Stepping into the Oval Office, Barack Obama had the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression handed to him. After barely a month in office, President Obama has formulated an economic stimulus and recovery plan to attempt to save the nation’s economy from complete ruin.
This plan includes allocating billions of dollars to different projects around the country, increasing our national debt past its current ten trillion dollar status. Members of both parties in the House and Senate have criticized the plan, especially over its size and the allocation of the money.
Here at The University, many students have been following the recovery package’s progression. The following are samples of University students’ thoughts on the plan.
JOHN SWEENEY, COMMERCE 2009
Fourth-year Commerce student John Sweeney has mixed feelings about the bailout plan. While he noted that “we need something,” Sweeney explained that he wishes “there was a more immediate spending bill” because much of the funds will not go into the system until 2010.
Although many in Congress, as well as ordinary citizens, have argued that Obama’s plan should not be passed because of our already steep national debt, Sweeney does not agree with this fully.
“The national debt is only 75 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, [which is] not nearly as high as after World War II, and only about half of that in the beginning ‘90s,” he said. Sweeney feels that the United States’ debt needs to be compared in the percentage scale, not the numbers scale.
In reference to where the money has been allocated, Sweeney stated that a lot of the money has been wasted. He believes that the package would do more good if more was allocated to infrastructure and less to one-time projects.
Sweeney stated that the job market will be about the same as it has been for current Commerce School students, although he feels that the plan will help to preserve jobs that have not been lost yet.
Sweeney, a graduating Commerce student, considers himself lucky to have found a job working for J.P. Morgan Chase in New York next year.
ERIC MOSTER, COMMERCE 2009
Fourth-year Commerce student and President of the Sales and Trading Group at McIntire, Eric Moster stated, “Everything indicates it is time to take bolder, more dramatic steps.”
Moster commented that Obama’s plan will be good in the short run, but borrowing money from future generations will leave trillions of dollars for current students to pay back someday. Due to this, Moster does not believe that this plan is truly in the best interest of the country.
Although Moster does not approve of handing the debt to the University students’ generation, he believes it will help stimulate the job market, creating an economy in which employers will be willing to hire.
Regarding the allocation of the bailout money, Moster agrees with Obama in that it is beneficial to direct money toward discovering alternative energy, which will help fuel the United States in the future, while creating jobs in the present.
Moster recognized that the national debt is of concern with the package, yet acknowledged that the United States has never completely eliminated its debt.
“People talk about how the U.S. debt is huge, but to put it in perspective, in relative to GDP, it is less than 100 percent, [which is] less than other countries,” stated Moster. He continued, “In the short term, this one decision won’t bankrupt the country.”
Overall, Moster believes Obama’s recovery package is “helping people who need it the most without letting the people who caused the problem get off free.”
JAMES LINVILLE, COLLEGE 2011
Second-year College student James Linville has followed Obama’s recovery plan closely. He stated that the stimulus plan was necessary, but added his concern that University students, as taxpayers, “are eventually going to be paying [for the plan].”
Due to this, Linville believes that this generation of students “needs to make sure [the money] is spent with our own interest in mind and not just handed out based on government interest.”
Linville said that he feels that the government has done a good job so far in allocating the funds to companies that need it, but with the remaining $190 billion dollars left to be allocated, there needs to be increased transparency in order to avoid problems.
Many compare Obama’s recovery plan to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Linville said that the stimulus plan and the New Deal “have both come with unprecedented government oversight and regulation in the market.” He noted the risks of such a situation, adding, “We need to make sure [the money] is not held in the power of the few in government.”
Linville does not believe that this stimulus package will affect current University students in a positive manner, stating that this generation is “being borrowed against. We’re going to be paying back in trades and inflation.”
Linville also feels that this plan hurts our generation because it will not make it any easier for University students to find jobs in the next few years.
Although Linville has his doubts about the plan, he concluded that “if we can manage to rid the bill as much as we can of special interests, we’ll look back on it as something that had to happen and we did our best.”
LESLIE ALPERT, COMMERCE 2010
Third-year Commerce student Leslie Alpert believes that there are some promising aspects to Obama’s plan.
“This is a start,” she said. “It is by no means a cure-all answer.”
Alpert noted that the money going directly to the cities and states will help create jobs quickly, in turn stimulating the dwindling economy. The state projects to which the government is giving money, such as public works projects, must be started within six months, she said. This will give the state a timeline for creating new jobs, once again giving thousands of workers steady paychecks.
While Obama’s plan is sending money to public works projects, helping many Americans, Alpert said that she believes America is in need of a bank plan because the current proposal is unable to deal with the state of banks.
In reference to the University, Alpert stated that since the state of Virginia will be given money, many of the cuts given to the University may be reimbursed.
Despite her optimism regarding Obama’s plan, Alpert does not feel that it will necessarily help Commerce students with a financial or banking focus.
Alpert said that “internships are the key to getting a job in the finance world.” In today’s economy, many internships, especially paid internships, are hard to come by because employers have no room in their budgets to take on extra employees.
Although the recovery package may not help Alpert directly, she believes that Obama is on the correct path for saving America’s economy. She noted that Obama is smart for pursuing this plan in small steps because if he immediately asked for the trillions of dollars necessary to save the economy, there would be a backlash from both Democrats and Republicans.
Alpert also recognizes that as a new president, there is only so much Obama can accomplish in a such a short period, stating that Obama is “doing the best he can with what he’s got.”
Alpert said that Obama’s greatest accomplishment in this plan will be helping Americans regain faith in the economic system.
“People today have no faith in the economy and are saving every penny they have,” she said. Yet, she continued, if Obama’s plan succeeds, Americans will regain confidence in the economy, stimulating them to buy more and in turn fixing the retail market.
Although this plan is only a start, Alpert expressed optimism.
“Hopefully it will lead to a full blown, stimulating economy.”
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