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In the five months since Congress passed the stimulus package (aka the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), millions of dollars have begun flowing into Oregon and other states. Medford is using a chunk of the federal money to make road repairs and put solar panels on its Higher Education Center. Arts organizations around the state breathed a sigh of relief at the news they'll be able to save some jobs with help from stimulus grants. Oregon also recently scored some extra federal dollars in competitive grants that will go towards building charging stations for electric cars and making and developing batteries.
Many of these projects create jobs, at least temporarily, though some construction companies are grumbling that there isn't enough work to go around since a lot of the stimulus money is going to fill the state budget hole. And some have raised concerns that the staff and capital improvements funded won't be sustainable in a couple of years when the federal money dries up.
Did you get (or keep) a job funded by stimulus money? Has your company hired people to do stimulus-related projects? What will happen to those jobs when the federal money runs out? How has your life been impacted by the stimulus package?
GUESTS:
- Mike Crennen: President of Knife River southern Oregon division
- Craig Willis: Artistic director for Lord Leebrick Theatre Company
- Madeleine Mader: Staff assistant to Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler
- Craig Hostetler: Executive director of Oregon Primary Care Association
- Mark McMullen: Director of government consulting for Moody’s Economy.com
Tagged as: arts · health · stimulus
Photo credit: alancleaver_2000 / Creative Commons
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Hundreds of youth have received job training, work readiness skill development, career counselling and a pay check through the Recovery Act funded Summer Youth programs of the Lane Workforce Partnership. For many of these youth, this was their first experience with the world of work. Many of them told us that this experience has had a significant impact on how they now think about their futures.
Programs like these were run this summer throughout the state, helping thousands of youth become more ready for work, education and careers. The Recovery Act has made a significant impact in the lives of these youth.
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Oregon, like many states, has had both successes and challenges helping people use "down time as training time." The Summer Youth programs mentioned by chforster are an example of the opportunities and successes created by ARRA funding. Oregon's Workforce Investment Boards (like the Lane Workforce Partnership) have also used ARRA funding to support a number of investments into training for emerging green jobs.
However, those implementing the programs have also faced challenges. Community Colleges have faced steep increases in student enrollment at a time when Oregon's tight budget situation has stretched their capacity to respond. Matching training capacity with future demand is also tricky in a tight economy.
Still, the Recovery Act provides an important tool for preparing people for work. About 50% of Oregon's jobs today and in the future require education past high school completion - industry recoginzed credentials, apprenticeships, associates degrees, etc. The ARRA provides a tool to help people gain the training they will need to compete for these jobs as they become available after the recession.
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Community Services Consortium (CSC) put 345 youth to work in Linn, Benton and Lincoln Counties this summer utilizing stimulus dollars. These funds supported 97 jobs for young people in CSC’s Albany area and another 93 in Corvallis, 75 in Lebanon and 80 youth jobs throughout Lincoln County. CSC Youth Employment Crews are completing projects identified as areas of community need. Partner agencies include City Parks and Recreation Departments, Hatfield Marine Science Center, OSU, local Watershed Councils and local schools, rural towns, Oregon State Parks and US Fish and Wildlife. Projects include residential weatherization, environmental clean-up, research studies, and invasive species eradication, as well as work skills development projects including the new River Java Coffee Cart at Two Rivers Market in Albany. CSC’s Youth Crews are developing work skills and learning applied math and science; all while earning a paycheck.
Steve Bekofsky, Director
Linn, Benton, Lincoln Workforce Investment Board
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stimulus to small business and working poor is a joke - especially when compared to the trillions lavished on global financial institutions who are not loaning to production sectors -- only using TARP money to buy smaller banks, create new derivatives and develop even faster trading mechanisms -- re-inflating the derivatives bubble that crashed the economy to begin with -- no surprise with banker crooks in every administrative finance position -- any average Joe believing this administration is trying to help them is being duped ------------- Tobin Tax - 1% on every stock, bond, option, put, hedge fund issue - would bring in billions to save the social networks ------- financial sector is the only part of this economy that is not fairly taxed and if you don't believe it. you're a dupe
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I have been unemployed since 6/30/08. None of these stimulus projects actually create jobs for the really needy. On Burnside, you can see hundreds of unemployed people sleeping in the park outside my building. If it wasn't for unemployment checks, I'd be out there with them.
Things like Highway projects just give work to companies that really were not hurting anyway. This does not create any readily available jobs for the Truly Unemployed. This just means that these people who already have well-paying jobs can buy another car.
What about the thousands of truly needy people out here. I live in Old Town, where there are always alot of Homeless People. But I can compare it from two years ago... There are dozen of people sleeping in the park by the 'Elephant' in the N. Park Blocks, during the day... EVERDAY. Hundreds of people are there when 'Food Not Bombs' is feeding out there. There are no entry-level jobs being created.
The stimulus is just being used to keep the rich contractors Rich!
