Stimulus law restores summer jobs program

The federally funded summer jobs program of the '80s and '90s was a worthwhile expenditure. It helped pay for jobs for teens and young adults - and it was a lifesaver for many. (And who could forget those catchy radio ads?)

Many Americans today are grateful they had this program in their youth. Who knows where they'd be without it? We should all thank our lucky stars we had it.

Naturally, the Nazis in Congress a decade ago abolished this program (and others that were similar). And trust me, I don't exaggerate when I say Congress in the late '90s was full of Nazis. (Remember the flap involving Newt Gingrich's pick for House historian?)

Abolishing the summer jobs program was not an act of fiscal restraint. It was an act of malice.

Meanwhile, Congress in that era was giving bailouts to the prison-industrial complex and right-wing talk radio.

But now, President Obama's stimulus program that passed this year is effectively restoring much of what the rogue Congress of the '90s stole. This stimulus package has provided funding to hire 125,000 teenagers and young adults for summer jobs this year. Some state and local governments have opted to chip in.

This program helps young people who might otherwise be at a disadvantage to join the labor market and enjoy some of the same opportunities others already have.

Meanwhile, what has the prison boom that began in the '90s accomplished? All the prison boom has done is waste taxpayer dollars and foster a vicious cycle of despair.