What is beginning to amaze me is the media focus in the last couple of days on the 2016 Olympics Games possibly coming to Chicago. As we all know now, President Obama went overseas in a effort to bid for the games in his hometown. The end result was the games were won by Brazil.
As a person that sees the ongoing problems of unemployment, decreasing home values, lack of health care, lack of available credit for small businesses, the "Too Big to Fail" Corporation CEO's still living quite well and millions of Americans still working, wondering if their pink slip is coming tomorrow; I wonder were the heck is our focus, as Americans.
Besides the 2016 Olympics going to Brazil, they were actually other problems continuing to go on in the United States today.
Unemployment Level Reaches 10%
WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected.
The report shows that the worst recession since the 1930s is still inflicting widespread pain and underscores one of the biggest threats to the nascent economic recovery: that consumers, worried about job losses and stagnant wages, will restrain spending. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the nation's economy.
In my state, the unemployment rate is at 15.6%, the highest in the nation. Small businesses are either closing or barely making in left and right. State and Local governments are not hiring (the only safety net left since the auto industry is frankly all but over). Recently, the Michigan State Legislators and our Governor just voted a temporary 30 budget dueto the massive economic problems in this state.
The only thing is the almost agreed upon budget would end programs like the Promise Scholarship which gives Michigan High Schoolers who score proficient on two areas of the ACT and have a 3.0 GPA, an initial scholarship of $4000 for two years and $1000 for the remaining two years. Other higher schoolers receive the $1000 for the last two years of their college education.
Other programs that actually could improve upon or provide help for now, to the citizens of economically depressed Michigan like Food Stamps, Day Care Funding for Mothers to go to work, Medicaid, Heat (Energy) Payment Assistance and many others, are on the chopping block. Our state is in the middle of a crisis and a great depression.....and it appears, more government focus was (until today) being placed on a event for 2016?
What about today 2009 or next year...2010? What about the bailouts given to GM for them to turn around and close many state plants and have a recently FAILED agreement to so called "Save Saturn" with Roger Penskethat felt apart at the last minute, costing more state jobs. Not to talk about our ever rising foreclosure rate, the 5th Highest in the NATION.
Millions of fellow Michiganders are facing their other form of temporary relief, unemployment extensions, ending within the next two months. With only a 13 week extension bill signed in the House and not moved in the Senate or onto President Obama, as of yet, the clock is ticking LOUDLY on Michigan Families. For the few that still have a job in Michigan today, tomorrow could bring a pink slip(even in the so-called going field of health care).....joining them into the ranks of the Depressed, Broken and Hungry in this state.
I guess my question is that was a bid to have the Olympics Games in Chicago in 2016, really a good move for President Obama, when we have MAJOR ISSUES in 2009 that need to be fixed? I gave the example of Michigan here but these issues and problems are in many areas of our country.
If I could talk to President Obama before he took a trip overseas on a failed attempt to secure the Olympics, I would have told him that WE AS AMERICANS need these problems fixed first:
-Get Health Care Done Now
Average Americans, Small Businesses, The Unemployed and Even Those That Are Working....cannot continue to wonder if they will be facing bankruptcy on their there next major family illness. THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OLYMPICS...
-Get Real Homeowners Mortgage Relief Passed NOW
Millions of Americans and Michiganders cannot restructure their ARM's because if they are trying to do the right thing....and pay their mortgage on-time until the ARM resets...the mortgage company will not bother to talk to them, less known restructure anything. A large majority of these mortgages are due to set in 2010 and 2011. What is going to be the end result? More foreclosures and ever decreasing home values? Too Big To Fail has FAILED and Obama's Homeowners Restructure Program does not have the teeth to make the banks work with these homeowners. FIXING THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OLYMPICS...
-Create some Government Jobs with Government Funded Projects.
Similar to FDR and the WAP program. The issue with the unemployment rate is so large that IT MUST be fixed by the Federal Government stepping in. Unemployment Extensions are nice but do not solve the long term program. President Obama need to create millions of jobs now....in parks, streets, relief centers,high speed rail, energy.... whatever is necessary to put a STOP to the ever increasing unemployment rate....as noted by Robert Reich in a recent Huffington Post article:
Unemployment of this magnitude and duration also translates into ugly politics, because fear and anxiety are fertile grounds for demagogues weilding the politics of resentment against immigrants, blacks, the poor, government leaders, business leaders, Jews, and other easy targets. It's already started. Next year is a mid-term election. Be prepared for worse.
So why is unemployment and underemployment so high, and why is it likely to remain high for some time? Because, as noted, people who are worried about their jobs or have no jobs, and who are also trying to get out from under a pile of debt, are not going do a lot of shopping. And businesses that don't have customers aren't going do a lot of new investing. And foreign nations also suffering high unemployment aren't going to buy a lot of our goods and services.
And without customers, companies won't hire. They'll cut payrolls instead.
Which brings us to the obvious question: Who's going to buy the stuff we make or the services we provide, and therefore bring jobs back? There's only one buyer left: The government.
Let me say this as clearly and forcefully as I can: The federal government should be spending even more than it already is on roads and bridges and schools and parks and everything else we need. It should make up for cutbacks at the state level, and then some. This is the only way to put Americans back to work. We did it during the Depression. It was called the WPA.
FIXING THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OLYMPICS...
Get a real program to either reduce the increasing costs of a college education or providing more assistance to Middle Class Families that want to send their young adults to college.
Right now, today..a family making $50,000 a year do not have access to Pell Grants, only can depend on a certain amount of Government Loans, face the average 4 year college education charging between $10,000-$15,000 a semester and have to take money for 401K's or other retirement programs to pay for their children education. This is crazy and it is a problem that needs to be addressed NOW. FIXING THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OLYMPICS...
Sorry about the long article but I had alot of issues to get off my chest. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.