I visited a friend in Pennsylvania last week, and the trip afforded me a chance to see Obama's $787 billion stimulus in action. My friend is an entry-level civil engineer in eastern PA—the people who design and redesign roads and bridges, among other responsibilities—and her office is absolutely flooded with projects funded by the stimulus.
Most people in her office, she said, have been pulling 50 or more hours a week to cover all of the new assignments. It was impossible to make the fifteen minute drive from her house to Blockbuster without seeing her point out a handful of intersections to be fixed or newly constructed roads that were all evidence of government money at work.
All this is great news for my friend, but, as more and more projects make the transition from planning to building, it should also help ease the journalist-coined
"Man-Cession" we covered about two months ago—a term describing how the recession has been particularly hard on men, since many typically male jobs, like construction, have been hard hit by layoffs.
How has the stimulus affected you, your area, or the people you know? Comment here, or submit your story to our front page.
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Comments (3)
It would be better though if rather than having some people work 50 hour weeks, they'd train and hire new people so you have two people working 25-30 hours a week. More jobs at every level is definitely the way to go for the economy even if it's reduced hours.
Still, it's definitely good news. The Stimulus is helping and that's good to know.
The stimulus hasn't affected people I know much. However, if the new healthcare bill passes, my mother (who works for blue cross/blue shield) will be laid off...
@JadedJanissary@xanga - I agree that the stimulus hasnt helped people I know!! As far as I can tell, it is helping people who already had jobs more so than creating jobs!