By Lee Graczyk
MnSF director of public policy

As we go to press, the 1,071-page, 8-inch-thick federal stimulus bill has been signed. The measure combines $281 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses with more than a half-trillion dollars in government spending. The money would go for infrastructure, health care and help for cash-starved state governments, among scores of programs. Some seniors will get a $250 bonus Social Security check. 

As the nation focuses on passage of a stimulus plan, Minnesotans are wondering what it means for Minnesota. The White House released state-specific details on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. The administration is claiming the resources brought to Minnesota under the plan will:

• Create or save 70,000 jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a range of industries from clean energy to health care, with more than 90 percent in the private sector. [Source: White House Estimate based on Romer and Bernstein, “The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.” Jan. 9, 2009.]
• Provide a Making Work Pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 2,120,000 workers and their families. The plan will make a down payment on the President’s Making Work Pay tax cut for 95 percent of workers and their families, designed to pay out immediately into workers’ paychecks. [Source: White House Estimate based on IRS Statistics of Income]
• Make 41,000 families eligible for a new American Opportunity Tax Credit to make college affordable. By creating a new $2,500 partially refundable tax credit for four years of college, this plan will give 3.8 million families nationwide - 41,000 families in Minnesota - new assistance to put college within reach. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Census data]
• Provide an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to 331,000 workers in Minnesota who have lost their jobs in this recession, and provide extended unemployment benefits to an additional 52,000 laid-off workers. [Source: National Employment Law Project]

In addition to this immediate assistance for Minnesota, the administration claims the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will help transform our economy by:

• Doubling renewable energy generating capacity over three years, creating enough renewable energy to power 6 million American homes.
• Computerize every American’s health record in five years, reducing medical errors and saving billions of dollars in health care costs.
• Enact the largest investment increase in our nation’s roads, bridges and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s.

While there are those who question the overall merit of the proposed plan, the administration has given citizens of Minnesota the means to judge the results, and as is most often the case, time will tell the story. The White House has set up a website, Recovery.gov, that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. It provides different ways to search for information. As money is being distributed by various federal agencies, you’ll be able to see where it’s going - to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which federal contractors. As soon as the information becomes available you’ll be able to track all expenditures. The site will also display the information visually in maps, charts and graphics.