As the end of the year winds down, so does 9to5 Colorado’s Economic Recovery Forum Tour. 9to5 Colorado and community partners, such as Colorado Progressive Coalition (CPC), FRESC and Colorado Springs Branch NAACP, have taken the Economic Recovery Forums to cities across the state to showcase the positive impacts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on a local level. These forums brought together just a small fraction of the thousands of people, small businesses, and local government who have benefited from the over $7 million in Recovery Act funds in many different ways.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was one of the first pieces of major legislation that was signed in action by President Obama within his first 30 days in office right here in Denver, Colorado in 2009. This landmark policy brought $800 billion to the states to help protect our most vulnerable communities and help pave the road to recovery for millions of families hit the hardest by the worst economic recession in the U.S. since the Great Depression. ARRA helped stimulate the economy, helped save and create jobs, prevented more devastating state budget cuts, and protected important safety net programs that are helping families stay afloat. In Colorado alone, stimulus money put more than 46,000 Coloradans to work over the last year.
“We have been so excited about having the pleasure of highlighting some of the most constructive investments from the Recovery Act in our own Colorado communities. We are bringing to the table people who can attest to the positive impacts of the Recovery Act, such as local workforce development centers, the Governor’s Energy Office, and the Small Business Administration and providing information on how to access these resources and programs, in addition to sharing how 9to5 Colorado specifically was able to help draw down more Recovery Act dollars to Colorado by modernizing the state Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits system” explains Maggie Gomez, 9to5 Colorado ARRA organizer. Last year, 9to5 Colorado was able to bring nearly $130 million in federal Recovery Act funds to Colorado by expanding the state UI programs to increase eligibility to more women and very low wage workers, extend benefits for unemployed people in certified training programs, and extend benefits for the long tern unemployed. This is utterly critical to our Colorado economy when, according to Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody’s Economy.com, every $1.00 of unemployment insurance generates $1.64 in local benefit, and we are currently experiencing a state unemployment rate hovering near 8.5 percent.
The Economic Recover Forum Tour, coordinated by Maggie Gomez, took place in Denver, Aurora, Greeley, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Nearly 200 people attended these forums.
