CEE DOG
Well-Known Member
Although this wasn't the greatest bill, it has helped this country more than hurt it. The only folks really mad are the ones who have white collared jobs that hasn't been affected. It is sad that the repubs, especially the black repubs are in such denial.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_bi_ge/us_stimulus_nuclear_jobs
AIKEN, S.C. – A majority of people in South Carolina didn't vote for Barack Obama and many didn't want any part of his stimulus cash, and folks in a particularly poor, hard-hit swath near the Georgia line were no exception. Until the money showed up.
About $1.6 billion was used to create 3,100 temporary jobs in a rural corner of the state cleaning up the Savannah River Site, which already employed about 9,000 and churned out radioactive metals for the nation's nuclear arsenal during the Cold War.
"I am convinced it's what kept Aiken's economy stronger than most communities during these poor economic times," said David Jamison, president of the chamber of commerce in that solidly Republican city just north of the nuclear facility. "I think it has worked exactly like the way Washington had in mind. ... I see it every single day."
Indeed, opposition to the president and the stimulus were fierce in traditionally conservative South Carolina, which Republican John McCain carried comfortably in the 2008 presidential election. GOP Gov. Mark Sanford led angry residents in the charge to keep stimulus money for education out of the state, saying it would ultimately leave the economy in worse shape when the money dries up next year.
So far, though, that chunk of the $787 billion appears to be doing what the president promised: keep unemployment rates already among the highest in the nation from skyrocketing and give residents some hope that they could fight through the worst economic decline since the Great Depression.
The recession has wiped out 8.2 million U.S. jobs, making competition for openings fierce. On average, there are five or six unemployed people competing for each opening, according to government data.
That image is sharp in South Carolina, where unemployment in March was 12.2 percent, the sixth-highest in the country, according to Labor Department figures released Friday. Near Savannah River, Allendale County had the state's second-highest jobless rate at 22.4 percent. Two other nearby counties, Barnwell and Bamberg, were 19.9 percent and 17.7 percent in February.
The new hires came from a broad area including parts of South Carolina and Georgia, and unemployment rates have continued to creep upward even since the positions were filled. It was unlikely the jobs would strongly impact rates in any single county, but Obama has said the recession would have been worse without the stimulus and jobs like those at Savannah River.
The cost? Around $500,000 per job — but that money covers overhead and other costs at the site.
Thousands of applicants flocked to job fairs and waited hours in the hot sun for a chance to speak with Savannah River recruiters. To one of those new employees, it wasn't just a job opportunity — it was a saving grace.
Bob McClearen worked at Savannah River for 18 years until he was laid off in 1997, working on company presentations and business development. McClearen then struggled for more than a decade to make ends meet, opening a shipping store with his brother-in-law until that business closed last year because of the recession.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_bi_ge/us_stimulus_nuclear_jobs
AIKEN, S.C. – A majority of people in South Carolina didn't vote for Barack Obama and many didn't want any part of his stimulus cash, and folks in a particularly poor, hard-hit swath near the Georgia line were no exception. Until the money showed up.
About $1.6 billion was used to create 3,100 temporary jobs in a rural corner of the state cleaning up the Savannah River Site, which already employed about 9,000 and churned out radioactive metals for the nation's nuclear arsenal during the Cold War.
"I am convinced it's what kept Aiken's economy stronger than most communities during these poor economic times," said David Jamison, president of the chamber of commerce in that solidly Republican city just north of the nuclear facility. "I think it has worked exactly like the way Washington had in mind. ... I see it every single day."
Indeed, opposition to the president and the stimulus were fierce in traditionally conservative South Carolina, which Republican John McCain carried comfortably in the 2008 presidential election. GOP Gov. Mark Sanford led angry residents in the charge to keep stimulus money for education out of the state, saying it would ultimately leave the economy in worse shape when the money dries up next year.
So far, though, that chunk of the $787 billion appears to be doing what the president promised: keep unemployment rates already among the highest in the nation from skyrocketing and give residents some hope that they could fight through the worst economic decline since the Great Depression.
The recession has wiped out 8.2 million U.S. jobs, making competition for openings fierce. On average, there are five or six unemployed people competing for each opening, according to government data.
That image is sharp in South Carolina, where unemployment in March was 12.2 percent, the sixth-highest in the country, according to Labor Department figures released Friday. Near Savannah River, Allendale County had the state's second-highest jobless rate at 22.4 percent. Two other nearby counties, Barnwell and Bamberg, were 19.9 percent and 17.7 percent in February.
The new hires came from a broad area including parts of South Carolina and Georgia, and unemployment rates have continued to creep upward even since the positions were filled. It was unlikely the jobs would strongly impact rates in any single county, but Obama has said the recession would have been worse without the stimulus and jobs like those at Savannah River.
The cost? Around $500,000 per job — but that money covers overhead and other costs at the site.
Thousands of applicants flocked to job fairs and waited hours in the hot sun for a chance to speak with Savannah River recruiters. To one of those new employees, it wasn't just a job opportunity — it was a saving grace.
Bob McClearen worked at Savannah River for 18 years until he was laid off in 1997, working on company presentations and business development. McClearen then struggled for more than a decade to make ends meet, opening a shipping store with his brother-in-law until that business closed last year because of the recession.