Upcoming Economic Stimulus Plan an Opportunity to Green the Economy

Democratic negotiators will reconvene around New Year's Day to hash out final details of the economic stimulus plan, in hopes of having a final bill passed before Obama is sworn in on January 20. Last week, an unofficial outline of the plan emerged. The plan could cost $675-$850 billion, with $200 billion going toward middle-class tax cuts and tax credits for tuition and small businesses, another $200 billion toward mitigating the soaring costs of Medicaid and education, while $350 billion or more could go toward infrastructure, tax credits for renewable energy, increased funding of food stamps and the creation of an extensive technological health database. Vice President-elect Joe Biden defended the plan against criticisms that the plan focused too much on infrastructure projects like highway construction.  The debate over the stimulus has centered on two competing principles: the desire to spend money on what President-elect Barack Obama calls "shovel-ready projects," such as highway and bridge construction, which are likely to involve union labor, vs. spending on more environmentally conscious projects, such as grids for wind and solar power, which some, such as Rep. Baron P. Hill (Ind.), argue won't be able to stimulate the economy as quickly as necessary. Read more in the Washington Post.