BTW-- All the 'Day Labor' places that were paying $10/hr back when minimum wage was $7.25/hr... They Now pay $8.40/hr because people are desperate for work
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So Rebecca and Think Out Loud... what happens when a business like yours finds that it can't pay the money back? I'm sure your services are crucial to the fabric of our community, but you don't seem too confident in the future success of your company. I guess you're right, you should consider yourself fortunate to have received those monies. I'd be interested in knowing what sort of vetting process went on before you won this loan.
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Choo, unfortunately we have said goodbye to Rebecca. I will see if anyone else can address this question more generally, however.
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Choo,
The vetting process was extensive. See this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/business/smallbusiness/13small.html
These loans are not granted unless the bank and SBA can be convinced that the receiver is viable, as my business is.
If small business is indeed the backbone of an economy, then this program can not be considered wasteful. If the goal is to keep small business running then the program has been successful in my case.
Rebecca
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Should you not be able to access the article, I want to stress that the application process involved a comprehensive look at the past and current financials of my business, both in terms of profitability and cash flow prospects. The ability to repay the loan is of paramount importance, and let me assure you the SBA has the highest standards in this regard of any financial insitution I have encountered. The credit crisis has impacted all businesses and does not appear to be subsiding; these days commercial banks` decision to refuse credit is not always, perhaps seldom motivated by the solvency of the applicant.
Businesses rely on credit, it is the nature of the beast and is not a reflection of the health of a company. This program, I believe, is an attempt to allow businesses to survive in the face of this reality.
Rebecca
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Thank you for responding Rebecca and thanks for the link to the NY Times article, which answered my questions. I'm concerned though in your initial comments where you said the money simply saved you and your partner, but you're unable to hire anyone. No offense against you and your business, but you are providing a luxury item and thus more open to the flux of this economy and in my opinion a risky bet for future jobs. I'm sorry but I don't see the connection in the rescue of your specific company and the future health of the economy. I will certainly keep a watch of your progress. For everyone's sake I hope it is successful.
I think the goal of this money should be to keep small businesses running that show signs of aiding the community with future jobs.
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Choo,
I only have a moment but I sincerely share your concerns on this level. At the risk of sounding self-aggrandizing, I want you, and others out there who certainly feel as you do, to understand the breadth of impact one business has, even one like mine that supplies an admittedly luxury product.
I do extensive business with companies like UPS, independent graphic designers, and off the street window washers to name just a few. I work in conjunction with green industries, those working to further the eco-movement, as much as possible. I am involved in benefit projects for groups like Molly`s fund. When I can, I hire temporary help from the site on MLK. My rug suppliers employ many many people, and they use that money to allow them to do so. I support organizations dedicated to ensuring the future welfare of weavers, their families and their communities all over the world.
This is just my story. My point is not that my business is somehow morally deserving, but that the impact of one small business of any sort is far reaching.
Rebecca
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Rebecca, thank you for engaging me in this discussion and thank you Think Out Loud for offering the platform.
You said:
"Although the application process implied a goal of saving or creating jobs, the requirements and structure of the program have the effect of acting more as a stop-gap emergency measure, allowing us to temporarily retire debt and conserve cash for day to day operations. My partner and I will be able to save our jobs, our business will survive, but we will not hire anyone new."
I appreciate that every business is connected to a web of other service providers (I am a small business owner myself), but as you said, in respect to this stimulus, the goal is to save and create jobs. You seem to be saying in the above quote that you hear that, but that you are finding that you are using it differently as a "stop-gap emergency measure" and that its use will not achieve the intended purposes of creating jobs. That concerns me in that I wonder how that is playing out across the country and whether this is really going to help in the long run.
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Rebecca and Choo,
The fact that Kush carpets has weathered an economic storm of this magnitude thus far, indicates to me that this is a well managed, viable business deserving of financial help. I applaud the owners of Kush for persevering under these difficult circumstances.
In response to Choo, yes the economic stimulus package was meant to create jobs, but more importantly, it was meant to prevent the failure of viable businesses that are having a hard time getting credit. The credit markets are still reasonably frozen. I think Rebecca's point is, in this instance, not only has the stimulus saved two jobs at Kush, there's a far reaching trickledown effect if a business fails. If Kush goes out of business, this means everyone that provides Kush services has lost business of their own which may mean additional layoffs in their respective industries. Each of those lost jobs represents one less consumer to fuel the economy, and one more person competing for hard to find jobs. Magnify that by the failure of many small businesses, and you can see the impact it has on the economy. The point of the stimulus is to prevent this from happening.
An additional suggestion to Rebecca in case you haven't explored it- with property prices falling, and businesses going out of business, this may give you the leverage to re-negotiate your lease terms.
