Under the new plan, tax credits of up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples would begin to phase out at lower income levels than first proposed, saving the government $2 billion.
The biggest cut, roughly $40 billion in aid to states, was likely to spur a fierce fight in negotiations with the House over the final bill. Many states, hit hard by the recession, face wrenching cuts in services and layoffs of public employees as they struggle to comply with laws requiring them to balance their budgets...
In addition to the large cut in state aid, the Senate agreement would cut nearly $20 billion proposed for school construction; $8 billion to refurbish federal buildings and make them more energy efficient; $1 billion for the early childhood program Head Start; and $2 billion from a plan to expand broadband data networks in rural and underserved areas.
... Ms. Collins said she believed the changes had significantly improved the measure. Mr. Specter said that while he still had reservations, he had come to accept Mr. Obama’s push to enact the economic plan by mid-February. “I believe we do have to act,” Mr. Specter said, “and under the circumstances this is the best we can do.”
An economic advisor might have explained to Sens. Collins and Specter that 1. during a recession poorer people are more likely to spend and less likely to save checks from the government and are therefore more stimulative; 2. saving the jobs of state employees is quick and easy and stimulative; 3. school construction is stimulative and an investment in the future and refurbishing federal buildings and making them more energy efficient is stimulative and saves money over the longterm. These yahoos wasted our time for these "improvements?!"
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