Working

[davidbcoe]

I went grocery shopping today -- a fairly typical weekend activity in a house of four.  When I reached the counter to check out, the clerk, a young man with a big smile on his face, greeted me with a "Hi, how're ya doin'?"  I told him I was fine and asked how he was

Comments

[kateelliott]

[davidbcoe]

I've been thinking about that clerk all day. I felt I owed this to him, though he'll probably never see it. Thanks, Alis.

[crazywritergirl]

Only a handful in this country don't want to work. The rest are willing to do anything, even digging ditches, to keep their families fed and their mortgage paid. We have our pride, but for some reason that doesn't seem to matter to the GOP

[davidbcoe]

Yeah, the "things aren't really that bad" line doesn't seem very smart. And you're right: this is not the last bill aimed at economic recovery that we're going to need.

[markwise]

Spending may be needed but not wild and loose spending. There are things in this bill that, while noble, do not readily stimulate the economy. They may create some jobs, but you have to look at the jobs created. They would mostly be in construction. Who works in a large chunk of the construction market? Illegal immigrants. So the majority of the jobs created will not even go to American citizens.
Then they say that we might get a bump in our paychecks by $13. Wow. That is really going to keep someone from losing their home or feeding their family.

I am totally for trying to put people back to work, but this is a poorly crafted bill and will do little to actually stimulate the economy.

[davidbcoe]

I'm sorry, Mark, but saying that most construction jobs go to illegal immigrants is a gross and inaccurate generalization, and I believe that making this into an exercise in immigrant bashing is a bad idea. The fact is that construction jobs are exactly what are needed right now. We have serious infrastructure issues that need to be addressed. We can save millions of dollars in energy expenditures with renovation and weatherization projects while also putting people to work. These are construction jobs, and they are of vital importance. If some of those people are LEGAL immigrants, so be it. There's nothing wrong with that. And as for illegals, unlike private industry, which can get away with hiring illegals, federal and state governments HAVE to have proof of citizenship before hiring

[kmarkhoover]

Good post. Thank you.

[davidbcoe]

Thanks, Mark.