Last Friday I was afforded the opportunity to attend Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press conference at my son's preschool, Holy Family Day Home http://www.holyfamilydayhome.org/ in San Francisco (yep, that is ME with the curly hair and red glasses next to her!). HFDH was chosen in part due to its century long history of supporting low income families in our city. In addition to enrolling private pay students, HFDH secures government subsidies for over 85% of their students who come from low income homes. It is alarming how many families are considered "homeless" that attend the program (somewhere around 20%).Speaker Pelosi shared with us that over $2 billion will go towards child care from the recently approved economic stimulus package. California will receive about 10% of these funds, or $200 million...which we really need. Hopefully these funds will start flowing around April, and will prevent a hike in child care tuition for the families that need it most. Really all families would benefit from keeping tuition hikes at bay, with unemployment STILL on the rise, not just subsidized families. Click this link for the SF Chronicle story: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/28/BAKF166L71.DTL&hw=nancy+pelosi&sn=010&sc=295
Other approvals affecting San Francisco:
$100 million to rebuild Doyle Drive (the rest of the $1 billion needed was previously secured)
$10 million for MUNI 3rd Street Light Rail
$8 million regional water recycling program
$1.9 million for Transbay Terminal
$1.75 million for Presidio Heritage Center
$951,000 SF biofuels program
$950,000 for GG Bridge movable median barrier
$476,000 for upgrade to Chinese Hospital
$333,000 for SFSU training programs for health professionals
$238,000 for the Glide Foundation
I understand that Speaker Pelosi and President Obama are under pressure and scrutiny for these earmarks, but they account for about 2% of the total spending bill. They will create jobs, and allow projects like Doyle Drive to finally be completed. It seems pretty ridiculous that the $1 billion project has been on hold all this time waiting for $2 million. And quite frankly, I am sick of watching the horrifying commercial on what will happen to Doyle if we have an earthquake.
The jury is still out on this stimulus package, and I think the amount of money this recovery will demand is nothing short of monstrous and threatening. However, as we have learned in the State of California...doing nothing can be just as costly. I have my fingers crossed...
