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Savings - Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
It provided tax relief for those in the low and middle income areas. It also provided large and temporary tax cuts on households. Those that were below the income limit received $300 per person and eligible taxpayers received an additional $300 per dependent child or spouse which is put in the savings area because it is giving those that need it more money.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billreport.xpd?bill=h110-5140&type=cbo -
Savings - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
It was in response to the Great Recession. It was designed to save money and create jobs- provide temporary relief programs and invest in infrastructure. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) estimated it would positively affect GDP and employment but eventually decrease slightly. http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/02-22-ARRA.pdf -
Budget - The Budget Control Act of 2011
The Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed as a resolution to the debt-ceiling crisis. It mandated budget cuts over a ten-year period beginning with the Fiscal Year 2012. It cut $487 billion from projected defense spending over the next ten years. The act also paved the way for sequestration, which would slash an additional $495 billion from the defense budget, for an overall total of almost $1 trillion in cuts. http://budget.house.gov/budgetcontrolact2011/ -
Trade - Oil Boom in the United States
For the first time in nearly two decades, the U.S began producing more oil than it imports due in part to hydraulic fracturing or fracking. It resulted in an improved oil trade deficit which led to a slightly improved overall trade deficit because deficits in the U.S petroleum trade have been equal to a large fraction of the imbalance between U.S imports and exports. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-07/the-u-dot-s-dot-oil-trade-deficit-has-never-been-lower -
Budget - California Drought
California declared a drought in January 2014. The drought has affected the budget because it has collected $3 billion dollars from 13 different state departments between the years 2013-2016. The Governor’s budget proposal provides $323 million for drought response efforts in 2016–17 which affects the overall budget that the United States has to pay for. http://www.lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3343 -
Leadership - Obama's Released Budget
The new budget was $583 billion. It is likely there will not be enough money to pay for it. Major investments will be in defense. Over the next years these will cost $700 billion dollars. Obama’s $1 trillion dollar plan to strengthen the US arsenal is unnecessary and is a sign of poor leadership that will be problematic for the next president.
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/commentary/2016/02/11/commentary-obamas-gift-next-president-defense-budget-train-wreck/80199380/
