Reason #6: No Jobs, No Prob.
April 21, 2009
Looks like our glory days are over!
Since the recesssion was declared, America has lost over 2.6 million jobs. Additionally, people who have kept their jobs have had thier hours severely truncated: the “underemployment rate” is at almost 15%. Financial experts predict that we will lose about 100,000 jobs per month in all sectors if the economy continues to downslide.
But how could this be exciting? Because Barack Obama is following through with his promise to expand Americorps and the Peace Corps significantly. Obama vows that by 2012, he will almost triple the size of Americorps to 250,000 members annually and double the size of the Peace Corps to over 16,000.
So: the copywriter finds herself laid off from her position at Velocity credit union. She now has more of an opportunity than ever before to travel to different parts of the world or country, use her talents and health where it is needed most, gain a sense of personal responsibility and self, and give back to the world. And earn money.
So: the college student, scared stuff and hungry for money to pay off loans suddenly finds herself faced with a crippled economy. And now Americorps is less competitive, she can use the oppotunity to pay off her loans, rebuild America’s infrastructure from the belly up–where it needs it the most.
“Americans are not the problem,” Obama said. “They are the solution.”
These ideas have taken shape in the form of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which allots billions of federal dollars to not only provide jobs for Americans, but jobs that will improve the lives of other Americans. All playing off good ol’ recession rhetoric.
Get fired from your money grubbing bank job and volunteer with the poor instead?
