Free Topic: Economic Stimulus

I want to talk about this economic stimulus bill they are talking about a lot in the news, mostly because I have my own personal stake in this plan. I am searching for a job in the architecture industry. In a recession, or even a slight hiccup in the economy, architects are usually the first to feel it, because they are the first ones to act in the process of creating new facilities, and when plans for new facilities or renovations decline, they are the first to get laid off. Right now I am struggling to even get an interview because of the small workload of so many firms. If passed and implemented quickly, the stimulus plan, which funds transportation projects and school modernization, could put architects, engineers, and construction workers back to work.

However, I am sort of concerned about whether this bill, as is, will create a broad enough range of jobs. A lot of architects are concerned that a lot of the funding going towards these projects are, to use a phrase that politicians have been saying, "shovel ready" (ready to build but lacking in funds) and can put people back to work immediately. However, architects and engineers do not benefit from funds going to "shovel ready" projects. We also need to re-start projects that are "pencil ready" (partially through the design phase but incomplete) and begin new projects altogether. And we can all benefit from the long term results; more energy efficient buildings and better transportation and infrastructure. The US is the only industrialized country in the world without high speed rail. We rely too much on our cars, and the roads we drive on are falling apart. And, wouldn't it be nice to have an electricity grid that doesn't go out because of snowstorms? I believe our technology is advanced enough to achieve that. I'm not saying that the stimulus plan doesn't address these issues already, it's just a question of focus, and "how much."

Also, I'm concerned about the amount of money this bill allocates for tax cuts. I pulled this pie chart off of The New York Times' site:























See the light blue part there on the top right? The one that takes up about a third of the entire stimulus? Those are tax cuts. They plan to direct these tax cuts towards people in the middle and lower tax brackets, in hopes that they will spend more money at retail stores and stimulate the economy. While the middle class's recent restraint on spending money is part of the cycle that got us into this mess, I'm not sure that cutting their taxes necessarily means that they will start spending again. There is a complete lack of confidence among the middle class. They fear losing their jobs and are saving their money just in case they do. If they get tax cuts, there's a good chance that they may just save it or use it to pay their bills. This is what happened last year. Remember the "stimulus package" of 2008? The one that gave everyone somewhere between $300 and $1500, depending on marital status and number of dependents? I think that was a failed act for these reasons. It may have prolonged the stock market crash that happened in September, but it didn't stimulate the economy the way we hoped it would. I'm not saying that tax cuts won't work, but people need to have more confidence about their future in order to get the results we want.

That concludes my thoughts about the stimulus plan. Sorry if that bored you, but it's been a big point of concern for me lately.