Obama at 100 Days

An Economic Stimulus for all Americans!

In his first 100 days, President Obama signed an economic stimulus package that through public works spending and targeted tax cuts, our nation’s economy should get moving again.  With thousands upon thousands of Americans who have lost their jobs to downsizing, at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure, or have seen their retirement accounts shrink, this bill will be the lifesaver for many.

But when you take a very close look at the unemployment rates, the weakened state of our economy becomes even more startling.  When counting those considered unemployed, national statistics often feature just those who have recently lost their jobs and not those who have been unemployed for a long time.  More so, the statistics fail to acknowledge the largest group of citizens without jobs: children. Children are, after all, the future of America.

Living in the United States are millions of children and hardly any of them are working.  The few that do have menial jobs like babysitting or mowing their neighbors’ lawns, but this isn’t enough to support a family of four.  Do you know how expensive it is to have parents nowadays?  It’s not just feeding and clothing them.  And it’s not just extracurricular activities like golf lessons and poker nights.  It’s all of the extras like HBO, cappuccinos and anti-depressants.

In fact, it’s gotten so expensive to live in New Jersey that some our state’s children have moved to Pennsylvania.  Now they may save on housing costs and property taxes, but when you factor in the cost of commuting to school in New Jersey five days a week, it’s still difficult to make ends meet.

Now is the time for Congress to act.  But I fear that the expensiveness of the economic stimulus package will make our federal lawmakers think twice about further increasing our national debt.  That is why that I think that parents have to take charge now.

With June graduations just around the corner, I know that many grandmas and grandpas in New Jersey will soon be preparing envelopes filled with Hallmark cards filled with glowing congratulations messages.  This year, grandparents should instead give their children an economic stimulus package containing a simple envelope of cash to boost our children’s spending power.  Our kids will use the money to invest in the stock market, or perhaps open a small business and in turn hire other children. Or maybe this year instead of a message of just how proud you are of your youngster, you as a parent can give a tax credit that should in turn improve the child’s earning potential.

Our children may be our future, but if they can’t find work now, I don’t know how the economy will improve enough so I’m able to live a comfortable retirement.