STAFF: Proposed American Jobs Act could benefit education system

Last Thursday, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to promote the American Jobs Act, a package of job creation measures designed to spur the United States' flagging economy. The proposed legislation includes significant tax cuts, infrastructure spending, state aid and an extension of unemployment insurance. But we at the Daily Nebraskan are most concerned with how it affects students.

Unlike President Obama's other signature measures — the stimulus and the health insurance overhaul — the American Jobs Act does not directly affect college students. Previous economic stimulus legislation has included an expansion of Pell Grants, used by many low-income college students in Nebraska and nationwide. Federal student loan reform was passed through a measure designed to make the health insurance bill deficit-neutral.

The American Jobs Act, instead, focuses on elementary and secondary school education, as well as teachers already in the workforce. It includes $30 billion in renovation of America's aging public schools, from making them more energy-efficient to modernizing school technology through computer labs and Internet connectivity. Parts of the package also address community colleges, which serve much of the technical and manufacturing sectors of our economy, including up to $21 million for Nebraska community colleges.

Next, the legislation invests $35 billion in preventing state layoffs of public employees, including teachers. A summary of the impact on Nebraska by the White House indicates that Nebraska is slated to receive $176 million, enough to save up to 2,800 education, fire and police jobs.

Most important, though, is an effort to support job programs for low-income youth, including both summer and year-round projects. The Daily Nebraskan applauds the concern the Act shows for the unemployment rate among young adults, higher than in any other section of the population.

These ideas are not partisan – they are neither left nor right. They are simply the right thing to do, investing in the future of our education system and the present-day unemployment problems among college graduates. The Daily Nebraskan supports these common-sense efforts to spur job creation.

OPINION@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM