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| Economy |
| Your Simulus Money - Teddy Smiles in The Great Beyond - $17.7b |
| 2009-10-12 |
| Massachusetts has spent more than $4 billion of the $17.7 billion in stimulus funds it received from the US government to help offset budget shortfalls, provide tax reductions, and fund construction projects, saving or creating 27,400 jobs in the state according to a report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Job losses in the Bay State and across the nation would have been significantly deeper without the federal stimulus law, said Noah Berger, executive director of the Budget and Policy Center, a nonprofit research group. The group's report, to be released this week, is one of the first attempts by an independent organization to document the effects of the stimulus on Massachusetts. It said the stimulus helped preserve the jobs of municipal police officers, teachers, and firefighters, while generating jobs at new building and infrastructure projects across the state. By extending unemployment benefits and providing tax credits, it also fueled new consumer spending The report breaks down how the state's $17.7 billion will be spent, including $5.8 billion in tax relief to residents, $5.5 billion for workforce training, education, and energy efficiency programs, $3.6 billion to help fill the state budget gap, $1.9 bil lion for unemployment compensation and other direct benefits to residents, and $942 million in infrastructure repairs and improvements. Only $942 million has been spent on real work projects? The rest is a give away. |
| Posted by:Thetch Crigum3860 |