If you are in the market for a new car and are in the United States, there are still a few incentives for you that you may want to consider before you plop down $30,000 on your new car.

Obviously the biggest government incentive this year was the Cash for Clunkers program, but just because you missed out on that, that doesn’t mean that the government doesn’t want to help in other ways (as long as you buy your car by December 31st anyway).

When you go to a car dealership, you an typically negotiate a deal. Other than that, you can get a sales tax deduction right now. When the federal stimulus bill was passed at the beginning of the year, any person who purchased a car after February 17th and before January 1, 2010 is able to get a sales tax deduction on their car.

The downside is that the deduction is limited to the first $49,500 of the car’s price and the deduction phases out for those who earn over $125,000 per year or married people filing jointly $250,000.  Once the person earns $135,000 alone or $260,000 for joint filings, the deduction is eliminated.

Sure, you aren’t going to be getting  a huge deduction from this, but something is better than nothing. Because the deduction is only on sales tax, if someone lives in a state that does not have sales tax, the deductions can be applied to fees that the state or local governments impose.

You can also get a tax credit if you purchase a hybrid. Popular cars like the Prius aren’t eligible for the credit anymore, but 2009 models that are eligible include some cars from Chrysler, Dodge, Saturn and Mazda. The credits range between $1,550 and $2,200.

For the 2010 models, the tax credits are a bit more limited. They’re available to mostly SUV hybrids.

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Americans have been worried about the economy as far as joblessness is concerned, still not understanding that unemployment rates are not a leading indicator of the condition of the country financially. President Obama assured America again yesterday, that his recovery plan was on track, even though the time following the signing of the stimulus bill saw recession high unemployment rates and another large drop in the market.

The President admitted he is also not satisfied with the progress we’re seeing so far, indicating that his administration will be fast tracking the plans detailed in the stimulus plan, hoping to give another glimmer of hope to Americans who are exasperated, at the very least, with the state of the economy. The Obama administration also admitted that they have so far only spent $44 billion, or 5 percent, of the $787 billion stimulus package, the largest economic stimulus in American history, and arguably one of the largest financial bills in American history.

Obama claims that, “we’re in a position to really accelerate.” He reiterated his promise to create or save 600,000 jobs by the end of the summer, a claim that will never be verifiable. This is just a “repackaging” of old promises and a rejuvenation of old projects, but hopefully the renewed sense of urgency will be enough to make President Obama’s plans and projects effective.

1.6 billion Americans have lost their jobs since the economic stimulus plan was signed in February, making the White House estimations they have still saved 150,000 jobs rather bleak in comparison. The Obama administration has admitted for the first time that they were too overly optimistic in the forecasting they used to sell the stimulus package to Congress. Jared Bernstein, Vice President Biden’s economic adviser, commented, “At the time, our forecast seemed reasonable. Now, looking back, it was clearly too optimistic. Experts believe the administration is still being unrealistic and that any job creation will be the product of luck alone and not at the large scale he predicts.

Opponents of the stimulus plan have argued since the President’s inauguration that the stimulus package cannot work at all, regardless of forecasting, due to ‘pork barrel’ projects that have been included in the bill and the fact that the federal budget does not include the money it takes to fund the endeavor. Obama is now attempting to renew the country’s confidence in the measures he has taken. He commented, “We’ve done more than ever, faster than ever, more responsibly than ever, to get the gears of the economy moving again…. I’m not satisfied. We’ve got more work to do.” Americans apparently agree, and think he has not done enough. Obama’s disapproval rating concerning the economy rose from 30% to 42%, nearly overnight.

Citigroup will be accepting a $25 billion bailout loan with the stipulation that the government take up to a 36 percent stake in the company. This is proably one of the main reasons for Citigroup’s decision to help out people who are losing their jobs.

The government’s stimulus bill will be changing mortgage terms for some mortagage borrowers that they may actually benefit from.

