I'm here today to share some good news. My husband was laid off from a good-paying job with benefits in 2005. Yesterday, after giving up all hope, he got his recall letter yesterday! I don't know how much he will be making, but it does have benefits (eventually) and even if it pays what his former job did, it's closer to home and he will be getting raises. All in all, unless he is put right back on layoff again, it is a very good thing!
Which has me thinking about the tax stimulus plan and how giving workers a job that pays them enough to make ends meet would be a better solution to the problem of our sagging economy.
More after the fold
When he was laid off we had a very tough time. Yes, he did get Unemployment, but not surprisingly, it was a shadow of what he earned and it forced us to accept government help, which I am grateful for, but was never quite enough to get by, either.
It meant cutting back on things; like going out to eat, or seeing the occasional movie at a theater. OK, so we have a toddler, and out of respect for others, we would never expect a child under 5 to sit still or be quiet for 2 hours, nor would we expect others watching a movie listening to a noisy, squirmy child. But still, the cost of seeing a movie these days, especially with a family, wasn't something we could afford anymore.
It meant no Christmas presents for three years. It meant not buying books or magazines for nearly three years. It meant not getting new towels or sheets or holding off on upgrading the computer or getting a second one for our teen-aged daughter so she can do homework or write her Naruto fanfics.
These are small things, but they mean a lot to the local economy, and now that he has the potential to make enough money to maybe have a disposable income again, we will be doing our part to stimulate the economy. Take one family like us and multiply that by a few thousand, and that would have a huge impact on our economy, and it would be a year-round effect, not just a bump in summer or the Christmas shopping season.
I wish that those in power would look at giving hard-working people who want to work good-paying jobs. That would do so much more for the economy than a one-time jelly bean that will, at best, create a false sense of security for a month or two and increase the tax burden for our children.