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Last week President elect Obama laid out the details for a bold economic package- the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
In his speech he said that the economic crisis we face is unlike anything we have seen in our lifetime
We know that's true
Not only because statistics show an economy in dire shape, but also because so many of you have written into Change.gov to tell us how the economic crisis is affecting you.
Hundreds of thousands of you have shared stories about lost jobs, skyrocketing mortgages payments, and just the struggle to get by.
But you are not alone
The economic crisis touches all of us
That's why the recovery plan has to be just as far-reaching
In this crisis there is an opportunity to address some of our nation's most critical needs-
our environment, our infrastructure, and our health care and education systems.
The plan will create millions of jobs in these areas and at the same time place a down payment on our economic future
One of the things that the President-elect has been very committed to is creating the next generation of jobs and greening our economy
and this recovery plan offers tremendous opportunity for us to train workers and green jobs whether it be
people who will string the high volt lines for our wind farms and solar facilities or people who will work in low-income homes, middle income homes to weatherize and
help save individual homeowners money on their monthly electric bill.
There's a lot of things we can do that will save the taxpayers' money
on the federal government energy bill and individual homeowner's money on their monthly electric bill
The goal of this is to create the jobs, but also once the house has been audited and the upgrades have been made
that family will reap the benefits of those improvements to see it on a monthly basis
I think a lot of people in their communities probably see everything from potholes tht go unfilled for years
and especially now in the economic downturn and cities and counties
don't have the resources for standard road repair and they also probably see their drive time significantly increase as congestion has increased dramatically
across the country, especially in a number of growing population centers.
Infrastructure is a part of this plan for a number of reasons.
First, it can help simulate immediate job creation, which is a central component of the President Elect's economic recovery plan
Second, its an opportunity for us to meet a lot of those unmet needs that have really, uh, grown over the past several years and in some cases several decades
And the President Elect very much wants to look at forward thinking investments.
How can we expand our public transit systems?
A lot of infrastructure is not just roads and bridges but its our buildings, its our laboratories, and
of course its broadband lines which have not been deployed to several parts of the country
So those are the types of investments that we think can create jobs today and also power long-term growth in the future.
Every one percent of additional unemployment means about a million people have lost their health insurance
So this, in very real terms, means that millions and millions of people are, for perhaps the first time in their lives, extremely vulnerable
The President's plan will affect health care in several ways
First of all we want to help the states who are trying to provide assistance in the form of
Medicaid and in the form of the Children's Health insurance program
Also we want to put greater effort on prevention
on the acquisition of information technology for health
So those things too would have a huge impact
We have seen reports over the last couple of weeks that systems in every single state, um, are starting to lay off teachers
You know, those kinds of decisions get made, generally in February, March, so people know, in fact, if they are going to be
employed for the following school year
So those are the kinds of tough decisions that school Super Intendents are having to make right now
What we want to do is to let them know that help is on the way.
That they don't have to make those kinds of cuts.
That they can retain their teaching levels, that they can keep in place their good programs for students
that they can continue along the road to reform that they have already started.
And, quite frankly, the children who are sitting in crumbling schools, that we are modernizing our schools,
that we are doing something about school construction, that we are using technology
giving children access to 21st century technology so that the are prepared to go into a 21st century workforce
In every aspect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan we must act boldly yet carefully
That's why the President Elect has declared a War on Waste to make sure the plan is as effective and efficient as it is bold.
This is something that has really been a preoccupation, uh, for the President.
For the first time he has appointed a Chief Performance Officer for the United States Government.
We've got a whole set of new mechanisms based on, uh, the web for monitoring every single investment project,
not just our monitoring every single investment project, but the American people being able to monitor the investment projects.
He's set up a board, uh, of government officials who will be responsible for the strategic choices on the expenditure
and he has also, uh, insisted that there be involvement of outsiders in that process so that government does its work in much more business like ways
Chances are you felt the pinch in your own household budget or in our community.
So one other integral element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is a thousand dollar tax cut for 95% of working families.
With more money in our pockets, we can all keep the economy going.
Ultimately, this is about you and your participation is essential.
Because this isn't just about confronting the current crisis, it's a down payment on our economic future.
We are counting on you to get involved and stay involved.
So share this video with your friends.
Talk about it.
Then log on to change.gov and let us know what you think.
It is, obviously, a very difficult time for lots of people in this country, uh, but hopefully we can create some opportunity.
We are doing the best that we can to make sure that families are sustained,
that children get the kind of support that they need um, and to ensure that, in fact, our best days are ahead.
I think if we all focus on the future, we all focus on the needs of our families, we all focus on the needs of our country, we will get through this.