Amid all the arguments over development, swale and freedom of expression, Loudoun quietly is recovering from the Great Recession. Unemployment is falling (even as the Senate finally overcomes Republican obstruction to help those still without jobs), and there are plenty of shoppers at the Leesburg Corner Outlets every weekend.
It should be noted that this recovery is made possible, in part, by the over 40 projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. From Leesburg to Round Hill, Sterling to Aldie, stimulus funds are helping create and sustain jobs and spur growth.
Follow below for a summary of a few of these projects.Throughout Loudoun, millions (if not billions) of dollars have been made available by the Federal Government to keep our economy on track. And that money is doing just that, enhancing health care options in Leesburg, creating jobs in Ashburn and fixing roads all around the County. Here are just three examples:
- Cornwall Medical Center – Loudoun Community Health Center, aka the Cornwall Hospital, is receiving over 1.3 million dollars for capital improvements and increased coverage for people who need local health services in Leesburg. Stimulus money has helped Cornwall retain and hire new staff to the tune of over 18 jobs, right here in Leesburg.
- Windy Hill Shelter – This important shelter for our neighbors in need received funding for energy efficiency improvements, including rehabilitation of 11 units and installation of solar panels to help defray energy costs. This is spending money now to save money later. It is an investment in the people, and future of Loudoun county.
- Head Start – Over a million dollars has been invested by the ARRA in Loudoun County’s children through various awards to the Head Start program. This has created jobs in Ashburn and elsewhere and helped ensure that all Loudoun’s kids have the best foundation for their future.
And these are just three examples, a very small sampling of the dozens of programs and projects benefiting from the strong stand that our President and our Democratic Congress took in 2009.
The change we need began with the first bill of the new Congress in 2009, and has not stopped since. From Federal funding for recovery through dozens of projects to school loan reform that helps send our kids to college to health care reform that will keep those kids covered when they graduate, to credit card and Wall Street reform, this Congress and President have been watching out for us. Putting America, and Loudoun, back on the right path.
We will do well to remember that in November.
These are not today’s tax dollars, these are tomorrows tax dollars. This is going to lead to another big fall in the economy when these stimulus dollars run out. Typical democrats, every time I see McGimsey speak she wants to raid the feds to pay for everything. And she voted no to Kincora when her architect planning commissioner voted yes. What is up with that????
Who is going to pay for Loudouns bogus energy policy when the grant runs out???
Whenever I read something like this, I’m amazed. I’m amazed that the idea of “Government” as some hostile, external force imposing itself on the poor helpless little people has been so successfully promulgated. That’s certainly the case with many governments, but in our great experiment it is a government by, for, and of the people. It’s not “the government’s money,” it’s our money. It’s not “the government’s economy,” it’s our economy. We elect and fund representatives to manage these things, but “they” are still part of “us.”
Someone wants very much for us to see it differently. Hmm, I wonder who it could be?
It’s classical demand-side economics. When the economy is lagging because people are out of work, a government infusion of funds (aka, a stimulus) gets people working again. Those newly employed begin to spend their earnings, which, in turn, benefits those businesses being patronized. Those businesses then grow, and, to meet the increased demand for goods and services, should start hiring more workers, thereby repeating the cycle.
This is how it works, in theory. The pump that needs to be primed, though, is very rusty from years of neglect at the beginning of this decade. We’re getting there, slowly, but surely.
One person’s “government handout” is another’s “wise public investment.” I rather doubt that the cops and road crews being funded by this money see themselves as the benficiaries of an inefficient handout. Similarly, I doubt that the kids and elderly getting food as a result consider themselves getting a free gift from a magic goose.
I know it’s tax money. There’s nothing in my post that indicates otherwise. It’s a question of priorities. I believe that it is a worthy priority to spend my tax money here, on projects and needs in my neighborhood, rather than, say, dropping bombs in Afghanistan or subsidizing a one-year estate tax break for families with over $10 million in assets.
But that’s just my opinion.
This is not a recovery, this is a government handout.
Then money is coming from the tax payers, so this is not going to do anything in the long run.
Like Loudoun’s bogus energy policy passed recently to get money from the government.
We in the building business know more about saving energy EFFICIENTLY then any bureaucrat and certainly don’t need the governments help.
Money from the government is not free and does not in the long run help the economy. Tax dollars come from the citizens not some magical golden goose.
Of course, Frank Wolf voted against the ARRA and the tens of millions of dollars it provides to Loudoun. Nice.