Stimulus Bill brings mixed feelings to VCU

The reaction within the VCU community to the current Congressional stimulus bill proves to be both hopeful and unsure.


By Amy Via



On Jan. 26, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was introduced to Congress by Rep. David Obey. The House of Representatives has since approved the bill, but it is still being debated by the Senate.

Virginia Commonwealth University staff and students respond to the current stimulus bill with their opinions on its possible success and educational benefits.

Ed Millner is the chairman in the VCU Department of Economics. He believes the Senate will pass something, but isn’t sure about the effectiveness of the overall package.

“Opinions over fiscal stimulus have varied over time,” said Millner. "The stimulus package might come at the expense of other sectors of the economy."

Millner explains that the package will create a larger deficit, which will hurt credit. While consumer spending may increase, there will be less spending somewhere else, like factory building. He thinks the recession may shorten if the package passes Congress.

Beth Kreydatus, a Focus Inquiry professor, has been following the debate and also expects the package to pass in some form.

In terms of economic hardships, she thinks the package will be “helpful, but it won’t single-handedly solve the problem,” said Kreydatus.

She thinks the Democratic Party may have an agenda for how they will spend the money, but she agrees with their methods. She thinks they are working to address the lack of funding for education.

Will Sims, an advertising professor, isn’t sure if the bill will benefit education. But he hopes Congress will structure the bill so it has long-term benefits for the economy.

“We’re overdue for infrastructure overhauls for the economy,” said Sims.

When asked about his opinion on the possibility of ulterior motives behind the bill, Sims said he thinks everyone has ulterior motives, “but I don’t think there’s some conspiracy behind the government.”

Public relations professor Yan Jin feels like the debate has “gone on forever” and hopes the plan will not be delayed much longer.

While she believes that some action needs to be taken, she also believes there needs to be a follow-up plan.

“The stimulus bill is one of many medications the country needs,” said Jin. "Spending is mainly to push consumers, but other areas like credit and recovery issues need to be addressed."

VCU student Jessika Farrar thinks the bill will pass mainly because of the increasing rate of unemployment. She thinks the stimulus package may help to address that concern.

“With politics there’s always something behind every good deed,” said Farrar, on the subject of ulterior motives behind the bill.

But she thinks the key factor is to see whether the package works, and where the money goes.

Farrar said, “If it goes only to schools with good products and a lot of books, but not to inner city schools, it won’t help.”