Stimulus program needed for laid off workers

When a person is laid off from a job, he is in danger of having his house foreclosed.  If he is buying a house, and can have his car repossessed, he will lose a large part of his buying power. 

During the ongoing recession, we hear about stimulus packages for car manufacturers, banks and other businesses.  It is true they all suffer from an economic downturn.

It is a vicious circle.  When the economy falters for one reason or another,  then businesses falter and people are laid off.  When people are laid off, then the consumer market is weakened further.

A massive bailout program for the failing business community is one proposal for a stimulus plan.  But, if we bolster the business community and ignore the importance of the consumer, then we are taking care of only one part of the problem.  If there is insufficient market for the businesses, they will fail eventually even without a bailout.

A stimulus plan that would strengthen the consumers’ financial position would do more to strengthen the economy.  When millions of people are laid off and out of work, their buying power is reduced significantly.  When that happens businesses suffer also.

A stimulus plan is needed that would restore a laid off person to his former financial level that he had before his layoff.  Workers compensation supplies some finances, but additional funds are needed to bring the person up to his former level before he was laid off.

Before he was laid off, he was able to make mortgage payments, car payments and other necessary payments.  If he continues to have approximately the same finances after he is laid off, he can continue to make those payments and the business community would not suffer near as much.

A stimulus package such as that could be handled a lot like a workers’ insurance plan.  It would benefit not only the employee and employer.  When the economy has recovered and the laid off worker is back on the job again, then the program would end for that person at that time.

I feel that this kind of stimulus program would be a good investment to the country.

Carl H. Dahlberg

Bonners Ferry