The Fourth of July has come and gone. Our great nation is another year older and while all the hot dogs have been eaten, beer consumed, and fireworks blown up, there is one thing that remains.
What lingers is the uniquely American feeling of patriotism and the desire to ensure that our country’s best days lay ahead.
Unfortunately, June’s job numbers don’t appeal to either of these ever-present notions. We must reevaluate our approach to guarantee our economy recovers.
June’s dismal employment figures – the country lost 125,000 nonfarm jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – raise questions concerning the state of the economy.
These numbers came after five straight months of job creation, not job loss.
This is why the need for a second stimulus is so pressing. Now is not the time for fiscal austerity. Many people are uncomfortable with the size of our national debt, but they are also uncomfortable with the state of the employment market.
Choosing between the lesser of two evils, creating jobs seems to be the best choice. It is the most pressing matter, as the national unemployment rate still hovers just under 10 percent.
Enacting a second stimulus would not be fiscally irresponsible as many on the right maintain.
The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan institute in charge of tracking congressional budgets, gave a testimony in front of President Barack Obama’s bipartisan fiscal commission charged with addressing the nation’s deficit.
In the testimony, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf used prepared PowerPoint slides to aid him. One of the last slides read, “There is no intrinsic contradiction between providing additional fiscal stimulus today, while the unemployment rate is high and many factories and offices are underused, and imposing fiscal restraint several years from now, when output and employment will probably be close to their potential.”
According to The Washington Post, Elmendorf also said, “Enacting cuts in spending or increases in taxes now would probably slow the recovery.”
Such an example would be the extension of unemployment benefits. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are getting by on next to nothing while a bill to extend the benefits they rely on is stalled in the Senate due to the eternal filibuster by the minority party.
It seems the hallowed halls of Washington made our state’s senators forget their constituents. Both Arizona Sens. John Kyl and John McCain voted against the extension of unemployment benefits.
We can ensure the lingering feelings of patriotism and altruism toward our country last by enacting a second stimulus and aiding the unemployed. By helping the American people with these legislative initiatives, the economy can continue to recover.
Without support, our citizens will be left in the ruins of the financial crisis and wonder why the country they love so much has deserted them.
To our elected officials, do the patriotic thing and help the American people. Pass a second stimulus and extend unemployment benefits now.
Andrew can be reached at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu
