The Governments Efforts Towards Improving The Economy

It is no question that the current economy is at an all time low: 12.2 percent to be exact, according to tampabayonline.com. The question that is going around people’s minds is, what actions is the government taking in order to pull Florida out of this unemployment slump?

         According to Tampabayonline.com, some economists are saying that the unemployment rate is not going to drop to 6 percent, still a high number, until 2018. There are other economists that don’t feel comfortable making a projection, but agree that the economy is on a long road to recovery.

         In President Obama’s first State of the Union address on January 28, he cataloged his efforts in trying to rescue the economy. He made it clear that creating more jobs was his first priority in 2010. According to CNN.com, Obama says, “we extended or increased unemployment benefits for more than 18 million Americans.” He also talked about cutting taxes, stating, “We cut taxes for 95 percent of working families. We cut taxes for small businesses.”

         According to CNN.com, in the State of the Union address, Obama also talked about The Recovery Act, or the stimulus bill, something that he is hoping will add another 1.5 million jobs by the end of the year.

Obama also revealed in the address, that in Tampa, FL, he would inflict a high-speed railroad, which is financially available through the stimulus bill.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, according to tampabayonline.com, urges support for the mass transportation system, which she says, “will allow Tampa to retain a competitive edge in attracting companies and jobs.”

For the Tampa-Orlando line, a federal grant of $1.25 billion dollars will allow the rail line to happen.

The mass transportation system will create many new jobs for the unemployed in the Tampa and Orlando areas, seeing as many workers will be required for the successful execution of this project.

         Only time will tell what the effect of the high-speed railroad will have on the unemployment rate. The first rail line may not be up and running until 2015, according to nytimes.com.

         In his State of the Union address, Obama also urged the senate to pass the jobs bill that he and the house had already passed. The bill slashes “the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America.”

 According to tampabayonline.com, Iorio also pointed out companies that are choosing Tampa to hold their business such as IKEA, a Swedish furniture retailer that came to Tampa last year. The retailer currently employs 400 workers.

Hopefully, other companies will follow in IKEA’s footsteps so Tampa can continue to grow and prosper with many new job opportunities.

Many economists disagree on when and how the economy is going to recover. Although it is a universal prediction that it will take a long time to get the economy back to where it was in the mid-2000s.