American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Examples of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in the following topics:

• Evaluating the Recent United States Stimulus Package

  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was drafted in response to the Great Recession, primarily in order to create jobs.
  • The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), otherwise known as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, was an economic stimulus package was signed into law on February 17, 2009.
  • The approximate cost of the economic stimulus package was estimated to be $787 billion at the time of passage, later revised to $831 billion between 2009 and 2019.
  • The Act included direct spending in infrastructure, education, health, and energy, federal tax incentives, and expansion of unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions.
  • One of the primary purposes and promises of the Act was to launch a large number projects to stimulate the economy.

• Stability Through Fiscal Policy

  • A recent fiscal policy initiative in the United Sates was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was aimed at stimulating economic activity through various channels, such as job creation and federal tax credits.
  • This causes a lower aggregate demand for goods and services, contrary to the objective of a fiscal stimulus.
  • Austrians say that Fiscal Stimulus, such as investing in roads and bridges, does not create economic growth or recovery, pointing to the case that unemployment rates don't decrease because of fiscal stimulus spending, and that it only puts more debt burden on the economy.
  • Many times, they point to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as an example.
  • Other possible problems with fiscal stimulus include the time lag between the implementation of the policy and detectable effects in the economy, and inflationary effects driven by increased demand.

• Recovery

  • The objective of economic recovery when in crisis is to stabilize the economy and recapture the value lost using economic stimulus strategies.
  • The 2007-2009 economic crisis has had far-reaching and profound effects on both the domestic and global markets, primarily as a result of the sub-prime mortgage disaster originating in the United States.
  • One of the key components to the crisis recover in the United States is an act called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), put into place by the Obama administration just as the first days of his term were beginning.
  • This act has seen substantial debate, both positively and negatively, as to the efficacy and overall implementation of the program.
  • This graphic demonstrates the different silos receiving government aid within the domestic economy, as a direct result of the American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

• Economic Prosperity

  • In the two hundred and thirty years since the independence of the United States, the country has grown to be a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that makes up nearly a quarter of the world economy.
  • The main policies that contributed to this economic prosperity were a large unified market, a supportive political-legal system, vast areas of highly productive farmlands, vast natural resources (especially timber, coal, iron, and oil) , and an entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to investing in material and human capital.
  • In 2008, a perfect storm of economic disasters hit the United States and indeed the entire world.
  • The most serious began with the collapse of housing bubbles in California and Florida, along with the collapse of housing prices and the construction industry.
  • President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in February 2009; the bill provides 787 billion in stimulus through a combination of spending and tax cuts.

• The Obama Administration

  • The Presidency of Barack Obama began on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States.
  • Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States, as well as the first to be born in Hawaii.
  • In October of 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
  • The goals of this Act (which came to be know as Obamacare) were to provide all Americans with access to affordable health insurance, to require that everyone in the United States had some form of health insurance, and to lower the costs of healthcare.
  • President Obama addressing a joint session of Congress on February 24, 2009

• The Financial Crisis

  • Despite economic growth in the 1990s and steadily increasing productivity, wages had remained largely flat relative to inflation since the end of the 1970s; despite the mild recovery, they remained so.
  • Although there have been extensive aftershocks, the financial crisis itself ended sometime between late-2008 and mid-2009.
  • In the U.S., Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
  • International trade slowed, hurting many American businesses.
  • During the last four months of 2008, one million American workers lost their jobs, and during 2009, another three million found themselves out of work.

• The Stimulus Package and the Occupy Movement

  • As he entered office in 2009, he set out to deal with both.
  • On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession.
  • The act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, and education.
  • Through the act, the Obama administration pumped almost $800 billion into the economy to stimulate economic growth and job creation.
  • Gross domestic product (GDP) growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a rate of 1.6%, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter.

• Resistance to Business Reform

  • The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), signed into law in June 1933, proposed comprehensive reforms to boost industrial recovery.  
  • In the aftermath of NIRA's failure, the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA; known also as the Wagner Act) was passed.
  • Politicians affiliated with the business also opposed NLRA, most notably members of the American Liberty League, a non-partisan organization that gathered Republicans, Democrats, and business leaders opposing the New Deal.
  • While organized labor largely lauded NLRA, the American Federation of Labor accused NLRB of favoring practices employed by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
  • Contrast opposition to the National Industrial Recovery Act with opposition to the National Labor Relations Act

• Neglected Americans and the New Deal

  • The New Deal embraced the existing racial and gender inequalities and offered limited opportunities to African Americans and women.
  • The 1933 National Recovery Administration, the main First New Deal agency responsible for industrial recovery, had hardly anything to offer to African Americans as National Industrial Recovery Act's (NIRA) provisions covered the industries, from which black workers were usually excluded.
  • Similarly, the original version (later amended) of the 1935 Social Security Act did not provide old-age pensions for farm and domestic workers.
  • The Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 provided affordable loans to tenant farmers in order to purchase land but relatively few African Americans benefited from the Act's provisions.
  • The 1933 National Industrial Recovery Act, the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, and the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act all excluded agricultural and domestic workers.

• From Protectionism to Liberalized Trade

  • At the beginning of the republic, for instance, statesman Alexander Hamilton advocated a protective tariff to encourage American industrial development -- advice the country largely followed.
  • U.S. protectionism peaked in 1930 with the enactment of the Smoot-Hawley Act, which sharply increased U.S. tariffs.
  • The act, which quickly led to foreign retaliation, contributed significantly to the economic crisis that gripped the United States and much of the world during the 1930s.
  • Following World War II, many U.S. leaders argued that the domestic stability and continuing loyalty of U.S. allies would depend on their economic recovery.
  • U.S. aid was important to this recovery, but these nations also needed export markets -- particularly the huge U.S. market -- in order to regain economic independence and achieve economic growth.