Editing HOME STAR

{{Short description|American government stimulus plan}}
{{About|the American government stimulus plan|the cartoon web series|Homestar Runner}}
'''HOME STAR''', (also spelled ''HOMESTAR''), informally known as '''Cash for Caulkers''', is a [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] program proposed in November 2009 to encourage economic growth by offering incentives to [[Owner-occupier|homeowners]] and retailers for improving the [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] of existing homes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/091204-PERAB-Home-Retrofits-Memo-Final.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-02-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126012815/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/091204-PERAB-Home-Retrofits-Memo-Final.pdf |archive-date=2017-01-26 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] }}</ref>

==Background==
In late 2009 there was a broad perception that the United States economy was beginning to recover from the [[Late-2000s recession]]. There was a broad perception that government spending authorized by the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009]] had contributed to the recovery, and some desire for the government to do more to encourage job growth and a faster recovery.<ref name=nyt/>

In mid-November former president [[Bill Clinton]], and [[John Doerr]] of [[Barack Obama]]'s [[President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board]], proposed different versions of an [[economic stimulus]] program by which the government would offer [[tax incentive]]s to encourage people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|work=New York Times|title=A Stimulus That Could Save Money|author=David Leonhardt|author-link=David Leonhardt|date=2009-11-17|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/18/business/economy/18leonhardt.html?_r=1}}</ref>  Doerr, in public speeches, called the proposal "cash for caulkers". Separately [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] [[Peter Welch]] proposed a system of energy rebates to [[Rahm Emanuel]], Obama’s [[White House Chief of Staff|Chief of Staff]].<ref name=bb>{{cite news|publisher=Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aNGrRkT7GyQ0|title=Obama's 'Cash for Caulkers' May Help Insulation Sales, Dow Says|author=Daniel Whitten|date=2009-12-09}}</ref>  Obama, in turn, proposed the idea as part of a larger new stimulus program, at a speech at the [[Brookings Institution]] on December 8, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|work=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/us/politics/09jobs.html?dbk|date=2009-12-09|title=Obama Offers Help for Small Businesses | first=Jackie | last=Calmes | access-date=2010-05-04}}</ref>

The stated goals of the proposed program are to reduce pollution, particularly [[greenhouse gas]]es, by reducing household energy use, to save consumers money in the long term through lower power bills, and to stimulate American businesses through the money spent on appliances, materials, and installation. Improving the energy efficiency of "fixed infrastructure", which accounts for approximately 40% of all energy use in the United States, is considered the "low hanging fruit" of [[energy conservation]] - a step that achieves results relatively inexpensively and does not require any new technologies or changes to production or consumption methods.<ref>{{cite news|author=Justin Moresco|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS370360146420091118|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228100011/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS370360146420091118|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-12-28|title="Cash for Caulkers" Could Deliver $23B for Home Energy Efficiency|date=2009-11-18}}</ref>

The name "Homestar" is a reference to the popular [[energy star]] electronic device efficiency rating system, and the nickname "Cash for Caulkers" is a play on the earlier [[cash for clunkers]] automobile trade-in incentive.<ref name=bb/>

==Structure==
As of December 2009, no proposed legislation had been released, and there were few specific details of how the program would be administered, which federal agencies would be involved, or how the tax incentives would be paid (or to whom).<ref name=bb/>  The program is expected to involve preliminary [[energy audit]]s by private contractor energy experts, who then recommend a series of steps for each homeowner to upgrade their home's energy efficiency.<ref name=cnn/>  As proposed the plan was for the government to pay 50% of the cost of each home improvement project through a rebate, [[tax credit]], or funds paid to manufacturers and retailers, up to a maximum of $12,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=12000|start_year=2009}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) paid for each home.<ref name=cnn/>  Alternatively, there was speculation that the federal government might give funds to local governments to run their own programs. There was no limitation on eligibility based on [[tax bracket]] or [[household income|income]].<ref name=cnn/>

Items under consideration for the program included [[weatherization]] of home by installing additional insulation, new doors, and windows, and replacing old appliances with more energy-efficient new ones. Expensive items such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and heaters, would be covered.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2009/12/08/news/economy/president_energy/|title=Cash for Caulkers could seal $12,000 a home|publisher=CNN|author=Steve Hargreaves|date=2009-12-09}}</ref>

The program was expected to cost approximately $10 billion over the course of one year, paid for out of unspent [[Troubled Asset Relief Program]] funds, and would reduce energy consumption of homes that took full advantage of the program by up to 20%. To become effective it would have to be part of a [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]] passed by the [[United States Congress]].<ref name=cnn/>

== See also ==
* [[Caulking]]
* [[Retrofitting]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Home Star}}
[[Category:Great Recession in the United States]]
[[Category:Presidency of Barack Obama]]
[[Category:United States federal housing legislation]]
[[Category:United States federal taxation legislation]]
[[Category:2009 in American politics]]
[[Category:Energy policy of the United States]]
[[Category:Building engineering]]
[[Category:Sustainable building]]
[[Category:Energy conservation in the United States]]