If the debt ceiling goes up, government spending is most likely going down.
CNNMoney: Stimulus on the cheapupdated: Fri Jul 08 2011 15:12:00
The nation's anemic job market was thrust back into the spotlight Friday after a surprisingly weak report on U.S. payrolls.
Thousands of contractors who got stimulus money to do such things as build roads and provide social services owe more than $750 million in back taxes, a federal investigation has found.
Two years ago, President Barack Obama signed the stimulus package into law, and ever since that day, politicians and political organizations have used the measure as a political football.
In September 2010, President Obama said the stimulus had a positive effect but was not enough and more action is needed.
In their push to downsize the federal bureaucracy, Republican lawmakers are flooding the field with proposals to lower federal spending. But, in a twist, their cuts could hit state and local budgets the hardest.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry likes to tell Washington to stop meddling in state affairs. He vocally opposed the Obama administration's 2009 stimulus program to spur the economy and assist cash-strapped states.
Taxpayers received an average refund of about $3,000 last year -- a 5% boost from the previous year.
The nation's battered state governments face a collective $41 billion budget gap next fiscal year, a survey released Wednesday found.
States and localities are about to kiss a vital source of funds goodbye.
The use of food stamps has increased dramatically in the U.S., as the federal government ramps up basic assistance to meet the demands of an increasingly desperate population.
Sure, the wealthy will make out like bandits in the tax-cut deal, but middle-class and lower-income folks will reap benefits too.
Are you ready to give up $30 a month?
The weak economy and dwindling stimulus funds are behind a rare drop in spending on prisons in many U.S. states, according to a study released Friday.
After months of debate and significant pressure from the White House, the Senate on Thursday passed a $42 billion bill aimed at helping small businesses.
The Obama administration stepped up its defense of the controversial $862 billion economic stimulus plan Tuesday, releasing an analysis that conluded the measure is helping to spark major technological advances in energy production, among other things.
Monkeys on cocaine. New windows for a closed visitor's center. Modern dance as a tool for software development.
Senators McCain and Coburn release a report on the stimulus, pointing out what they call misguided spending.
Monkeys on cocaine. New windows for a closed visitor's center. Modern dance as a tool for software development.
Vice President Joe Biden visited Grand Canyon National Park on Tuesday to check in on construction and maintenance projects being funded by stimulus money meant to help kick-start a struggling economy.
States filled an $84 billion gap to balance their 2011 fiscal year budgets, which took effect earlier this month. But they could collectively face a new $12 billion hole if Congress fails to help cover growing Medicaid costs.
President Barack Obama turned his attention to the ongoing fight against government waste Thursday, signing a bill requiring federal agencies to spend at least $1 million annually on audits targeting improper payments and fraud.
Despite groans from Republicans about high unemployment and the growing national deficit, President Obama's administration continues to say the $787 billion stimulus is working.
There's at least one stimulus program that's creating jobs and winning praise from both sides of the political aisle.
The job market and economy need a serious jumpstart, but the stimulus program likely won't be able to do it.
Flights resumed this week on the longest runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport after a four-month closure for construction to help reduce future flight delays.
The Obama administration's economic stimulus program has allocated $620 billion so far and created or saved at least 2.3 million jobs, Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday.
The White House's $787 billion stimulus plan funded 682,779 jobs in the first quarter, administration officials said Friday.
The recovery is picking up steam as employers boost payrolls, but economists think the government's stimulus package and jobs bill had little to do with the rebound, according to a survey released Monday.
The government's Recovery Act is responsible for between 2.2 million and 2.8 million jobs through the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest stimulus report from President Obama's chief economic adviser.
The lending market for Main Street remains pretty jammed up, but one segment of the credit landscape is recovering thanks to stimulus efforts.
White House officials said Monday that tax credits launched under last year's economic recovery bill have boosted the average refund by nearly 10% from the previous year.
Added incentives for banks to make Small Business Administration-backed loans will continue through the end of March, thanks to a fresh funding infusion authorized by Congress as part of Tuesday's bill extending unemployment benefits.
President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of his controversial economic stimulus plan Wednesday, declaring the $862 billion package an unequivocal success that has created or saved millions of jobs.
President Obama says his stimulus plan was a success and helped keep the economy from falling into a depression.
Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the stimulus bill, and from here on out the pace of spending should pick up, according to administration officials.
Companies will begin slowly adding to their payrolls in 2010, according to an annual White House review of the economy.
A government program that gives consumers rebates on purchases of energy-efficient household appliances is ramping up in states across the country.
It's no wonder unemployed workers are getting discouraged: It's never taken longer to find a new job.
They're not calling it Stimulus 2, but the Obama administration wants to extend the life of several Recovery Act provisions by building them into the federal budget.
The Congressional Budget Office has upped the forecast for the cost of the stimulus package by $75 billion.
Only one-quarter of Americans think the federal stimulus plan has helped the middle class, while a majority say it has helped bankers and investors, according to a new national poll.
The White House's stimulus plan directly funded 599,108 jobs in the fourth quarter, administration officials said Saturday.
One of the most important questions surrounding the stimulus program is also one of the most controversial: How many jobs has it created?
