This article deals with the benefit programs for the poor and unemployed. The Recovery Act kept six million Americans out of poverty last year and drastically reduced the severity of poverty for others. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act branched out money to several different programs, such as tax credits, health care and for the homeless, but they are soon to disappear as their expiration creeps closer. These programs have helped people keep their families fed and prevented many from turning to delinquent ways. The article suggests that with the economy still as shaky as it is, jobs are difficult to come by and making ends meet being as hard as it is, all stimulus programs for the poor should be extended.
People can cut costs as much as they can (vacations, cable, eating out etc) but after a while, there isn’t much left to cut on. There must be a stimulus plan in hand at all times (until the economy picks up again and people can get more jobs on their own) to protect Americans. However, people must realize that the recession is here to stay for a while and the jobs that have been lost are not going to magically appear back. People must plan for their future accordingly and, as unfortunate as it is, they must do whatever they can (share a house with two families or take up less satisfying jobs) to avoid becoming homeless and falling in to greater poverty.
At the same time, one cannot expect unemployed families to downgrade to just any job, sell everything they have to make ends meet and start all over again. The stimulus programs either should be extended or new stimulus programs have to be made and put into effect as soon as possible.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Lifelines for the poor are disappearing
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I think unemployment benefits should be extended again, if they had not originally an additional 2.3 million people would have been under the poverty line.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary to me that deadlines for some of the major programs are quickly approaching (at the end of September and then again in November). Losing the subsidized jobs program or unemployment benefits could ruin low-income families. Congress should get over their partisan grudges concerning whether or not to extend and renew these programs, realizing that the American people are still hurting from the recession.
ReplyDeleteObama's tax cuts also seem like a very useful way to help alleviate a lot of the issues regarding poverty within the country. Part of his stimulus plan included a very much unknown clause that benefits a lot of lower-income Americans. I recently posted an article addressing this same issue. With the staggeringly shocking latest numbers regarding unemployment and poverty in the country, I worry that our economy has a lot of problems that are currently not being dealt with. I agree with Megan that a lot of partisan grudges need to stop, by worry whether or not such actions are achievable.
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