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Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
Tax rebates were created by the law. These rebates alotted between $300 and $1200 for each family depending on amount of children and income level. This law's approximated cost was $152 billion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Stimulus_Act_of_2008 -
Black-Letter Day
Lehman Brothers go bankrupt: A large financial service firm loses $600 billion in assets, which causes huge economic downfall in real estate.
Bank of America acquires Merill Lynch: A large industry giant and security firm, Merill Lynch, crumbles under the pressure and sells itself to Bank of America. This creates a chain reaction of events in September of bank failures and government bailouts. -
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crisis
These companies are essential to and provide liquidity to the nations mortgage finance system. They purchase and package home loans from private firms and guarantee security. When the market bubble grew, they made bad business decisions and had to get bailed out by the government. On September 18, 2009, Obama announces the Homeowner Affordability and Stability plan which allows the refinancing of lost home mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. -
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The Act, signed by President Obama, provided for direct spending in infrastructure, education, health, and energy, federal tax incentives, and an expansion of unemployment benefits. The total cost of this law is $831 billion between the years 2009 and 2019. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Stimulus_Act_of_2008ry_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009 -
Increase in Poverty Level
The poverty rate was at its highest since 1994 at 14.3%. http://www.dof.ca.gov/html/fs_data/LatestEconData/Chronology/chronology.htm#2010 -
Occupy Wall Street
Crowds gathered in protest against growing inequality and the depressed economy and camped out in Zuccotti Park in New York City's Wall Street financial district. They held banners and rallied against economic inequality.
http://www.examiner.com/article/economic-policy-top-10-events-2011 -
Middle Class wealth decreases by 35%
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Obama International Budget
President Obama’s budget requests $51.84 billion for the international affairs budget. Huge disagreement from the Senate and Congress causes more tension.
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/09/international-affairs-budget-needs-stronger-congressional-scrutiny#_edn1
