In the U.S., the economy periodically rises and falls in a business cycle that is measured by fluctuations in real GDP and other macroeconomic variables. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the federal agency that determines when the downturn is sufficient to be called a recession.
When the economy falls, the federal government often passes legislation designed to stimulate the economy or legislation to ease the pain of unemployment. As you can see from these examples, there is very little new under the Congressional stimulus package sun.
The big question: are Congressional spending plans too little too late or do they achieve their goals? Look at the dates and data, and then tell me what you think.
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