Whether you read about the Stimulus Package in a newspaper or heard about it from your closest i-banking friend worried about his or her potential $500,000 salary cap, you probably know by now that this is a huge piece of legislation — in significance, implications, and cost.  We are in an economic crisis that is deepening by the day.  President Obama’s proposed salary caps are sending a strong message that the culture of excess on Wall Street must be abated.  And, the plan calls for $900 billion in tax credits, subsidies, and infrastructure spending.

The White House published fact sheets explaining exactly what the legislation will do for every individual state.  For Pennsylvania:

• Creating or saving 151,700 jobs over the next two years. Jobs created will be in a
range of industries from clean energy to health care, with over 90% in the private sector.
[Source: White House Estimate based on Romer and Bernstein, “The Job Impact of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Plan.” January 9, 2009.]

• Providing a making work pay tax cut of up to $1,000 for 4,910,000 workers and
their families. The plan will make a down payment on the President’s Making Work Pay tax
cut for 95% of workers and their families, designed to pay out immediately into workers’
paychecks. [Source: White House Estimate based on IRS Statistics of Income]

• Making 138,000 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 – and 138,000 families in
Pennsylvania – new assistance to put college within their reach. [Source: Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities analysis of U.S. Census data]

• Offering an additional $100 per month in unemployment insurance benefits to
1,056,000 workers in Pennsylvania who have lost their jobs in this recession, and
providing extended unemployment benefits to an additional 156,000 laid-off workers. [Source:
National Employment Law Project]

• Providing funding sufficient to modernize at least 409 schools in Pennsylvania so
our children have the labs, classrooms and libraries they need to compete in the 21st
century economy. [Source: White House Estimate]

Curious about what will happen in your home state?  Download the full set of fact sheets for all 50 states.  Also, please share your thoughts on the plan with us — e-mail us at info (at) penndems (dot) org.