Obama

December 19 - President-elect Obama is now considering a stimulus plan as large as $850 billion, according to the Washington Post. The package would likely include at least $100 billion in aid to state governments, and $350 billion for investments, including infrastructure, alternative energy, health IT, as well as food stamps and unemployment benefits. The package would also include large middle-class tax cuts--likely in the form of a rebate--and may also offer tax credits for job creation. The incoming administration is hopeful that a package could be ready for Obama to sign in the first days of his presidency.

December 5 - Today at noon, the New America Foundation (NAF) will host an event on Social Policy After the Economic Crisis. The event will include panels on Entitlement, Workforce, and Health Care issues, and will feature a number of experts from NAF and other think tanks, as well as Democratic Party Platform writer Karen Kornbluh. According to NAF:

While all eyes remain focused on Wall Street's daily rollercoaster ride, America has entered the era of the trillion dollar deficit and its social safety net is strained to capacity. The bursting of the credit and housing bubbles will be felt far beyond the economic policy arena. It will heighten the need for a comprehensive rethinking of the policies and institutions that make up the social contract, which had for decades enabled economic mobility and a broadly-shared American prosperity.

RSVP to attend the event in person, or watch the video below from 12:00 to 3:15.