A friend recently asked me if I knew where she could read the 2009 Stimulus Bill – also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – or H.R. 1.

After a little searching of one of my favorite sites, OpenCongress, I was able to locate the full text version of the bill.

I will warn you, reading then entire bill might take some time.  According to my computer, when I select print preview, the bill is more than 450 pages long.  I do not have enough ink in my printer to print out a 450 page document, nor do I have the inclination to keep a hard-copy record of this behemoth in my house.

It will be very interesting, over the course of the next several years, to observe the long-term impact of this single, mammoth bill.  Personally, I would like to see our country move in a different direction, towards a smaller, much more efficient government, but that ship, at least for the time being, has sailed.

The House and Senate continue to discuss the fate of a proposed economic stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009.  Currently, the House version of the bill includes $825 Billion dollars worth of new spending and tax cuts.  The Senate version, as of yesterday, now has a price tag of $887 Billion dollars.

I’m trying to wrap my head around just how much $887 Billion dollars really is, and I’m not alone.  My pal Frugal Dad ran the numbers, and I strongly urge you to read his article about how long it would take to spend $887 Billion dollars, at a rate of $1 Million dollars per day.  Before you read his article, please be seated, because you might faint.

After reading Frugal Dad’s article, I grabbed my handy calculator, did a few Google searches, and I’ve come up with some pretty staggering numbers of my own.

According to the most recent estimates, there are 303 Million United States Citizens.  If the Senate version of the bill passes, the one that calls for $887 Billion dollars in new spending and tax cuts, that would equal $2,927 per United States Citizen.  This amount is in addition to all existing tax liabilities.

It looks like the bill, in some shape or form, is going to pass both houses of Congress and then be signed into law by President Obama.  Personally, my brain almost went numb as I read through this press release from the House Appropriations Committee.  I will not overwhelm you with details, but I strongly urge you to read the press release, which needed 13 pages just to summarize all of the new spending.

I would love to read your comments.  Are we moving in the right direction?  Do we have a choice?  Are there better alternatives?

One of my personal finance heroes, and nationally syndicated talk show host, Dave Ramsey, has posted an alternative to the $700 Billion dollar bailout plan.

Click here to view Dave’s Three Steps To Change The Nation’s Future.

Dave has created a Common Sense Fix (PDF) for how to get out of the current crisis.  Here’s one suggestion that really caught my attention -

B. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.

a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.

b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower-again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives.

What do you think?  Is Dave on to something here?

Big thanks to Imelda for sending me the link to Dave’s plan.

The House of Representative has voted against the $700 billion dollar bailout bill… for now.  207 members voted yea and 226 voted nae.  The bill, however isn’t dead, just yet.  The voting has remained opened, tabled for a time.

It’s amazing to see who is for and who is against the bill.  Personally, I never wanted the bill to pass, because I believe in small government, but I know others, who don’t mind government intervention, who oppose the bill for completely different reasons.

It’s going to be very interesting to see if a different version of the bill passes.

Later today, I’ll check the U.S. Congress Votes Database, over at the Washington Post, to see how my representatives voted.