If you were Obama's economic advisor...

Mr. President,

After reading your editorial about the economy posted in the Washington Post, I will say that I agree with and understand the sense of urgency you pushed on the matter. This crumbling economy cannot handle another day wasted, it needs action and a plan for recovery. An issue that resonates in my mind and in the minds of other Americans, is the struggle to hold a job and steering clear of unemployment. So many have already been affected by this and America knows it far too well, as it is embedded in one of the darkest places of our country's history. The Great Depression brought hardships upon millions of Americans, sounding very similar to the hardships of today. "By 1932 the unemployment rate had soared past 20 percent. Thousands of banks and businesses had failed." Currently, with our unemployment rate at 7.6 percent, we cannot afford to let it rise any further and rise to the point of the 1930's. A piece of advice for you would be to focus on creating more jobs for Americans. The new jobs should ben unthreatened by technological advancements, so that Americans keep them for years and years to come. It sounds like this is already woven into your plan, so I think it should be implemented as soon as possible.

In a way, Franklin Roosevelt's responsibilities during the Great Depression are very similar to the responsibilities you take on today. "On May 18, President Roosevelt submitted to congress the center-piece of his first hundred days: the National (Industrial) Recovery Act, or NRA." Roosevelt's plan was designed to promote recovery. It was set up to bring maximum work hours for laborers, minimum wages, and forbid child labor. My advice to you is to look back on our nation's history, especially the Great Depression. FDR's challenges relate so much to yours, so you can take away things to do, as well as not to do. My question for you is, when can we expect to see new jobs being created?

Thank you so much for your time Mr. President.

• Taylor, Nick. The New York Times. "The Great Depression". Link. 8 February 2009.
• United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Link. 8 February 2009.
• National Industrial Recovery Act. Acts, Bills, and Laws, 1933-1935. Link. 8 February 2009.
• DeLong, J. Bradford. The Economic History of the 20th Century. "Climbing out of the Great Depression". Link. 8 February 2009.
  

Internship Interview!
Time: Either 1 or 3:30 on Thursday 2/12
Location: My mentor's office
Technology: Possibly the iPod recorder thing (Leo, Chandler, and I all scheduled our interviews for the same day, so it would work if we all used it)