...thanks to Democrats and President Obama.

The Daily Kos has a great article about this and the misconceptions the Republicans are using to cover up the facts.

The Recovery Act, which passed a year ago, granted 98 percent of Americans with a tax cut. One third of the Recovery Act was made up of tax credits.

The credits included:

• An increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit
• An expansion of the Child Tax Credit
•  For those who work, the Making Work Pay tax credit offered $400 per individual and $800 per couple
• For those who lost their job, there was a 65 percent tax credit to help cover the cost of health care. The first $2,400 in unemployment benefits went tax-free
• Up to $2,500 under the American Opportunity Credit for students and parents paying for college tuition
• $8,000 for first-time home buyers
• A deduction of state and local taxes paid on a new car
•  Up to $1,500 for home improvements to increase energy efficiency

Today marks the 200th day since President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Vice President Biden, who has been overseeing the Act’s implementation, delivered his first major domestic policy speech as Vice President at the Brookings Institute this morninng, where he gave a progress update, and highlighted voices outside the administration – including Wall Street analysts and academic economists – who have praised the Act’s success so far.

Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, “U.S. Economy Gets Lift From Stimulus”:

“…Economists say the money out the door -- combined with the expectation of additional funds flowing soon -- is fueling growth above where it would have been without any government action. Many forecasters say stimulus spending is adding two to three percentage points to economic growth in the second and third quarters, when measured at an annual rate. The impact in the second quarter, calculated by analyzing how the extra funds flowing into the economy boost consumption, investment and spending, helped slow the rate of decline and will lay the groundwork for positive growth in the third quarter -- something that seemed almost implausible just a few months ago.”

Thanks to the Recovery Act, 95 percent of Americans are already receiving the Making Work Pay tax cut and tens of thousands of teachers, law enforcement officials and firefighters have been able to stay on the job because of the billions of dollars in Recovery Act funds made available to state and local governments. More than 30,000 Recovery Act projects have already been approved.