Jobs, Cops, Mops and Dips

Larry Summers appeared on Meet the Press this morning. He disagreed with the Washington Post regarding the Post's opposition to the use of stimulus funds to prevent the laying off of police officers around the country. I agree with Summers. As jobs disappear across the country and more and more people become desperate, there is likely to be an increase in personal petty crimes; shop-lifting, direct armed robberies, personal assaults, burglaries...... See the report of the armed robbery in Rockville posted below. We need to support the local police.

I also agree with Summers' support of the use of stimulus funds for Pell Grants and rehabilitation of the deteriorating condition of our schools. Without the hope and direction provided by education, our nation's reputation for invention and imagination will be crushed by the burden of simply obtaining food and shelter. The national spirit provided by the strength of mind and the leadership of curiosity provided by great teachers will be what leads America into the next decades. It is as important to protect the teaching profession as it is to protect our person and property through preserving law enforcement.

However, I strongly disagree with simply handing out checks. If you want to keep the economy going, pass out coupons for food, for rent, for mortgage payments. Specific identified coupons and programs that target the weaknesses in the economy.

Keep America in its homes. Stimulate job creation. Give America's entrepreneurs the incentive to hire and expand. Small business will lead this initiative. Multiply the circulation of each of the stimulus dollars. Credits in taxes for each new job would be better than checks for $ 500 to spend on Chinese T.V. sets and gold veneer braclets on QVC. I don't disagree with the expiration of the tax cuts for higher income Americans. Replace those tax cuts with credits for hiring. It chould be a simple equation: if you create a job, you make the same income you would have made without creating the job before the tax cuts expired. Make the failure to create jobs painful. Reward the creation of jobs. Bonus innovation and imagination. Create a product that can be exported - get a corresponding tax credit. Don't just spend, create. Alternative energy is important, food and shelter and job is more important.

Having an opinion is the legacy of so many who have sacrificed so much. My father and his generation fought for our freedom and that of the world. We can sacrifice today for the future of our children but please Mr. Congressman, don't sacrifice America's greatest asset - its imagination and creativity. Sphere: Related Content