I have several friends who've had to take pay cuts or are in jeopardy of losing their jobs. I've taken on a second job to make ends meet. I'm worried about schools having to cut staff to meet their budget demands.
Christopher Gold, Monroe-Orleans BOCES Teachers Association, NY 

Students are working too many jobs and are unable to keep up with their demanding college work.
Anca Vlasopolos, Wayne State University AAUP/AFT Faculty, MI

I have seen hungrier children, dirtier children, children with jobless, angry parents. Therefore, I have extremely stressed out kids coming to school. It is very hard to learn under these circumstances.
LeeAnn Fry, Texas AFT/PEG

Families at my school have been hit hard by the economic crisis, with many parents losing their jobs and sometimes their homes. Since we no longer have a free breakfast program, more young children are starting school each day hungry.
Suzanne Shaeffer, Volusia Teachers Organization, FL

The recession is affecting hiring practices in the healthcare system because hospitals are avoiding hiring seasoned nurses and rather hire new graduates in order to prevent paying the rate that goes with years of experience...and it is affecting the care that patients receive.
Ana Milhomme-Inneh, HPAE, NJ

The recession is affecting almost everyone I know. My students now come to school without even the most basic supplies. The children are stressed because they know their parents are struggling to keep the job they have or they are already unemployed.
Diane Casella, Volusia Teachers Organization, FL 

Our teachers are already seeing aberrant behavior in young children whose families are stressed by home foreclosures and the financial strains of not being able to put wholesome food on the table, seek needed medical attention, pay for heat, and provide the basic tools necessary to help kids be prepared to learn and to thrive in general.
Debra MacDougall, Early Childhood Educator, WA

Public education needs a bailout. The focus has been on endless testing, leaving little time to actually teach children.
Sandy Baker Hoover, United Teachers of Dade, FL

Working in education, I know how bad things have gotten, and I shudder to think what will happen to our children's future if our schools see increased budget cuts. They are our future and we need to help them now!
Lisa Storms, Chippewa Valley Technical College & Staff Clerical Federation, WI

Make sure the bailout is not used to pay failed CEO's and other top execs anything but the very barest of minimum salaries. And make sure the money is paid back to the government.
Robert Montgomery, Scranton Federation of Teachers, PA

I think federal bailouts of private industries is a dangerous precedent. However, if President Obama deems this as necessary, then another economic stimulus payment to all citizens should be considered.
L. Sue Parton, Federation of Indian Service Employees, NM

An FDR-type public works program to repair our deterioriting infrastructure is the perfect project for the new administration. The development of green jobs in solar and wind, clean coal and biofuels are also essential, but will take a little longer to get operational.
Charlotte McCullough, Boston Teachers Union, MA

The prices are skyrocketing, and people are losing jobs left and right...Just when you think you are getting a couple of steps ahead, something happens to knock you back.
Sharon Kay Snowton, Alliance/AFT, TX

I am in jeopardy of being laid off from my position as an elementary school counselor in an inner-city school district. There is a great need for our services, but because we can not meet the need, children will suffer.
Claudia Campa, Yonkers Federation of Teachers, NY

I feel that the new administration should...build the foundation for a strong 21st-century economy. It should use issues like energy, education and healthcare to jump-start the economy.
Michael Fixler, Jordan Elbridge Teachers Association, NY

Creating an economic stimulus package targeting job creation, tax credits for keeping manufacturers in the U.S., and increased financial aid for students in higher education. ...the best way out of our current economic mess is a strong dose of Keynesian deficit spending to invest resources in our best assets—our people and our (crumbling) infrastructure.
John Flannigan, Prairie State College Federation of Teachers, IL

While everyone talks about the middle class and their needs, the impoverished are forgotten or ignored while their problems are most severe. The innocents in this group who most need assistance are children. They need smaller class sizes and safe, clean, excellent schools in which to learn; access to good medical care and nutrition so they can grow; and safe parks and neighborhoods in which to play. Their parents might need access to GED or literacy training, effective job training, affordable college programs, rehabilitation from drugs or alcohol, affordable medical care, parenting support classes—a clear path to the middle class!
Donna Mooney, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, PA 

First priority needs to be our economy. My family is finding it increasingly harder to meet our financial obligations. Our school board continues to pull funding for necessities from the classroom. This loss further affects my family as I use money for school items needed in my classroom.
Lorinda Utter, Polk Education Association, FL

Create jobs. People want work not handouts. A stimulus package should go to repairing our nations infrastucture, putting people to work.
Bing Wong, Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals 

President Obama should quickly and diligently work toward aiding millions who are in jeopardy of losing their homes. Second, produce jobs here in the States to alleviate the rise in unemployment while lowering the cost of food.
Elmer Daniels, Health Professionals and Allied Employees, NJ

As our federal government bails out failing corporations, most Americans would benefit more from government spending that addresses decaying infrastructure, renewable fuels, and environmental protection.
Jeremiah Bain, New York State Public Employees Federation

We have got to get jobs back into this country or nothing else is really going to matter. Lower the teacher-student ratio in school = more jobs. Build our clean energy infrastructure = more jobs. Stop big business (including the auto makers) from outsourcing = more jobs.
Kymberli Wregglesworth, Onaway Federation of Teachers, MI

We need to create jobs, fix the economy, create new energy sources, fix our educational system, overhaul our healthcare system and revamp our national security policies.
Sydney Gilbey, Windham Federation of Teachers, CT