Stimulus kept millions out of poverty, liberal group’s study
saysBy Zachary Roth The stimulus bill of 2009 was intended
primarily to get the economy going again. But according to a
recent study by the progressive Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, it had another major benefit: keeping millions of
Americans out of poverty. That finding comes just as Congress
considers cutting many of the spending programs at issue.
Consider this: In 2008, the number of Americans living in
poverty rose by 1.7 million, to nearly 47.5 million, according
to census data. You'd have expected that number to keep rising
in 2009, as unemployment kept going up, and many Americans lost
their homes to foreclosure. But in fact, it held steady. Why?
According to the study released this month, it was thanks to the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the
stimulus bill. The center found that the bill kept more than 4.5
million people out of poverty in 2009. How? In addition to
funding infrastructure projects, the stimu