Jobs and Economy
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[edit] Where do Progressives Stand?
- Developing adequate and fair fiscal policies that will benefit all Wisconsinites, especially low and moderate income populations.
- Wisconsin ought to be a state of opportunity for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation, or economic background.
- All Wisconsinites should earn a living wage
- Retirement security and preservation of social security
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==In the News==Fifteen Opportunities in the Stimulus Bill for Individuals What’s In It For You?
With 12.5 million people unemployed, and economists telling us that number could top 16 million by next year, we should not sit by and see lives devastated by job losses. Each of us should look for ways we can get the economy moving. To help, here is a list of 15 opportunities in the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009, better know as the Stimulus Bill. The 781-page law will spend about a billion dollars a page and nearly $2,600 for every person in the country.
This is the time to find something that is relevant to us, and do what is necessary to, in the words of our President, “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” This is a short list of the top opportunities for individuals.
Jobs ¨ First and foremost this is a jobs bill. Government programs will directly create new jobs in Head Start, road building, the Forest Service, lead paint removal, police work, senior nutrition, Brown fields remediation and others. Wisconsin businesses receiving grants or contracts as a result of the bill and will post jobs as diverse as weatherization to the computerization of medical records.
¨ The bill also provides for worker training for seniors, other adults, youths, and dislocated workers. Separate programs will prepare individuals for careers in areas such as energy efficiency and health care.
¨ Employers hiring jobless veterans and 16-25 year old youths from a high-risk neighborhoods are eligible for a work opportunity tax credit of up to $2400.
¨ Making Work Pay Tax Credit provides a refundable tax credit for 2009 and 2010 of up to $400 for working individuals making less than $100,000 and up to $800 for working families making less than $200,000 per year.
Education ¨ An education tax credit of up to $2,500 for the cost of tuition and related expenses paid during 2009 and 2010.
¨ For students of low income, an increased Pell Grant to $5,350
Homes ¨ First-Time Home Buyer Credit is increased to $8,000 and no payback is required if the house is kept for three years.
¨ Thousands more low-and moderate-income homeowners can reduce their energy costs by getting their home weatherization assistance grants. For example, the maximum income for a family of four has increased from $33,000 to $44,000 and the maximum grant has increased from $2,500 to $6,500.
¨ Residential Energy Property Credit provides homeowners investing in energy-saving insulation, replacement windows or doors, or high-efficiency heating and cooling systems with a tax credit worth 30 percent of the upgrade cost up to a maximum credit of $1,500.
¨ Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit provides homeowners who install solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and windmills also qualify with a 30 percent tax credit with no cap on the credit. For example, a $24,000 investment to make a home solar-powered would generate a federal tax credit worth $7,200.
Transportation ¨ Plug-In Electric Vehicle Credit: Plug in cars, all-electric motorcycles; Neighborhood Electric Vehicles are eligible for a $2,500 tax credit for the first 200,000 plug-in electric vehicles. There is a 10% credit for the retrofitting of a gas or hybrid vehicle to plug-in electric power.
¨ Vehicle Purchase Sales Tax Deduction provides a federal income tax deduction of state and local sales tax paid on new cars and light trucks.
¨ Transportation Fringe Benefits: A business can now provide up to a $230 a month incentive for transit passes or van pooling and deduct it from their federal income tax.
Investments ¨ Bonds: Middle and high-income taxpayers should look again at tax-exempt bonds. New categories are added such as Build America and Clean Renewable Energy bonds and other tax laws are restructured to provide greater tax savings for other bonds.
¨ Loans: Citizens who want to start a new small business or need some temporary help with an existing small business should look to the SBA for a micro loan or a business stabilization loan, or the USDA for a rural business or farm loan.
Did not find anything here? There is much more in the 781-page stimulus bill. For more information on these or other opportunities for business or government see: www.recovery.wisconsin.gov. It shows more than 120 items in a dozen categories. The stimulus bill will not solve everything, but the recession will surely get worse unless we use these and other avenues to put Wisconsin and America to work.
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