Back To Work
Now that the Labour Day weekend is over and all the kids are back at school and everyone else heads back to work, the political season is also back in swing.
September traditionally marks the time when politicians in the United States come back to work after meeting with constituents and holding fund raisers over the month of August. This year however, members of Congress will be returning only for a few weeks before they leave again to campaign before the November midterm elections.
With unemployment remaining high at 9.6% those few weeks could be critical, not only for a politician's chances at re-election, but for those struggling to find work when hiring in the private sector increases ever so slowly. As such, the President announced a $50 billion plan to "rebuild 150,000 miles of road, lay and maintain 4,000 miles of rail track, restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next-generation air-traffic control system." Perhaps most ripe for political attack is the proposal to create a government run bank headed by experts who would award funding to projects across the country in an attempt to focus development. However, according to the New York Times article linked above, the plan has been given solid bipartisan support from governors Ed Rendell and Arnold Schwarzenegger and various policy wonks.
Whether or not Congress will be able to pass any legislation prior to the elections will be interesting to watch at the very least, but at the moment it doesn't seem likely because Republicans are enjoying a large lead in voter enthusiasm.
In any event, watch the President's announcement below:
September traditionally marks the time when politicians in the United States come back to work after meeting with constituents and holding fund raisers over the month of August. This year however, members of Congress will be returning only for a few weeks before they leave again to campaign before the November midterm elections.
With unemployment remaining high at 9.6% those few weeks could be critical, not only for a politician's chances at re-election, but for those struggling to find work when hiring in the private sector increases ever so slowly. As such, the President announced a $50 billion plan to "rebuild 150,000 miles of road, lay and maintain 4,000 miles of rail track, restore 150 miles of runways and advance a next-generation air-traffic control system." Perhaps most ripe for political attack is the proposal to create a government run bank headed by experts who would award funding to projects across the country in an attempt to focus development. However, according to the New York Times article linked above, the plan has been given solid bipartisan support from governors Ed Rendell and Arnold Schwarzenegger and various policy wonks.
Whether or not Congress will be able to pass any legislation prior to the elections will be interesting to watch at the very least, but at the moment it doesn't seem likely because Republicans are enjoying a large lead in voter enthusiasm.
In any event, watch the President's announcement below:
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Read the President's remarks below:
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