We were going to call this page "The Crumbling Economy" but didn't want to contribute to the alarmism that leads to a, well, crumbling economy. There's no doubt the US financial world is feeling a little shaky these days - but how much the turmoil on Wall Street will have a long term impact on the rest of the economy is still an open question.

Still, the Federal Reserve (the US's lending arm which tries to keep the economy on an even keel) and Congress are not waiting to find out before intervening in ways they hope will cushion any crash. Through interest rate tweaks, stimulus plans, new regs and "bail-outs" they're hoping to give the economy enough bounce to avoid falling into a deep recession. Here we just keep track of their efforts.

Consumerism boost: Congress passed a "stimulus" plan in early '08, doling out $600 checks to most working Americans (low income taxpayers will get $300). With checks starting to arrive in May, economists are hoping consumers will hit the mall (and not the savings bank) to shoot some energy into the economy.

Bills in Brief

Congress kicked off its year working on an economic stimulus plan, but it could get to other business-related bills left hanging from '07 later in the year.

Housing: With everyone blaming the subprime market for turning the economy sour, Congress started last year looking for ways to keep foreclosures to a minimum while taming the subprime market from future excess. It didn't get far, but this year the pressure is on to wrap up a series of bills introduced last year - from expanding federal loans to making it harder for brokers to sign off on risky loans. See our "Housing Jitters" page for more.

Food and Oil Futures: with gas and food prices on heady upswings, Congress is moving to tame commodities' future markets, which some believe are helping to nudge prices up.

what's up

With economists, Wall Street and Americans increasingly leery a recession is on the horizon, DC hustled to put a "stimulus" plan in place to give the economy a little pre-emptive boost.

Not all economists agree a stimulus package is necessary (or would be effective). For those gung-go on an immediate boost, however, "targetted, timely and temporary" was the going mantra on Capitol Hill - getting cash to consumers and producers as soon as possible and with the biggest bang for the buck. Still, there are different schools of thought on what are the best ways to target energy back into the economy.

Facts

Corporate welfare is a favorite whipping post of liberals and conservatives alike. Conservatives say the feds shouldn't give corporations a helping hand but should let them live or die by the hand of the free market. Liberals cry foul at what they see as preferential treatment for corporations over, say, poor families. But what exactly is corporate welfare? And is there any rhyme or reason to the handouts industry gets from "the man"?

Bills in Brief

The new Democratic Congress continues to work on business issues that dogged last year's Congress - at the same time as giving a Democratic twist to new and old issues.