I congratulate the President on a stirring and informative speech to Congress. Even though I am a registered Republican, I agree that the role of government is to help facilitate the private sector to aid in this recovery. We all need to work together to solve this crisis and move forward but it is very apparent from those “remaining seated” in Congress and Mr. Jindal’s after address comments that is not the current case. “United we stand, divided we fall (fail)”.
The major Republican issue with the Recovery Act appears to be the possibility of wasted spending of the act. To that end, I offer a possible solution. I am a member of American Assoc. of Retired Persons (AARP). AARP has over 35 million members. This membership is comprised of the kind of people that build this country – the kind of people that the President referred to often in his speech that made America the greatest country on earth. They encompass all areas of business including those areas that the President deems the most critical – Technology, Education and Healthcare. Why not use this vast wealth of experienced talent to monitor the use of funds in each state, county, township to ensure that the funds are properly being used for the purposes intended. Use the membership to educate, use them to show the country that we have been through this before and we CAN make it great again. The membership is already in place in every sector of the U.S. The cost to use the membership would be negligible. Many are like me – retired but bored and want to still contribute to society. I owed a technology company for many years and sold it recently. We are not looking for money but rather for fulfillment and the opportunity to pass on what we have learned. We are former small/medium/large business owners, entrepreneurs, company presidents, CEO’s and every day workers that learned from experience and education.
In the over 35 million seasoned veterans of the AARP, you have a wealth of talent to educate, monitor and facilitate the Recovery Act – USE THEM. The American people will not solve this issue by themselves (republican view). It is the role of government to facilitate the people to aspire and achieve the greatness upon which this country was built. Look to the PAST to make the FUTURE!!
