greater access to the $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor
Expansion of the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children
A $2,500 college tuition tax credit
Repeal of a requirement that a $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit be paid back over time
Businesses:
An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two
Bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment
Doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases
Allowing businesses to claim a tax credit for hiring disconnected youth and veterans