The bill, which Obama turned into Congress on Monday, includes measures to improve schools and infrastructure, while cutting payroll taxes for businesses and giving tax credits to middle and lower class families.  Unemployed college graduates, many of whom are in debt to the federal government, are left out in the cold by the proposal.

“People need jobs and I get that, but thinking specifically from my view point I’m not going to go and start pouring concrete and building bridges,” says Dave Byrne, a recent graduate of Loyola University Maryland, a small liberal arts college in Baltimore, MD.  Byrne, who majored in history, has yet to find employment. “I’m going to start owing a lot of money to the federal government in student loans and I don’t know what can be done about that.”

If a recent graduate is unemployed, they can apply for deferment of their loans, and if approved, they will be able to postpone payments for a set period of time but the borrower’s loans will accrue even more interest. Byrne has until December before the six month grace period expires on his loans and must begin repayment. He would rather not file for deferment.

Byrne considers President Obama’s proposal is a step in the right direction but, “politicians [need to] decide to start looking out for us and stop worrying about short term ratings and polls and start letting programs work.” It seems Washington is concerned with the immediate future of short term job creation and the long term future for schoolchildren, but lacks vision for what is in between. How many times have politicians preached that “children are our future,” and they deserve the best education?” That attitude changes once children actually receive their education. Sarcastically, Byrne mocks, “we’re privileged college kids now. Why would we need help?”

Obama repeatedly urged members of Congress that “you must pass this bill,” in his speech Thursday. This comes at a time where the public has been increasingly frustrated with parties fighting over issues and not getting things done until the last minute. The threat of default from the question of raising the debt ceiling last month comes to mind.  Byrne agrees it is time for Washington to move beyond party politics and work to restructure the tax code and the national debt to help the American people. He says, “there is an up and down to any policy change but thats not an excuse not to act.”

Polls have been showing less and less young people are in support of President Obama since he first took office. Many of them being first time voters at the time of his election, they feel Obama has failed to deliver the change he originally promised.  Many are facing the harsh truth of the dragging economy now as they struggle to find jobs.  Students are finding that there are few industries actively hiring.  Those with degrees in the liberal arts that didn’t major in those industries in demand, such as business or computer science, are finding it especially challenging.

Change has been hard to come by.  Byrne remarks, “what everyone forgets is that [Obama] inherited an economy failing from two wars and a ridiculous amount of military overspending.” Change does not come easy and change takes time to happen.  Party politics have made change even more difficult. The Republican-heavy House of Representatives rarely sees eye to eye with the President on a given issue.

In an effort to move beyond party politics, President Obama has reiterated the American Jobs Act has been created from the ideas of both Democrats and Republicans.  Along with the statement that the American people do not have the luxury of waiting fourteen months for a new Congress to be elected and to deal with the economy, Obama all but commanded the House and the Senate to pass the bill as quickly as possible. The bill will no doubt help millions of Americans but there will also be those, like unemployed college graduates, that will miss out on the benefits.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2010 annual report, the federal government disbursed nearly $102 billion in loans to students in 2010, up from $91 billion in 2009. Students are typically given a grace period of six months after they graduate before they have to start repaying their loans with the average repayment period being ten years with the option to choose extended payment plans up to thirty years.

Every spring brings a couple million new graduates pursuing their first job. Recently, grads have found it difficult to land that first job, causing them to move back home with their parents to save money on living expenses with some taking lower paying jobs in other fields just to get by.  With unemployment at historical highs for young people, wouldn’t the government want to make sure students can pay back their loans in a timely fashion?  This is also at a time where the national debt is at an all-time high and the government is trying to reduce the debt while not raising taxes.  How else can  the government collect?

It’s startling to believe that $100 billion a year is relatively small in terms of the national deficit.  The government needs to make it easier on itself to recover that $100 billion in student loans by helping recent graduates.  If it is easier for young people to get jobs, then they can pay off their student loans quicker.  Unemployed and underemployed young people are not able to contribute their full potential.  Unemployed young people makes innovation difficult.  This bill will help some Americans get back in the saddle but what will happen to those who aren’t given the chance to saddle up in the first place?

Building my own website has been so difficult… I am never satisfied with the colors, the layout, or the graphics. I’ve gotten so frustrated that I have let it sit idle for months. For some reason I haven’t viewed this personal project as important. I’ve let it fade and I’ve let other projects get in the way.

I’m starting to make promises with myself to change. I need to get this site looking the way that I want it to look so it can really express who I am and what I do. I also need to work on writing. I hate writing. My goal is to post once a week and to finish this site by the new year.