Stimulus kept millions out of poverty [View All]

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Source: Yahoo News

The stimulus bill of 2009 was intended primarily to get the economy going again. But according to a recent study by the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it had another major benefit: keeping millions of Americans out of poverty. That finding comes just as Congress considers cutting many of the spending programs at issue.

Consider this: In 2008, the number of Americans living in poverty rose by 1.7 million, to nearly 47.5 million, according to census data. You'd have expected that number to keep rising in 2009, as unemployment kept going up, and many Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. But in fact, it held steady.

Why? According to the study released this month, it was thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus bill. The center found that the bill kept more than 4.5 million people out of poverty in 2009.

How? In addition to funding infrastructure projects, the stimulus bill also bolstered existing government programs that support struggling Americans, and created new ones. It did so because, as we've written, putting more money in the hands of poor people has a greater stimulative effect on the economy, since they have little choice but to spend the money quickly, rather than save it.

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I hope that all of the Republicans who opposed President Obama's stimulus bill last year will see this. Thanks to the president's program passed by the Democratic congress over opposition by most Republicans, millions of Americans did not have to go into poverty. It's another big "I told you so" moment. Of course, many Republicans don't care if Americans are in poverty or not. But I consider this a good vindication for the president.