The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated "ARRA", is a stimulus bill which was proposed and passed by President Barack Obama and the 111th Congress of the United States exactly one year ago. What better way to examine the effectiveness of ARRA than giving it a one-year checkup? According to Wikipedia's page on ARRA, the extended title of the bill is "An act making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local governments." This effectively and concisely sums up the general aims of the bill, which was signed into law on February 17, 2009. While some say that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is irresponsible spending yet again by the government, if you look at the facts, it's clear this is far from the truth.
[...] Mark Zandi of Moody's Investment Services states: Increased infrastructure spending is also a particularly effective way to stimulate the economy included in the House stimulus plan The boost to GDP from every dollar spent on public infrastructure is large—an estimated $ 1.59 there is little doubt that the nation has underinvested in infrastructure for some time, to the increasing detriment of the nation's long-term growth prospects. (2009) Technology is another one of the biggest areas primed for expansion from ARRA. [...]
[...] This is a critical turning point in our future as a nation and if we do nothing to promote the growth of the seed ARRA has sown, all will be for naught and we will be worse off than before. As Moody's states, “Implementation of the House Democratic fiscal stimulus plan in early 2009 would provide a substantial benefit to the economy. The stimulus will not keep the downturn from becoming the worst since the Great Depression, but it will ensure that the current episode remains a recession and not a depression.” (2009) If we are to avoid a total collapse of not only our economy, but our nation as a whole, we need to foster development in all sectors and make plans for the future. [...]
[...] (gpo.gov) Breakdown of ARRA Benefits In order to achieve these goals, $787 billion has been set aside for various areas and projects. Nowadays numbers like this don't faze anyone for a second, but as Crossman, Kneip, and Wilkins of McKinsey Quarterly point out: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 represents the largest government intervention in the US economy since the New Deal. The total cost comes to a towering 5.4 percent of GDP—almost equal to federal expenditures on everything but military and mandated social programs during 2008. [...]
[...] I feel as if this is a side benefit that no one really looks at due to the fact that it is obscured by the sheer financial impact that the stimulus bill is creating. By allowing the public to see exactly where the money from the ARRA is going, the populace will begin to trust the government at levels we haven't seen in decades, some would say centuries. Is ARRA the Answer? In closing, while the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has not only provided millions of jobs, stimulated the economy, jumpstarted the energy and technology sectors, and resurrected our dying infrastructure, it is not the permanent solution. [...]
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