In a year of bad news -- with record job loss, hunger, and home foreclosure hitting families hard -- we all definitely need some good news, now and then.   The best news of the year for both families and the overall economy is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (or Stimulus), signed by President Obama in February. Sure, it's not perfect: it could have directly and quickly created more jobs; it could have provided more aid for states, health care, and schools to stave off devastating state budget cuts; and it could have required better data to show how the money is reaching people most in need.  But, in this time of year-end lists, the Recovery Act is the #1 Public Policy of the year (and maybe even decade). This blog kicks off a short series of short posts sharing that good news.

 

The biggest impact of the Recovery Act so far? The 1/3 of the nearly $800 billion Recovery Act that went to *direct* payment to families -- not projects, but pocketbooks. For example, families started receiving:

1. More in their paychecks, through the Making Work Pay credit (up to $400 per person)

2. More on their SNAP card/Food Stamps, now serving 1 in 8 Americans

3. More in their unemployment check ($25 per week), and aid for a longer period of time

Plus, elderly and disabled people on Social Security and SSI received an additional $250 check in the spring. For a complete summary of these and other provisions, see the attached factsheets from this summer: What Low Income Families Need to Know About the Stimulus, and What Low Income Advocates Need to Know About the Stimulus.

 

The result of this unprecedented investment in families? A report released this week says these direct payments are lifting 844,000 people in California above the poverty line:  http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3035&emailView=1 

Say what you will about the too-low poverty line, especially for high-cost California, but this is the new and improved National Academy of Sciences measure -- and, any way your measure it, that's real impact on people's lives, right now. Plus, much of this money (especially those funds targeted to low-income families) is immediately spent in the economy, generating both business for local economies and tax receipts for state and local government. 

 

The only bad news here is that, as the recession continues, the need for help continues. Fortunately, the House is moving ahead with a Jobs bill, and the Senate will do so soon (as soon as it wraps up health care...), so we have an opportunity in early 2010 -- with strong advocacy to the Congress and President Obama -- to win more good news, amidst tough, tough times.