Government Programs

President-elect Barack Obama said last week that his multibillion-dollar stimulus package would kick-start the economy by essentially creating a New New Deal. "We will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced -- jobs building solar panels and wind turbines; constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings; and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain," he said.

This is a tough time to be an animal in this suburb of San Diego -- particularly if you're an animal employed by, sheltered by or exhibited by the cash-poor city government. As the city struggles with its share of the national financial mess, programs involving animals are being hard hit. The City Council last week tentatively approved eliminating the Police Department's K-9 unit and dis- persing its five Belgian Malinois.

With layoffs spreading and the traditional annual bonus cut or eliminated this year, many Chinese were in no mood to splurge during this week's Lunar New Year holiday -- even in a well-off city like this one. So just before the Chinese calendar turned to the Year of the Ox, the local government issued millions of dollars' worth of store coupons to encourage its penny-pinching residents to go out and spend. Si Gendi, 55, wasted no time in redeeming some of her vouchers.

The federal HOPE for Homeowners lending program, created last year to assist 400,000 struggling borrowers, has refinanced only 25 loans so far as the costs and restrictions deter participation, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "The program restrictions have proven to be more and more difficult over time, as economic conditions worsen," HOPE for Homeowners Executive Director Meg Burns said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday.

They have plundered reserves, enacted hiring freezes and engaged in all manner of budgetary voodoo to shield us from the pain. But now state governments -- reeling from a historic free fall in tax revenue -- have run out of tricks. And Americans are about to feel it. In some cases, they already have. Nevada resident Margaret Frye-Jackman, 71, was diagnosed in August with ovarian cancer.

With the major elements of his economic recovery plan now laid out, President Obama warned Tuesday that the climb out of recession will not happen overnight, and he called on Americans to show patience and faith that things will get better. "We will recover from this recession, but it will take time," Obama said. "It will take patience.

For years, Daniel Lubiano tended the roses in his front yard while watching the home across 82nd Street in South Los Angeles fall apart. In foreclosure for nearly a year, the house had been neglected by tenants who refused to pay their rent. The stucco was chipped and dirty, and the yard was covered in weeds. The empty carport behind the house became a favorite spot for teenagers trying to hang pairs of tennis shoes from electrical wires overhead. In all, there were 28 pairs dangling there.

President Obama, meeting with homeowners at the White House, said the government's efforts to drive down interest rates had fueled a surge in refinancing -- putting money into many homeowners' pockets during the current economic crisis. But almost all the refinancing so far involves borrowers with conventional mortgages who are not in serious financial trouble. The president's own programs for helping troubled homeowners are just beginning to get off the ground.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that it would launch in June a long-expected program to help thaw the market for commercial real estate mortgages. The program is an expansion of the central bank's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, which was implemented in March to help stimulate consumer lending -- including credit cards, auto loans and other instruments -- in response to the country's credit crisis. The TALF also includes support for student loans and small-business loans.

With President Obama calling math and science education the key to good jobs in our future economy, Congress was told Wednesday that a pilot program in Los Angeles schools has started to show promising results in computer science.