Washington’s House of Representatives just passed HB 1, the massive government spending package that’s been prescribed to prime our economy with a big infusion of cash.
The bill’s primary objective is getting money out of the Treasury and into American payrolls. But President Obama has also worked to make the bill a “down payment” on building the next American economy, and the bill includes big expenditures on clean energy, energy efficiency, and innovation in health care.
The Takeaway has been keeping a close eye on the stimulus package’s progress through the Capitol, and their ShovelWatch website is a wealth of information and background stories. ProPublica has also created an interactive map that breaks down the stimulus bill by category, as differently-sized blocks. Tax relief for individuals gets the biggest chunk of funds - $185 billion, or about $600 per person.
There’s also aid to states to help with widespread budget shortfalls: $79 billion for general fiscal relief, plus $87 billion for state medicaid programs. If this money were distributed equitably on a per-capita basis, Maine would receive 347.6 million for fiscal relief, plus $383 million for Medicaid (we got these figure by dividing the total stimulus by 300 million - the population of the country - and then multiplying by 1.32 million). In general, there’s a lot of spending that’s focused on shoring up public finances and programs - unemployment benefits, hunger programs, aid to local school districts, etc.
|
Nationwide spending: |
Maine’s share:* |
| State fiscal aid: |
$79 billion |
$348 million |
| Medicaid: |
$87 billion |
$383 million |
| State fiscal aid: |
$79 billion |
$348 million |
| School construction and tech.: |
$21 billion |
$92 million |
| Highways and bridges: |
$30 billion |
$132 million |
| Transit and railroads: |
$13 billion |
$57 million |
*Maine’s share is estimated by dividing the national allocation by the population of the USA (three hundred million) then multiplying by Maine’s state population (1,320,000).
It’s still possible that other states might take precedent over Maine’s needs, which would diminish these figures for our state. But this could be a big lifeline for Maine’s $800 million budget shortfall over the next biennium.
But the stimulus package also looks to make big new investments in new technology: $21 billion for school construction and technology (with a focus on making schools more energy-efficient); $20 billion for health care information technology, which will reduce health costs and improve health services significantly over the long term; $6 billion for wireless and broadband infrastructure; $1.1 billion for intercity rail construction and $12 billion for transit systems (which should help fund new buses, ferries, and vanpools in Maine, plus faster service on the Downeaster and expanded service to Freeport and Brunswick).
GrowSmart has focused its advocacy on the stimulus package’s transportation spending, as a member of the nationwide T4America coalition. Maine’s share of the $30 billion allocation for highways and bridges and the $12 billion allocation for transit would amount to $132 million and $52.8 million, respectively (again, assuming that the funds are distributed evenly among states according to their populations).
The Maine DOT’s list of “stimulus-ready” projects across the state includes a whopping $430 million for highways and bridges, plus over $105 million for non-highway transportation (including marine ports, railroad improvements, new ferries, and busses). Clearly the DOT and local transportation planning committees will have to triage projects and focus on projects that deliver the biggest bang for the buck.
The stimulus also includes some big new investments in renewable energy (a $20 billion tax credit, plus $8 billion in loans and $4.4 billion in R&D funding), electric grids ($11 billion), and energy efficiency ($6.2 billion for home weatherization, plus $11.4 billion for general efficiency projects). Maine’s old building stock makes the home weatherization spending particularly valuable to our state, where weatherization projects have a high rate of return and typically pay for themselves in reduced energy bills within five years. If spent immediately, our $27.3 million share of the home weatherization program could save Maine households over five million dollars this year alone.
