Between December 2007 and June 2009, the United States experienced the most severe recession in the postwar period. Given the massive human cost of recessions, it is incumbent upon policymakers to assess the policy tools at their disposal and identify those that are most effective at hastening economic recovery during a downturn. The Hamilton Project describes how different groups of workers were affected by the Great Recession, what works in fiscal stimulus, what could be done differently in future recessions, and the fiscal preparedness of states for the next downturn.