Thank you, Mr. President

“THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT”

That’s something we don’t hear much these days, but Missourians have much to be thankful for despite these difficult economic times. Why the “good news” doesn’t bubble up to the surface in our public discourse is a topic for another day.

Most Americans don’t realize how much worse their financial situation would be if President Obama and the 111th Congress hadn’t plugged the leak in the ship of state and kept it afloat long enough for businesses to recover.

Immediately after passage of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, Governor Jay Nixon issued an executive order giving the Transform Missouri team (www.transform.gov) within the Office of Administration oversight authority for Missouri’s share of stimulus funds. Much of the money went to help unemployed workers pay their bills and low-income families access medical care. Jobs were saved and created that might otherwise have put thousands more Missouri families at risk of losing their homes.

Although the media won’t tell us, ARRA actually created more private sector jobs than George Bush created in his entire presidency. In my town of Pacific, MO, private construction companies widened the main thoroughfare, replaced all the lights in city buildings with new energy-saving fixtures, and replaced the old blowers at the city waste treatment facility with new, more efficient ones that will save the city $30,000 in electric bills annually. The Transform Missouri website shows how much each Missouri county received in stimulus funds and how many jobs were created. Check out www.recovery.gov for national totals.

Another life saver for many Missourians is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Thanks to this major piece of legislation, Americans no longer have to fear being denied health insurance because of something in their past medical history. Children born with health issues will automatically be covered under their parents’ health plan, meaning no more arguing with clerks in insurance offices. Children can stay on their parents’ insurance plan through age 26 which will help many college students and young workers who otherwise couldn’t afford insurance.

Eventually, when the legislation is fully implemented, 495,000 uninsured Missourians will gain health coverage. Most of the uninsured are in working class families. Healthier workers are more productive and miss fewer days on the job. Small businesses will get help by way of tax credits to help offset the cost of premiums and will get the same benefit on insurance premiums as large employers do when insurance exchanges are set up.

Rural Missourians should see an increase in the number of doctors and health clinics available to them without having to drive all day to get medical care. The National Health Services Corps will receive $1.5 billion in funding for scholarships and loan repayment for primary care physicians and nurses who work in areas where there is a shortage of trained medical personnel. It is common knowledge that preventative care decreases the need for
expensive and painful surgeries and medical interventions.

Missouri has its share of veterans who need good medical care, especially the younger vets returning from several tours of duty overseas. The 111th Congress added $4.6 billion to the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and train more mental health professionals. President Obama signed the Christopher and Dana Reeves Paralysis Act, the first piece of legislation aimed specifically at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis.

Much of the fear and anger that brought out an unusually high number of voters in the recent election was the result of financial insecurity. People owe more on their homes than they are worth. Many have used up their savings and are paying bills with credit cards. Workers need two or three incomes to support a family because there has not been a significant increase middle-class income for almost 30 years. The wealth gap in the U.S. now mirrors that of the 1930’s Great Depression and is similar to that of many Third World nations.

Financial reform was long overdue, and the Obama administration made the case for creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans. Now credit card companies will find it much harder to use bait and switch tactics on interest rates. Mortgage lenders will have to actually verify the information from customers about their income, credit history and employment status before issuing loans that people can’t afford to pay back. And banks will no longer be able to gamble with our savings and pension funds.

Despite all the negative press being thrown at our president and the Democrats in Congress, Missourians have a lot to be thankful for , and historians will write the last chapter of this era with more objectivity than today’s media.