The stimulus is a go. House and Senate leaders agreed Wednesday to a definitive iteration of the 'one plan to lead them all' that, while pared down, is still a huge honkin' pile of money and opportunity.
Over $507 billion dollars have been allocated to spending problems and $282 billion have been allocated to tax relief, which combined, have President Barack Obama promising to save or create 3.6 million jobs.
Gone, however, are many of the earmarks for school construction and health care, most notably health insurance for the unemployed. However, $70 billion in tax breaks for the middle class remain, prompting many to scratch their heads. After all, that $70 billion simply denotes the amount of money the federal government will not have to work with in a time of crisis.
Considering how much attention has been paid to the fact that we yet again have a single party controlling the entirety of the government, a select few Republican senators had considerable sway over the stimulus plan. These were Arlen Specter, Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snow, Republican senators representing Pennsylvania and Maine, respectively.
Things in Washington don't seem to have gotten much less combative since Obama was elected, which is moderately disappointing, but in no way surprising. Despite how quickly the stimulus made it through deliberation, it was battered by debate and seems to have lost some important if expensive facets.
Even so, this represents an unimaginable opportunity to seize control of this country. Obama is attempting to hand this country to our generation on a silver platter, and we have a limited amount of time to accept the offer.
A huge amount of money has been freed up for those looking to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. As young, educated people with not a lot of debt, (do not complain about student loans) we are in the position to take advantage of whatever tools the Obama administration offers us. It is our responsibility to know what tools are available.
Pay attention. Work within the system. Build yourselves up.
It's time to take control.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
