Yes: The Recovery Act has brought jobs to our valley
Steve Pougnet, Opinion
Special to The Desert Sun
You have only to watch TV, open a newspaper or talk to your friends, family members and neighbors to understand exactly how hard our economy has been hit here in the Coachella Valley. Here in California and nationwide, we face the worst economic crisis we’ve seen in decades. As mayor of Palm Springs and chairman of the executive committee of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, I’ve talked to people throughout our Valley about how badly the economic downturn has affected them.
Given the state of our economy, in the beginning of the year, the economic recovery package was signed into law. While the Recovery Act isn’t perfect, and there should have been a greater focus on creating jobs immediately, the bill has actually provided a much needed boost to the Coachella Valley. From the construction of major interchanges on Interstate 10 to the many teaching jobs in the Coachella Valley Unified School District that were saved, the stimulus is starting to make a difference. While there is so much more work to do to fix our struggling economy, jobs in our region are being created and more than $12million in low-interest loans have been issued to small businesses throughout the desert, helping them expand and grow.
Unfortunately, in an effort to score political points, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack claimed earlier this week that only 16 jobs have been created. That simply is not accurate.
Bono Mack routinely claims credit for projects in our region funded by the Recovery Act, even though she voted against the bill. We see this type of hypocrisy far too often from our leaders in Washington. We need a representative who will use his or her position in Congress to make sure jobs are created here. After all, with her vote, Bono Mack made it clear that she’s opposed to this effort.
Through my work with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, I have seen some direct benefit the Recovery Act has had on our district. For those of you who commute on I-10 every day, for example, Recovery Act funds are being used to construct new interchanges at Bob Hope Drive and Ramon Road as well as Gene Autry Trail and Palm Drive. These projects will create more than 600 good-paying jobs and ease traffic congestion throughout the district.
The city of Palm Springs received funds to initiate a park construction project that will generate two dozen jobs.
And the Coachella Valley Unified School District received much needed support. In this difficult economy, while schools across Riverside County have been forced to make tough decisions, 40 Coachella Valley teachers were able to keep their jobs and the schools are able to keep class sizes at 21 students per class.
As mayor, public safety is my No. 1 concern. With less help from Sacramento, our cities are forced to make difficult decisions and must balance their budgets while keeping our communities safe. Fortunately, the Recovery Act has allowed us to hire 63 new police personnel throughout Riverside County, including 50 sheriff’s deputies as well as officers in Indio, Palm Springs and Cathedral City.
There is so much more work that must be done to improve our economic climate. We should be able to count on our elected leaders to work on our behalf every single day, not engage in political games.
Read this article at MyDesert.com
