It is President's week vacation and while most of the world went back to work today, almost the entire school population is on vacation this week. My husband's company was not off on Monday as it is just as much a regular business day for many private companies though the stock market and the banks are closed.
Today, President Obama signed the $787 stimulus package so it is a go. The Dow went down nearly 300 points when just last week it kept jumping on even a whiff of a bailout package. Today, there is a signed, sealed and delivered package and it drops like a rock. Also, the auto companies are back, hat in hand as we knew they would be, begging for another $39 billion to remain afloat. In addition, the deadline is upon them to submit their corporate sustainability plans. The numbers so far have been dreadful so I don't think much will change for them in the short term though it seems that the UAW has consented to a few concessions which may help the bottom line. How long will it take the Unions to realize that no one is immune from this Recession? Teachers, Government Workers, Carpenters, Electricians, Plumbers and everyone else belonging to similar organizations, you all need to pitch in, to help yourselves and ourselves because there is no good timeline for getting out of this Recession.
As much as the President tries to emphasize that there is no easy fix and a turnaround will not be immediate, we want those 8 years of George Bush to turn around; we certainly do not want to suffer for our excesses too long, right about now or at least upcoming in the Spring there should be a tidy picture of turnarounds; feel good stories about how the stimulus package is helping many families keep their homes. How the money will be apportioned will be of grave importance. How do we structure ourselves for opportunity in the next few years?
What side of the fence will we all be on when we emerge from this Recession? It is hard to look it in the eye, recession. It is hard to accept that it does not seem to be slowing. Everyone is being advised to work as hard as they can and stand out in order to save their job or themselves from layoff. Everyone who has a job is working as hard as they can because they fear losing their job. Those of us who lost their jobs feel like they have to prove productivity while they are home daily clicking resumes into a blank world; an auto-reply notice thanking you for submitting your resume. One time I did hear back that I was not the type of candidate they were seeking - it was a job on Long Island so I was rooting for it a little bit. Now, I am sending resumes to NYC and NJ wryly wondering how in the heck I would swing it; it is hard for both parents to commute to NYC from Suffolk County.
President Obama's plan was supposed to save us and it landed as flatly when the TARP was signed back in the fall. How much more Government spending will be necessary? I think most poeple know that the well has run dry but we are all in denial about that part. 8 whole years of destruction can't be turned around in a month but we want Obama to have fixed it today and we want our lives to be freed from our own monetary sins.
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