The recent unemployment numbers got me wondering - what's happening with the stimulus? Most of us who drive have seen the increased construction on the highways. I believe the few billion committed to the Cash for Clunkers program has kick started spending in that area. What of the rest of it?
So I googled a bit, and found this article from ProPublica, a non-profit group of journalists. (Disclaimer, I don't know anything about that group, beyond their "About us" page.) From the article ("Monday" is 8/31, and the actual number from 9/3 is 14.57%):
We’ve updated our Stimulus Progress Bar, which shows that as of Monday, federal agencies had spent just under 14 percent of their stimulus funds. (Our numbers don’t include tax cuts.)
It's been six months since the stimulus was passed. At this rate, we won't see the rest of the package spent for another three years. Three years?! Of course, we have to spend our tax dollars carefully. But this stimulus feels like it's being run by a snail. At this rate, a "double dip" recession may be in the works.
I wish I had the answers - but at least I can present data on what's happening.
Well, to analyze, the stimulus package has to be split into two parts - actual spending and tax cuts.
First, take the tax cut portion of the package. $63 of the 150 billion of that part has been spent. Much of the tax cut component is seen in reduced withholding - so we'll see the majority of that stimulus this year. At least that makes sense.
The spending component is being also being tracked here, based on actual and committed ("In Process") spending. As they note (bolding mine):
The success of the federal stimulus program may hinge on the speed with which the government is able to distribute the billions authorized by Congress. Unlike some other estimates of the cost of the stimulus, which are based on spending projections, we took our numbers from the actual budget authority issued by Congress — $792 billion and change. We'll be tracking the progress of stimulus payments made by federal agencies weekly.
Speed. To help us recover, to forestall that dreaded "double dip" downturn, we need that money spent quickly, not spread out over 3.5 years (since enactment). The link provide a handy chart of current and committed stimulus spending - with links to department websites related to the package.
Here are the bottom line numbers from 9/3:
Authorized stimulus spending: 581 billion
Actual: 85 billion (just under 15% of 581 billion)
In Process: 123 billion
Left to spend: 372 billion
OK, we have a lot more spending "In Proccess," in other words, committed to specific contracts, etc. So that is coming soon. (I don't know how soon.) But the "Left to Spend" number bothers me. We need that money stimulating the economy now! I wish I had a bit more time to delve into individual department numbers, but wanted to at least share these sources of information with the community.
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Just wanted to add, I appreciate the excellent explanations on why it takes so long to commit - and actually spend monies associated with the stimulus package.