New Cost Estimate for Economic Stimulus/Spending Bill
Posted by Jim Harper, February 13, 2009 at 12:39 pm
The Congressional Budget Office has produced a cost estimate for the conference agreement on H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - the version of the bill being debated in both the House and the Senate today.
Our number crunching comes up with the following results: The bill costs the average U.S. family about $3,300, and it raises the national debt by about $7,700 per family.
Let’s go through that.
The bill spends about $5,500 per family, or $1,750 per person.
It reduces taxes by about $2,200 per family, or $700 per person.
Total cost (using our methodology): $3,300 per family, or $1,050 per person.
Added to national debt: $7,700 per family, or $2,450 per person
These are net present value figures. That means the value today of the spending and tax reductions in the future. In terms of spending, for example, it’s the amount you would have to put in the bank today to fund spending over the next ten years (which is as far as the cost estimate goes). And for tax reductions, it’s the value today of tax savings that will accrue over the next ten years.
washingtonwatch.com
cato-at-liberty.org |
