The Magnitude and Meaning of the Proposed Bailout: What $700 Billion for Wall St. means on Main St.

from the National Priorities Project:



The Magnitude and Meaning of the Proposed Bailout:
What $700 Billion for Wall Street means on Main Street

NPP Provides Analysis of $700 Billion for Taxpayers

The plan proposed by President Bush and Secretary Paulson for a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street is difficult for most people to comprehend. At NPP, we've been crunching the numbers and offer this analysis of what $700 billion means to taxpayers.

A healthy and productive economy requires substantial investment in affordable housing, health care, education and renewable energy. Taxpayers in the United States will be required to pay $700 billion for the Wall Street bailout. They should also know that for the same amount of money, they could secure the following:

* 51.6 million people with health care for four years OR

* 181.2 million homes with renewable electricity for four years OR

* 2.9 million elementary school teachers for four years OR

* 27 million four-year scholarships for university students

$700 billion is more than what is currently allocated for the U.S. war in Iraq. This amount would allow us to repair all of our nations 77,000 deteriorated bridges and still have $519 billion to spend; or it would allow us to rebuild all of our nations 33,000 deteriorating schools and still have $664 billion to spend. For more analysis and trade-offs at the State and Congressional District level, please visit National Priorities Project's Trade-offs page online (www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs).

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