Stimulus kept millions out of poverty

[totodeinhere]

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.

Read more: http://preview.tinyurl.com/4vxw89c

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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.

[stubtoe]

1. If they DO see it, they'll just ignore it because it conflicts with their narrative.

Republicans are not very interested in anything that makes the President look good.

[OHdem10]

2. We must keep stories of stimulus working out there. Repeating

them often (we have to learn to play the Goebels game
just as well as GOP.)

[Chemical Bill]

3. My repuke governor cut rich peoples taxes...

and used stimulus money to save state jobs, temporarily.

Bill

[MrsBrady]

4. the stimulus provided for a COBRA subsidy, which we ARE STILL USING

my husband was laid off during the time period indicated in the stimulus package so we qualified for the cobra subsidy.
WHAT A RAY OF LIGHT in such a dark time for us.
Not only had he just been laid off in the spring 2010...
I was already unemployed as I had gone back to college and had just graduated in December 09.
So from March to August we had no income, at all. I finally found work just in October.

my husband was able to find a job, but we have no major medical available through is new employer.

I will eventually be full time in my new job, but for now I am part time. (can't give more explanation than that here)

We still have health insurance because our premium, while high, is doable at 400 per month instead of 1300, which we could do...but it would be very very very squeaky.
the coverage is good, with no deductible and very low copays.

The subsidy will run out in August for us, but we will still have 3 months of Cobra available at the full rate after that.
And I think the state we live in will extend cobra another 6 months after the federal law runs out. (and if I was reading it right, I think spouses and dependents can get even more time with group coverage through the state law)

Also, even though it would still be expensive private heath insurance, after the group coverage/cobra expires....the insurance company still has to offer us insurance without a pre-existing exclusion because we've been continuously covered. It will probably be really really really expensive, but at least we can get it.

So right now we are doing way better than it would be otherwise. We have the subsidy through August.
I will eventually be full time in my job, but until then we can AFFORD insurance, get our meds, stay healthy.
And if Cobra runs out for us, we at least can GET coverage.

Would I prefer medicare for all -- hell yes.

But I am very aware that this one cobra subsidy has made the last few months much much easier to bear. And I thank Obama, Pelosi and Reed, every time I make that payment to my cobra servicer for our insurance.

Many people have come through the Shrub bs broken and homeless. We feel like, even though it has not been easy, we just got a few
bumps and bruises compared to what would have been without this stimulus help.

[ipaint]

5. It prevented more people from falling into poverty.

For people in in poverty it didn't do much, certainly didn't lift them out of poverty. We are still in a depression down here at the bottom.