From the Washington Post:

Unemployed homeowners who may qualify for assistance from Citigroup under the Homeowner Unemployment Assist program include those that are 60 days or more past due on their mortgages or in foreclosure and can pay the reduced amount. Customers must also have a first mortgage loan that is owned and serviced by CitiMortgage Inc. and conforms to government sponsored enterprise limits. The house must also be the customer’s primary residence, with homeowners meeting all insurer and guaranty requirements.

“Our Homeowner Unemployment Assist program is intended to serve as a bridge toward a longer-term solution, helping homeowners stay in their homes and in their communities while they get their feet back on the ground,” CitiMortgage Chief Executive Sanjiv Das said in a statement.

Many workers who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs will find it cheaper to keep that coverage while they look for work.

Right now, most people working for medium and large employers can continue their coverage for 18 months under the COBRA program when they lose their job. It’s expensive, often over $1,000 a month, because they pay the share of premiums once covered by their employer as well as their own share from the old group plan.

Under the stimulus package, the government will pick up 65 percent of the total cost of that premium for the first nine months.

Lawmakers initially proposed to help workers from small companies, too, who don’t generally qualify for COBRA coverage. But that fell through. The idea was to have Washington pay to extend Medicaid to them.

COBRA applies to group plans at companies employing at least 20 people. The subsidies will be offered to those who lost their jobs from Sept. 1 to the end of this year.

Those who were put out of work after September but didn’t elect to have COBRA coverage at the time will have 60 days to sign up.

The plan offers $87 billion to help states administer Medicaid. That could slow or reverse some of the steps states have taken to cut the program.

Source

Here’s the skinny on the higher education portion ($32 billion) of the $790 billion stimulus bill:

The maximum amount a student reieves right now with Pell Grant is $4,731. The stimulus added a measure where on July 1, it will increase to $5,350 and then again to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 school year.

An extra 800,000 students will be eligible for Pell Grant.

There is an increase in the tuition tax credit. The stimulus increases it to $2,500.

Computer expenses will now be included as an allowable expense in 529 college savings plans.

The bill also includes $15 billion for scientific research, which will mostly go to universities.

The good news is that there is still a credit available. The figure, however, is a bit smaller. The new tax credit is $8,000 for first-time homebuyers.

Comments on other blogs such as the Consuerist are angry and sarcastic. Of course no one is happy about the loss of this part of the stimulus bill. Well, almost no one.

This guy has a lot to say about how he felt the tax credit was just an excuse for the wealthy to flip houses.

Investors have been eager for any signals that the economy is set to recover. Supporters hope the bill’s mix of spending and tax cuts will increase consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

But investors are still cautious. Wednesday’s 51-point rise in the Dow is “not a strong statement here,” said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. “More information is what we need. What I mean by that is what exactly has been agreed to with the stimulus plan.”

And Wall Street remains nervous about how, exactly, Geithner’s financial rescue plan will work out: how it will assess the banks, how it will price their bad assets, and how it will recreate a market for those assets.

Investors “reacted to bad news yesterday. There wasn’t more bad news today,” Caughey said. “People didn’t have a good sleep and say ‘Whew, was I wrong yesterday.’”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.65, or 0.64 percent, to 7,939.53.

I think investors aren’t the only ones looking for a signal for recovery, everyone is.
Source

The measure passed in the test vote with 61 yeses, one more than the necessary 60 to go on to the House.

President Obama was on primetime TV last night trying to get support from U.S. citizens for the stimulus bill saying that the recession now is not an ordinary every day recession, but the worst since the Great Depression.

If the $838 billion measure passes, it could be on Obama’s desk by February 16th.

Many are weary about such a large bill because the last time we were told to act fast it was the bank bailout bill and that went horribly with little oversight and little idea about where our money was going. Hopefully, if this bill passes we will actually see some progress.

During the press conference, the Dow’s 300 point gain slipped to around 200. The reason given for the slip was that investors wanted more information about the “economic stimulus bill” that Obama brought up. The Dow eventually regained the points, and then some.