One year in, the evidence is clear -- and growing by the day -- that the Recovery Act is working to cushion the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression while laying a new foundation for economic growth.
The New York Times yesterday wrote ,"Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative."
Check out these charts from the NYT showing the change in the economy since the Recovery Act was passed.
The New York Times yesterday wrote ,"Perhaps the best-known economic research firms are IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s Economy.com. They all estimate that the bill has added 1.6 million to 1.8 million jobs so far and that its ultimate impact will be roughly 2.5 million jobs. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative."
Check out these charts from the NYT showing the change in the economy since the Recovery Act was passed.
But beyond the numbers, the Recovery Act has funded projects in communities across the country that have led to real and tangible improvements in people's lives:
• In Englewood, Colorado, Eddie B. is at work as a police officer because of the Recovery Act. When he graduated from police academy last year, the average wait time for a job was between two and three years. But the Recovery Act allowed him to be hired almost immediately -- along with four of his friends from the academy. He said, "The President, with the Recovery Act, gave me the opportunity to serve my community and help the people I live with."
• Jeanne S. is a middle school teacher who works at a public school in Phoenix, Arizona. Last spring, she and other teachers were told that the school might not be able to afford to keep them on any longer. Yet money from the Recovery Act allowed her and other teachers to keep their jobs, and Jeanne says that they are grateful for the opportunity to keep teaching thanks to the Recovery Act.
Right here in Schenectady County, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are creating jobs. General Electric Global Research Center has received funds for important biomedical research and green energy research. Recovery funds are being used by YouthBuild Schenectady to create a green job training program for youth in Schenectady County. Stimulus funds are being used to construct a second track along the rail corridor between the Schenectady and Albany-Rensselaer train stations. Combined with other high speed rail investments, these investments will better the local economy and improve trip time for more than 56 weekly passenger trains and over 350 weekly cargo trains. Stimulus funds in Schenectady County helped improve access to health care, saved summer youth employment opportunies, and cleaned up our local environment. These are just a few of the local examples of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped Schenectady County residents. ARRA also provided one of the largest tax cuts in American history - $232 billion - providing important relief to many Schenectady County residents in these difficult times.
The success of the Recovery Act is composed of millions of stories like these -- of folks getting to work who wouldn't otherwise be in their jobs, families able to buy their first home because of the homeowner's tax credit, and much more.
Democratic leadership at all levels is undoing the mess left by years of Republican deregulation, economic mismanagement and outright abuses of power. There is much more that needs to be done to rebuild our economy and provide relief to working families. Yet ironically reactionary elements are saying government created this crisis and are calling for government to do less as a solution in and of itself.
IF there is anything George Bush should have taught us it is that less is surely not more. We know doing less is what got us in trouble. The Republicans refused to regulate a securities industry that created derivatives and other sham instruments used to create fake paper wealth, the collapse of which threatend to topple the entire global finance sector. The Republicans refused to reign in the subprime mortgage scams that resulted in record foreclosures and a collapse in the housing market in some parts of the country. The Republicans refused to implement a rational energy policy -- which left our country more dependent on middle eastern oil and inevitable spikes in gasoline prices. The Republicans refused to tackle the health insurance problem resulting in 30 million uninsured and the highest health insurance premiums in the world for workers and businesses such that the high cost of healthcare is now one of the greatest obstacles to American competiiveness in the global marketplace.
It is time to do more. These are difficult times that require decisive leadership bold enough to meet the challenges of the moment. And once again only the Democratic party is prepared to deliver -- and is delivering.
Click on this link to view a video on the Recovery Act from Organizing for America - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWmUnU7HS-I - or watch the video below.
• In Englewood, Colorado, Eddie B. is at work as a police officer because of the Recovery Act. When he graduated from police academy last year, the average wait time for a job was between two and three years. But the Recovery Act allowed him to be hired almost immediately -- along with four of his friends from the academy. He said, "The President, with the Recovery Act, gave me the opportunity to serve my community and help the people I live with."
• Jeanne S. is a middle school teacher who works at a public school in Phoenix, Arizona. Last spring, she and other teachers were told that the school might not be able to afford to keep them on any longer. Yet money from the Recovery Act allowed her and other teachers to keep their jobs, and Jeanne says that they are grateful for the opportunity to keep teaching thanks to the Recovery Act.
Right here in Schenectady County, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds are creating jobs. General Electric Global Research Center has received funds for important biomedical research and green energy research. Recovery funds are being used by YouthBuild Schenectady to create a green job training program for youth in Schenectady County. Stimulus funds are being used to construct a second track along the rail corridor between the Schenectady and Albany-Rensselaer train stations. Combined with other high speed rail investments, these investments will better the local economy and improve trip time for more than 56 weekly passenger trains and over 350 weekly cargo trains. Stimulus funds in Schenectady County helped improve access to health care, saved summer youth employment opportunies, and cleaned up our local environment. These are just a few of the local examples of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has helped Schenectady County residents. ARRA also provided one of the largest tax cuts in American history - $232 billion - providing important relief to many Schenectady County residents in these difficult times.
The success of the Recovery Act is composed of millions of stories like these -- of folks getting to work who wouldn't otherwise be in their jobs, families able to buy their first home because of the homeowner's tax credit, and much more.
Democratic leadership at all levels is undoing the mess left by years of Republican deregulation, economic mismanagement and outright abuses of power. There is much more that needs to be done to rebuild our economy and provide relief to working families. Yet ironically reactionary elements are saying government created this crisis and are calling for government to do less as a solution in and of itself.
IF there is anything George Bush should have taught us it is that less is surely not more. We know doing less is what got us in trouble. The Republicans refused to regulate a securities industry that created derivatives and other sham instruments used to create fake paper wealth, the collapse of which threatend to topple the entire global finance sector. The Republicans refused to reign in the subprime mortgage scams that resulted in record foreclosures and a collapse in the housing market in some parts of the country. The Republicans refused to implement a rational energy policy -- which left our country more dependent on middle eastern oil and inevitable spikes in gasoline prices. The Republicans refused to tackle the health insurance problem resulting in 30 million uninsured and the highest health insurance premiums in the world for workers and businesses such that the high cost of healthcare is now one of the greatest obstacles to American competiiveness in the global marketplace.
It is time to do more. These are difficult times that require decisive leadership bold enough to meet the challenges of the moment. And once again only the Democratic party is prepared to deliver -- and is delivering.
Click on this link to view a video on the Recovery Act from Organizing for America - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWmUnU7HS-I - or watch the video below.
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