Recovery for America Pt. 1 – Promise of "Change"

In November 2008, the United States of America was caught up in the “feeling of change”. Even those that didn’t vote for President- Elect Obama were curious and they were anticipating what changes would be ahead with the new president and his administration.

The economy was in a downfall, job losses were at an all time high in decades, home values were in a rapid decline, and record foreclosures were happening nationwide. The U.S. Military had two active wars going on and people wanted answers about troop levels, cost and prospective withdrawal dates. This is only part of what was going on when Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

From early in Obama’s campaigning days, he made his issues clear and he made campaign promises along the way. After all, that is what campaign time is about, right? It shouldn’t be just about what is said, it should be about the outcome and the ability to see things through, the long term effect.

He announced a his position on withdrawing troops from Iraq, increasing energy independence, and promoting a Universal Health Care Plan just to name a few.

In 2008 Obama’s campaigning committee did something that had never been done before. It put social media to the task and through Twitter, Facebook and MySpace was able to target the younger supporters and not only get more of them to register as voters but also to become active in the campaign process.

By using the internet, websites were designed and kept updated with speeches, rally locations, policy information, etc. Supporters could upload images from these websites to their own blogs or social media pages, print out posters, send emails to their friends, family and colleagues as well as find many other ways to show their support for Obama’s campaign. Users could also sign up to have secured text messages from Obama’s Campaign Manager, David Plouffe sent to their mobile device. It was something that had never been done before and voters felt much more “in the loop” by knowing things right as they happened and sometimes, before it was announced on the news by receiving a text message from #62262. For many who followed, that is how they found out who Barack Obama had chosen as his Vice President candidate. The campaign was very up to date and personalized.

After winning the presidential election, President-Elect Obama announced the formation of Organizing for America Organization (OFA) on January 17, 2009 which was a community organizing project of the DNC. Obama said it was an “organization that will build on the movement you started through the campaign.” Again, this was something being done that would involve Americans in a way (via the Internet and community efforts) that hadn’t been done before. He said although he and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden would be working in Washington D.C., “We cannot do this without you.”

It is now 18 months later and people are looking at how things are going for the U.S. The economy does seem to be coming back out of its devastating recession. Job loss continued to worsen and went beyond 10%.

The auto companies were crashing and therefore factories were closing, more job losses and for many towns across the country, the auto industry was their way of life, their income.

With so many people out of work, so many companies out of business, factories closed and therefore not producing, banks not lending money, people were losing the ability to see the “light at the end of the tunnel” or have faith things would get better.

For a nation under such difficult times, a simple solution was not going to work for the long term but also many people were hesitant to throw money at problems that money seemed to have caused, or at least the misuse of money seemed to have caused.

Somehow, things needed to get onto a road to recovery.

This series of articles, “Recovery for America,” is going to take a look at promises made through the campaign and whether they have been kept, are in the process of being carried out, have been compromised on or broken.

If you read my last series, “Help for America” it is clear many Americans are in need of jobs and/or better paying jobs. Small businesses need help to grow and be able to hire more employees and many American families are not only barely getting by but are simply just suffering here in America.

Many communities need to improve their schools, roads, hospitals and be able to hire back teachers and first responders. Here in the Bay Area, being prepared for a natural disaster is something that is always a priority. This isn’t something that can be done when it is too late.

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Help for America Pt.2 – Where are the jobs?

In 2008 alone, at least 2.6 million jobs were lost, the highest level in more than six decades. In January 2009, Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute said, “We’re seeing a complete unraveling of the labor market and are on track for getting beyond 10% unemployment.” That was a little over 18 months ago and unemployment has continued to soar.

CNN wrote an article, “Looking for work? Unemployed need not apply” This article was talking about companies that may be putting unemployed applicants aside feeling they may have been laid off due to performance issues.

Getting a job is extremely tough and having the fact of being unemployed held against an applicant is a crucial downfall. Possibly unknown to some employers and applicants is the HIRE Act which was signed March 18, 2010 and includes incentives for businesses to hire applicants that have been without work.

A petition is posted for people to sign and be heard that companies not wanting to hire the unemployed is just not right. Visit the Care2petition Site to sign.

On the well known social media website Twitter, a hashtag #99ers has been appearing next to tweets about unemployment and people looking for work.

Who are the 99ers? According to an article put out by AOL News, the “99ers” is a term for the group of unemployed workers who have been out of work for over 99 weeks and thus are no longer able to receive unemployment benefits.

Unemployment benefits and extensions are heard about on the news as they go to the senate to pass, expire or get pushed aside for a later date to vote on. Many people feel differently about unemployment benefits and the need for these extensions.

The unemployed want their jobs back and the ability to receive a paycheck, benefits and take care of their responsibilities and families. Many have lost what they worked years to gain. Across America the outcome of this has been seen in the alarming rates of foreclosures, bankruptcies and overall the continuing downfall in the economy. However, many employers are looking to put out the least amount of funds possible making the hiring process difficult for both the applicant and the employer.

Numbers released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics say there are currently 14,600,000 unemployed with 6,800,000 being long term unemployed.

To get jobs back, a lot of small businesses need to be able to build up their capital but also their confidence in the future of the economy and hire the unemployed. Larger corporations need to reach out and hire as well. By putting people back to work, more money goes into the economy and the cycle can begin to fix itself.

As people are able to go back to sufficient jobs, unemployment becomes less necessary for more people. The economy can grow, businesses grow, new businesses can open and therefore more hiring can occur. But, to see America’s economy grow and the deficit decrease, the businesses and employees that need to be supported have to be here in America.

It’s not just about today or next week. It’s not just about numbers, policies, or parties. It’s not about who is getting elected or even who says what in their campaigns when it comes to this. This is about Americans supporting America. Supporting it now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now and continuing to do so from one generation to the next. Helping America to grow and strive, to move forward as the great Nation it is.