Now that the economic stimulus package has been passed in both the House of Representative and the Senate and has been signed by the President, many people are wondering how the economic stimulus package is going to help them. There has been a great amount of speculation about what the economic stimulus package will actually accomplish and how fast the effects of the economic stimulus package will be felt by the general population, but the one thing that many people can agree on is the help is needed and the federal government may be the best solution for that help.
Job Creation
At a time where millions of people are being laid off and being forced onto the unemployment rolls, job creation is one of the most important goals of the economic stimulus package. Estimated to create or save 3 million jobs in the short term and fuel job growth for the long term, the stimulus package provides government funding for infrastructure projects in nearly every state in the nation. The creation of millions of well paying jobs will stabilize the financial future of the people that have few job prospects in this economic downturn.
Tax Breaks
During negotiations with the Republicans in Congress, tax breaks for individuals and companies were added to the economic stimulus package as a way to put more money into the pockets of average citizens and allow business owners to keep more of their profits to fuel expansion and job creation. The taxes for the general public will be seen as a reduction in the payroll taxes that are taken out of each paycheck from an employer. Although the weekly amount seems small at an average of $14 per week, over the course of the next year the average individual will pay around $700 less in payroll taxes.
Housing Assistance
A portion of the economic stimulus bill was crafted to arrest the soaring amount of home foreclosures that are occurring across the country. Massive numbers of foreclosures are occurring in nearly every city in the nation, depressing house values and creating ghost towns in once thriving communities. Many experts believe that without a stabilization of the housing market, a stabilization of the economy can never occur and the mess in the housing market was the catalyst for many of the problems that are occurring today.
The goal of the foreclosure relief provisions of the economic stimulus package are not to reward the people that applied for homes that they clearly could not afford or to reward speculators that made bad bets on the housing market. The provisions of that portion of the economic stimulus package is to help make ridiculous payments caused by skyrocketing interest rates more affordable so that families can stay in their homes and off of the streets. There are a number of different ways that the stimulus package is meant to help average Americans, both in the next few months and for years to come.