From new research at UW-Madison to new customers for Veronaâ??s Epic Systems to new road, clean water and environmental projects, the federal economic stimulus bill speeding toward passage in Congress holds plenty for Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle and advocates said Thursday.
Those potential payoffs would come on top of increased benefits for unemployed workers, tax cuts for most families and federal aid for schools and health care programs â?? all designed to help struggling citizens and state governments amid the global recession.
“When you dig in to where you can get a big bang for a stimulus buck you end up seeing unemployment insurance and food stamps come up as very critical because that money gets spent,” said Laura Dresser, associate director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. “It gets spent on local things and it does it in an equalizing thing: Those people are spending money they otherwise wouldnâ??t have to spend.”