President Obama has one job summit in late fall, and promised action on creating new jobs in the near future. With his upcoming State of the Union address, the President’s advisers are now saying we can expect more concrete information on his plan for job creation. Stimulus package or not, promises or not, the President’s economic policies are showing little hope for those of us unemployed. New jobless claims have risen again and unemployment remains at 10 percent nationwide, nearly 9 percent in my home state of Pennsylvania.
The plan and promises he proposes on Wednesday, theoretical or hollow, may not have any effect for months, even years. Meanwhile, the unemployed languishes in doubt and financial struggle. Will the President suggest extending unemployment insurance benefits again? He will probably need to do so. Maybe all this merely begs the question: can the President (or Congress) really do anything to bolster the economy or create jobs. The 2009 stimulus packages seems to have little results on a grass roots level. I’m sure somebody is benefiting from the billions of dollars available, but it is certainly not the “joe average” worker.
Moving in to my ninth month of unemployment, I would say things still look bad for the nation as a whole. The promise of a new and better day, change we can believe in, or simply hope are vanishing quickly.
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