CNN's Rick Sanchez asks Mayor Kasim Reed how the federal stimulus program is helping Atlanta.
In 2001, I came to Braddock, the poorest town in Western Pennsylvania, to serve the community's severely disenfranchised young people by starting an employment and GED program. Their lives were the embodiment of what happened to Braddock and this region: chaos through abandonment.
Rep. Ron Paul joins CNN's Larry King to discuss whether the $787 billion economic stimulus was worthwhile, or a waste.
Just what we need out of Washington: More wind.
Nearly three out of four Americans think that at least half of the money spent in the federal stimulus plan has been wasted, according to a new national poll.
The economic stimulus program has boosted employment by 1.5 million to 2 million jobs, the president's chief economic adviser said Wednesday.
The nation's economy started to turn around after the passage of President Obama's $787 billion stimulus package in February, his chief economic adviser said Thursday.
Now we'll never know just how many jobs were funded by the $787 billion stimulus program.
When the Senate returns on Jan. 19, jolting the economy will be high on the to-do list.
The largest stimulus program in the nation's history is starting to move into a new phase: Out with the rescue, in with new spending to create jobs.
President Obama is trying yet again to throw a lifeline to small companies, this time zooming in on tax cuts for small business hiring and investment as a way to spark job creation.
President Obama on Tuesday outlined a broad new proposal to try to spur jobs and give more help to Main Street consumers and businesses.
The largest stimulus program in the nation's history has created or saved just over 640,000 jobs, the Obama administration said Friday.
Millions of long-term unemployed Americans and their families are at risk of losing their health insurance, as their eligibility for a 9-month health-premium subsidy expires.
State tax collections nationwide plummeted in the third quarter, and the forecast for the remainder of the year looks grim, a report released Monday shows.
So just how many jobs has the $787 billion stimulus package created or saved?
Stimulus may have created or saved 640,000 jobs so far, but many of those positions were never intended to last.
The Obama administration said Friday that stimulus has created or saved 640,000 jobs so far.
A total of 690,000 new vehicles were sold under the Cash for Clunkers program last summer, but only 125,000 of those were vehicles that would not have been sold anyway, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.
Confused about whether lawmakers will extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit and what it would look like?
Creating and saving jobs while boosting investment in the future are among the top goals of the Obama administration's $787 billion economic stimulus plan.
The White House on Thursday unveiled the first hard data on how many jobs the $787 billion recovery act has created.
Is the largest one-time economic recovery effort in U.S. history creating jobs?
In our first 100 days, the Obama administration has presented a comprehensive education agenda -- from the cradle through college -- that protects children and jobs in the short term and invests in the long term by advancing education reform.
After a month of heated debate on health care reform, it's time to play some hardball. As we settle back in to Washington, I am glad to see President Obama step up to bat and reissue and re-energize his call for reform.
People didn't make more money in July, but they were spending a bit more, a government report showed Friday.
The health care industry is poised to realize huge savings by implementing electronic health records systems, but who really benefits is up for debate.
11-year-old Damon Weaver talks about his interview with President Obama.
With all the unique challenges facing African-Americans, identifying just one problem as the most fundamental issue sounds like the beginning of a long, nuanced conversation. It's not so complicated, however, for President Barack Obama. In a recent conversation with reporters, Obama easily cited education as the most important issue for the black community.
The Obama administration pledged unprecedented transparency in its accounting of the $700 billion bank and auto bailouts (TARP) and the $787.2 billion Recovery Act. A lot of information has been made public but there are some key details where the transparency falls far short.
Fast Internet access is a luxury most businesses take for granted these days, but in remote areas of the country, the staticky crackle of a dial-up modem connection remains a familiar sound. A $7.2 billion stimulus initiative aims to expand broadband access and speed up the modem's extinction.
While Washington talks up the importance of small businesses and their vital role in economic recovery, small business owners remain caught in a credit maelstrom.
The federal government will give $1 billion in grants to law enforcement agencies in every state to pay for the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday.
Homeless families in suburban and rural areas jumped by 56% in 2008, according to a government report released Thursday.
Much-needed federal dollars will start flowing to schools in three states in the next few weeks as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
President Obama says work on reforming the health care system "will not wait another year."
President Obama pledged Tuesday night to cure Americans from what he called "the crushing cost of health care," saying the country could not afford to put health-care reform on hold.
Question: How do you apply for a government stimulus grant? And are the stimulus grants I see offered on Web sites real or a hoax? --Laurie, Mount Pleasant, Michigan
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama's stimulus package, could serve as a historic investment in our children's future, an initiative that could very well change the course of our nation.
Question: I purchased a home last December and qualified for a $7,500 first-time homebuyer's tax credit that I must repay. But I now see that the stimulus package is offering an $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit for purchases from January 1 through November 30, 2009 that doesn't have to be repaid. Will I still have to pay back the $7,500 even though I bought my house just two weeks before the beginning of this year? This sort of timing would be just my luck. --Jeremy, West Lafayette, Indiana
The White House released its promised cash infusion on Tuesday to strengthen the transportation infrastructure across America, and began to announce the first recipients of the funds.
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