Obama has been putting pressure on congress to spend up to $800 billion to end the recession, saying "I don't believe it is too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible".
$800 billion though, it can seem so small when it is said, but it is an incredible amount of money. This sort of money could make or break a country, so saying: This money could make America a much better country, or a much worse country. It's a risk, but it seems to be a risk that Barack Obama is willing to take.
Will it work? Or not? What will we do if it doesn't work? So many questions, and no answers for a while yet...
Obama does warn, "The unemployment rate could reach double digits". It probably will get like this eventually with no action taken, but will it get worse if the $800 billion is spent? We'll find out before the year is over...
Thursday, 8 January 2009
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2 comments:
You're scaring me and my brother with your prediction of DOUBLE DIGIT unemployment! I just told him about your latest Obama report. I think it will work in the short-term. It will create jobs, provide health services to those who can't afford them. Federal aid increases are also planned for public education. Obama also promises to help people pay their mortgages.
Overhauling infrastructure will mean the creation of more jobs. Obama has set aside some of this money for construction and other rebuilding projects. This will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. LOTS of roads, tunnels and bridges need to be repaired. It took a long time for New York to repair a section of Route 6/202 (my area). It was terribly bumpy in some areas. States usually get large amounts of federal aid for road and bridge repairs. The bridge in the link below was built in 1924. It requires a lot of upkeep. I always see men working on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Mountain_Bridge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_202_in_New_York
These grand-scale projects create jobs, but what will happen when the bridge and road projects are completed? Many people will be without jobs again! It's not a permanent solution.
Take a look at this one below. It will give you an idea of how much money these projects cost. Obama will be earmarking money for this new project! I'm sorry to see this bridge go. Everybody loves this bridge and the Hudson River views.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee_Bridge
Check out these numbers from the Wikipedia link on the Tappan Zee Bridge (the link in the first comment box) --
"The bridge would cost $6.4 billion, while adding bus lanes from Suffern to Port Chester would cost $2.9 billion. Adding a rail line from the Metro-North station in Suffern and across the bridge, connecting with Metro-North’s Hudson Line south of Tarrytown, would cost another $6.7 billion."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tappan_Zee_Bridge_from_below.jpg
Can you believe those numbers? That's about $16 billion for ONE Hudson River crossing! And the state will probably only pay for 1/4 of it. Federal money will cover the rest. Will $800 billion be enough?? Is Obama fooling himself??
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