It was one year ago that this week that President Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package. It’s the biggest investment in our country since the Great Depression, but in this commentary I show how for most of us, a year of stimulus is not enough.

It’s been a year since President Barack Obama signed the $787 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus package. The largest public investment in America’s infrastructure since the Great Depression, Obama called it “the most sweeping economic recovery bill in our history.”

But a year later, many Americans are still hurting. And while the Labor Department reports the unemployment rate for whites has begun to fall (to 8.4 percent in January), it continues to rise for ethnic minorities. For African Americans, it is 16.5 percent and for Latinos unemployment is 12.6 percent.

And the reasons for these disparities lie at least in part in the unfair and unjust way the stimulus package has been implemented.

Read rest here.

[The WORD is a member of the NAM Ethnic Media Association]

Americans’ opinions about the federal government’s $787 billion stimulus package and its impact on the mired economy vary sharply among racial and ethnic groups, according to a survey released today, with ethnic Americans more likely than whites to say it is a “good thing.”

The survey, called “Gauging the Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” found that 67 percent of Latinos and Native Americans, 62 percent of Asian Americans, and 84 percent of African Americans think the stimulus is good for their families or communities. By comparison, just 45 percent of white Americans see it positively. Overall, 54 percent of all Americans think the stimulus effort is positive.

The survey, which was commissioned by New America Media, painted a portrait of Americans in economic hardship. Sixty percent of Latinos are worried about housing costs, 50 percent of Native Americans are concerned about food, clothing and medicine costs and more than 30 percent of blacks worried about losing their jobs.

Read the full story here.

NAM is releasing the poll today, October 6; it determined the extent that whites, as well as African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asian Americans are aware of the benefits of the Recovery Act. The poll of 1,000 adults also determined whether respondents were aware of any impact that the legislation has had on their families or their communities.

The results strongly indicate there have been many missed opportunities, with respondents across the board, unaware of the benefits that may be coming to their communities from the billions of dollars available. “Our poll shows the Obama Administration has not done a good job of letting Americans know about opportunities that exist because of the stimulus package,” said Sandy Close, Executive Director of NAM, the nation’s largest coalition of ethnic news outlets

“Across the country, the Recovery Act has made billions of dollars available for extended unemployment benefits and health insurance for laid off workers. It has appropriated money for small businesses and arts organizations. It has prevented thousands of teachers from being laid off and kept firehouses from closing. Our poll shows – across the racial and ethnic spectrum – most Americans remain unaware of these opportunities and as a result are not able to take advantage of them,” Close also said.

Participating in October 6 Teleconference:

SANDY CLOSE, Executive Director, of New America Media (NAM), the nation’s largest coalition of ethnic news outlets

SERGIO BENDIXEN, President of Bendixen & Associates polling firm
AARON GLANTZ, author, Stimulus Watch Editor, New America Media
CHRIS KEELEY, Associate Director, Common Cause, New York
JUHU THURKRAL, Director of Law and Advocacy, The Opportunity Agenda