February 13, 2009

FACTBOX: How U.S. stimulus plan ranks against other programs. I Think Everybody Needs a Little Perspective On This Issue!!!

Reuters.com
FACTBOX-How U.S. stimulus plan ranks against other programs
Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:51pm GMT

Feb 13 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is pressing a $787 billion economic recovery package to restore growth and end a year-long U.S. recession despite Republican reservations about the balance of new spending and tax cuts.

Congress is expected to vote on Friday on the package.

Here are a few markers to compare the scale of the rescue proposal against the size of the U.S. economy, current federal budget and past stimulus plans:

HOW MUCH IS $787 BILLION?

It would make 787,000 people, or roughly the population of Indianapolis, millionaires. Or 2 million people could each buy a home that cost about $393,000. It is also about $116 for every person on the planet.

A $787 billion stimulus plan would represent about 5.5 percent of the $14.3 trillion U.S. economy, which was the size of U.S. gross domestic product last year, measured in current, not inflation-adjusted, dollars.

It is about 1.7 times the size of the largest U.S. budget deficit in history -- $455 billion -- recorded in fiscal 2008.

It also represents about 27 percent of the $2.979 trillion in total outlays by the federal government in fiscal 2008, or about 32 percent of total federal receipts.

If it were given directly to Americans, rather than through a mixture of tax cuts and government spending aimed at upgrading infrastructure, it would be about $2,600 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

IRAQ WAR

Obama's $787 billion plan is roughly 1.3 times the cost of the Iraq war so far, based on a bill that now stands at $595 billion, according to the National Priorities Project, a private non-profit group.

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