New stimulus numbers are under $1 trillion

The economic team of President-elect Barack Obama is trying to keep the stimulus bill under that “magic” $1 trillion mark, but some say the effort might be all for naught.

Aides of the new leader were hoping it would stay in the billions, because anything higher would cross a dangerous psychological threshold and could prevent the measure from being stalled.

The new numbers now stand at $675-775 billion over two years, but Democrats are likely to add more categories to the aid and inflate the final price. The package would include a tax cut designed to pump $50-100 billion into the economy almost instantly; around $100 billion in aid to state governments to assume more of the cost of Medicaid; and funding in five critical areas: infrastructure, school construction, energy efficiency, broadband access and health information technology.

Most behind the bill are hoping the stimulus package will be ready when Congress returns to action on Jan. 6 so something can be on President-elect Obama’s desk by Jan. 20. However, a coalition of liberal groups and labor unions have announced a major campaign to get the package passed before Inauguration Day, stating that the new president should not have to expend political capital to rescue the troubled economy left behind by President George W. Bush.