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Where the money is going

In case you're wondering where all that "stimulus" money is likely to go, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee - Democrat David Obey of Wisconsin - has laid it all out in an easy-to-read executive summary (PDF). (NOTE: Like many political documents, this one has a certain "spin" to it.)

New York Times economics editor Catherine Rampell presents Chairman Obey's spending breakdown in a handy pie chart.

One thing in the stimulus breakdown that is a bit misleading is the number ascribed to "tax cuts." Much of that figure is actually payments to people (perhaps as many as 45 million people) who have no federal income tax liability in the first place, therefore such "cuts" are not cuts in the strict sense of the word.

Details about the soon-to-be-introduced tax measures are sketchy in this news release from House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). But the release does list two tax "credits" designed to benefit people who pay no income tax.

Meanwhile, The Hill newspaper reports that Appropriations Chairman Obey thinks the $825 billion stimulus measure "may undershoot the mark." He suggested that Congress may have to spend even more money to stimulate the economy.

UPDATE: If you'd like to read the stimulus bill for yourself (warning: it's 258 pages), go to ReadTheStimulus.org.

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