Submitted by David Boehmig, President/Founder.
Article taken from Atlanta Business Chronicle – by Dave Williams Staff Writer
President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan would get more roads repaired in Georgia, more houses sold and more solar panels installed.
But in a state saddled with an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, the highest in more than 25 years, the stimulus package making its way through the Democratic Congress is really about more jobs.
“It would put a lot of people back to work,” said Mike Kenn, president of Georgians for Better Transportation, a lobbying group for companies in the transportation industry, including highway contractors. “It would be a real quick shot in the arm.”
That economic boost can’t come soon enough for Georgia. First-time unemployment claims filed by out-of-work Georgians soared by 174 percent last month compared with December 2007, a statistic state Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond described as “stunning and sobering.”
Since the housing slump has been a major contributor to the recession, real estate professionals are hopeful that tax credits for home buyers will be a key component of the stimulus package.
Georgia lawmakers already are poised to take up legislation that would offer housing tax credits at the state level, but the federal government could bring far more resources to the table.
“Housing can help lead the country out of the current economic crisis,” said David Boehmig, president of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.
To read the article in its entirety from the Atlanta Business Chronicle, please click here.