What is in the 2 trillion dollar stimulus package (otherwise known as the CARES Act)?
Did you say 2 trillion dollars? With a T? Use our CARES Act Budget Explorer to see where the money is going! Brought to you by Costvine budgeting software!
Source: U.S. Department of Treasury
Costvine's CARES Act Budget Explorer is powered by: Anvil
What is the CARES Act?
The CARES Act is federal legislation that was passed to stimulate the economy in response the the dramatic economic slowdown caused by the country-wide quarantine measures put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How does the CARES Act help the economy?
By putting cash in the hands of everyday Americans, extending unemployment benefits, and providing relief to businesses, the main goal of the CARES Act is to keep the economy afloat while so many businesses are shut down.
Here is a good take on it from Senator Rob Portman of Ohio: How the CARES Act helps the economy
Is everything in this bill related to COVID-19?
Well, kinda. The original bill was proposed to be $2.2 trillion, which was eventually brought down. The official cost is now closer to $1.9T (although some loans from the bill will be paid back). However, the "official" cost is deceptive; this bill actually replaced some ongoing stimulus from the Obama-era packages. There were revisions to bills passed from 2008 to 2014 where CARES Act takes on stimuli planned to continue until as late as 2025... This is part of the reason you'll see some non-COVID related funds and grants.
Where's my stimulus check?
I wish I knew! Try checking:Here
Hey! I have some questions about some of these line items!
You and me both! Use the tweet links in the Explorer and tag your questions with bill architects Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) and Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1)!
Where is the CARES Act Budget Explorer data from?
The Costvine team pulled these numbers out of the original CARES Act Bill and from last-minute amendments dated April 17, 2020.
What is Costvine?
Thank you for asking! Costvine is an exciting new budgeting app currently under development by our small team in Southern California. Costvine lets you break down your budget into "vines" so that you can work on manageable-sized sections at a time. Each vine contains items (at the lowest level) or other vines. You can share vines across your team, for example, giving each department head responsibility for his or her own budget.
Any time you make a change to a vine or an item cost, the entire budget is magically recalculated, for all users, all the way up to the top vine.
The CARES Act Budget Explorer on this page gives you a preview of how Costvine will look and feel. No more cumbersome spreadsheet links or formulas! Costvine just works, making beautiful budgets you can share and view!
Sounds great! Where can I get it?
Sign up to our mailing list to become one of the first to use this great new tool when it is ready! Sign up
