State Dem chief says Utah needs the stimulus plan
article: State Dem chief says Utah needs the stimulus plan
The following Op-ed by State Party Chairman Wayne Holland appeared on the Daily Herald's website.
Friday, 06 February 2009
| State Dem chief says Utah needs the stimulus plan |
| Wayne Holland | |
|
Jobless claims continue to rise; the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently released its annual report card on the state of America's infrastructure and now estimates we have a $2.2 trillion maintenance backlog, an increase of $600 million over 2005; state revenues, as the debate underway on Capitol Hill clearly shows, are in free fall. In spite of these facts not a single House Republican voted to support needed investments in infrastructure or relief to states struggling to meet the needs of their citizens in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. So far only Congressman Jim Matheson has stood with Utah's working families, state government and communities to ensure desperately needed services continue being provided throughout Utah.
The current crisis demands we move beyond the tired arguments about whether or not the market will eventually work it all out on its own. It didn't between October, 1929 and March of 1932 and it is doubtful at best it will this time around. Our seniors cannot afford to go without food and health care for months or years on end while we test the theory free markets eventually correct themselves. Our children can't afford to sacrifice an education during critical years of early development in hopes Republicans are right and this too shall pass. Similarly, putting off needed investments in infrastructure in the name of fiscal responsibility is just borrowing Peter to pay Paul. If the ASCE is correct, we have already borrowed $2.2 trillion from future generations in hopes our generation can avoid the cost of needed maintenance of our bridges, highways, railways, pipelines and sewer systems. Waiting any longer would make no sense in the best of times and makes even less sense when we need the jobs such investment would create. So what does Utah stand to gain from the recovery package President Obama and Democrats have put together? Nearly 25,000 jobs for starters. That amounts to a projected 1.6% reduction in unemployment below what we would otherwise experience if we do nothing. Utah school children will also benefit from new and renovated schools and more computers in the classroom. Parents wondering how they will be able to send their kids to college will see increased investment in Pell Grants and college tax credits. Last but certainly not least seniors will continue to receive meals on wheels and the unemployed will receive additional benefits while looking for work. If Senators Hatch and Bennett choose to join Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz to vote "no" on the recovery package, they might as well tell Governor Huntsman he never should have ended the brief moratorium on transportation projects the budget crisis recently forced him to impose. The recovery package is costly, but no more so than sacrificing education, infrastructure or needed services to the poor and elderly. No nation that ignored these things for long ever prospered. •Wayne Holland Jr., Chair, Utah State Democratic Committee |
© February 6, 2009 Daily Herald