Additionally, you may want to consider diversifying. People are looking for bargains right now. I would assume you travel frequently to foreign countries given the nature of your business. You may want to offer additional wares at your store beyond high end rugs. For instance, home decor items that can be purchased cheaply in third world countries, and marked up substantially. If someone comes in to buy rugs, but decides it's beyond their budget, they may end up going home with a $200-300 dollar decor item that caught their eye before they left. Just a suggestion.
Wishing you success!
Pandora
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Our company is a small high tech manufacturer of scientific instruments for the materials science market and we have benefited from the stimulus package in that many of our customers are government and university entities which are investing their stimulus funds into R&D related to energy.
However, the stimulus money is geared more towards a short term boost of economic activity that also benefits the infrastructure of the country rather than longer term stimulation that occurs through the creation of new products, new jobs and new industries.
Changing the IRS Tax code to allow up to $250,000 to be loaned or invested as stock into the 401k participants’ business would be enough capital to not only help many companies through this recession, but also to allow them to make investments for future growth.
This form of a stimulus package would not use any government money and would also allow the small business owner to invest in his or her future in a way that would benefit the individual, the company and the over all economy.
So while the stimulus package is helping to dampen the effects of the recession, it is not going to be enough to provide for long term economic growth and stability.
Randy Dellwo
President and CEO
RBD Instruments
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Here's a link to how the money has been used in Multnomah Co. and who it has been given to: http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/locale/oregon/multnomah
Why was the Hobnob Grille given $54,900.00 whereas other businesses were not? Was it just because they applied and others did not? Who makes these decisions?
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This is really simple.
If you received money, via a job or handout because of the deficit spending, it is a success.
If you have received nothing then it is a failure.
It would be interesting to know how much the typical tax payer received.I do not know of anyone that has recieved anything.
My take has been zero.
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With the stimulus money, we have been able to provide summer jobs to 1,300 at-risk kids ages 16-24 in the Portland Metro area. This is the first funding we've had for a summer jobs program in a decade. This important program provides exposure to the world of work for kids who have otherwise disconnected. Of the kids participating:
- 100% are low income
- 69% are dropouts or at risk of dropping out
- 64% are kids of color
- 11% are pregnant/parenting
- 11% are homeless or runaway
- 11% are gang involved/affected
- 49% are food stamp recipients
- 54% are public assistance recipients
92 cents of every dollar goes directly to wages and support services for the kids and injects $3.27 million dollars in new money into the local economy. This has been a very successful program and we are looking for partners to help us continue to fund it after the stimulus money runs out.
Tricia Ryan, Chief Operating Officer
Worksystems, Inc. (covering the City of Portland, Multnomah and Washington Counties)
www.worksystems.org
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Who knows?!
Our experts couldn't anticipate our financial instability, so I doubt anyone (with any accuracy) is able to tell whether the stimulus is having an effect.
I assume economists don't care whether individuals per se are being helped---I think their rationale is that perhaps if bigger businesses are benefiting the money will trickle down to Mary the Muffin Maker. Whether this happens in any meaningful way is probably hard to ever determine. I can't tell if economists are just evil, or if they are just doing the best they can, in a system based on smoke and mirrors.
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The stimulus funds have made a world of difference for citizens in rural Oregon. Thanks to the ARRA funding more than 1000 young adults / youth in rural communities across the state are participating in meaningful summer work experiences - and suprisingly many of these jobs are ending up with long term job offers. The youth served in these jobs would have been competing with adults (possibly their parents) for work this summer. By providing this summer investment we were able to expose youth to a world of work and opportunities, get money into their pockets and provide them an opportunity to help their families and communities.
Youth aren't the only ones receiveing benefit of the ARRA investment in workforce though - adults and dislocated workers in the rural communities we serve are taking advantage of an Area wide scholarship program that provides them with the support necessary to pursue additional training and skills enhancements necessary to compete for jobs in the recovering economy.
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This is an old conversation and I doubt that any of the participants are checking the posts, but I wanted to follow up with Choo and share the good news that we just hired our first employee. The SBA backed loan we received through Albina bank as part of the stimulus Recovery Act allowed us to weather what I believe was the worst of the economic storm. We will continue to be cautious and conservative, but we have created a job, and will repay the loan as agreed.
Rebecca
Kush Hand-knotted Carpets
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This comment has been removed by the TOL staff.
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Comments are now closed.
I have definitely benefited from the portion of the economic stimulus money that went to health information technology. This summer I was hired in a summer internship at OHSU's Department of Medical Informatics and Epidemiology (DMICE) to learn about informatics and contribute to some of the research in that field. This has been a great opportunity for me both in terms of exploring a new field to apply my engineering skills and health care interests, and in securing temporary work for the summer. Note that since I was laid off from my engineering job in March 2008, I have been interviewing for jobs and exploring new areas of interest. The economic stimulus money provided the funds to hire two times more interns this summer at OHSU DMICE than last summer, and that has allowed me to invesitgate this field as a potential career change.