Can Someone Explain This to Me?

I'm not pro or con,
I'm not right or left,
I'm just confused.

Big Dog got his first American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 addition to his paycheck. $38 extra! WHOA!

My first question was, who does this $38 REALLY make a difference to, and are there other ways we could be helping those people? (If you and I (and him and her and him and her...) took our $38 every month and pooled it all, could we not end up with a really great job-training and placement program for folks on welfare? Could we start a no-frills but quality day care to help working mothers/fathers? Maybe we could send every corporate CEO to ethics day-camp, reinstate a sense of right and wrong, community responsibility and accountabilty... ok, that was a little bit harsh.)

(My dad taught me well, I'm not scoffing at an extra $38... I know every dollar counts...)

But more importantly, my second question is, HOW MUCH IS THIS $38 costing me? From what I understand, the government is trying to help me keep some of the tax dollars they would otherwise take from me. But... but... where is that money coming from? The government certainly hasn't spent less this year, they haven't trimmed their spending to find $38/month/working taxpayer EXTRA to let us keep... SO WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?

Things that make you go hmmm...